Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) Mountain Subdivision[1] – previously C&O Railroad and Blue Ridge Railroad
Location
Augusta / Nelson counties, near Rockfish Gap, Virginia
Coordinates
38°02′18″N78°51′45″W / 38.0383°N 78.8625°W / 38.0383; -78.8625 (Northwest Portal of new tunnel)
Status
Abandoned, replaced by new tunnel currently in operation
Operation
Opened
1858 (1858)
Owner
Blue Ridge Railroad (1856–1870)[2] Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (1870–1878)[2] Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (1878–1944)[3][4]
Technical
Line length
4,237 ft (1,291 m)
Track gauge
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Grade
70+ft⁄mi (1.326%)[5]
The Blue Ridge Tunnel (also known as the Crozet Tunnel) is a historic railroad tunnel built during the construction of the Blue Ridge Railroad in the 1850s. The tunnel was the westernmost and longest of four tunnels engineered by Claudius Crozet to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains at Rockfish Gap in central Virginia.
At 4,237 feet (1,291 m) in length, the tunnel was the longest tunnel in the United States at the time of its completion. The tunnel was used by the Virginia Central Railroad from its opening to 1858, when the line was reorganized as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (renamed Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1878). The Chesapeake and Ohio routed trains through the tunnel until it was abandoned and replaced by a new tunnel in 1944.
The new tunnel was named the "Blue Ridge Tunnel" as well, although the original tunnel still remains abandoned nearby. The old Blue Ridge Tunnel has since been named a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1976.[6] In late 2020, after a decade of stabilization work and restoration as well as access pathway construction, the tunnel was opened to visitors as a linear park.
The BlueRidge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest...
through a series of four tunnels (from east to west: Greenwood Tunnel, Brookville Tunnel, Little Rock Tunnel, and BlueRidgeTunnel) near Rockfish Gap at...
Brookville Tunnel (also Brooksville Tunnel) was a historic railroad tunnel engineered by Claudius Crozet during the construction of the BlueRidge Railroad...
Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel in Oconee County, South Carolina is an incomplete railroad tunnel for the BlueRidge Railroad of South Carolina in Sumter National...
the BlueRidge Railroad, and under his leadership and direction, the railroad began construction over the BlueRidge using a series of four tunnels. Meanwhile...
Greenwood Tunnel is a historic railroad tunnel constructed in 1853 by Claudius Crozet during the construction of the BlueRidge Railroad. The tunnel was the...
route which crossed the North Mountain and Afton Mountain via the BlueRidgeTunnel and reached Richmond via the former Virginia Central Railroad. However...
the 4,137-foot (1,261 m) tunnel was the longest tunnel in the United States until it was surpassed by the BlueRidgeTunnel in 1858. Workers were recruited...
BlueRidge RR built over the mountains using four tunnels: Greenwood Tunnel, Brookville Tunnel, Little Rock Tunnel, and the 4,263-foot (1,299 m) Blue...
Railroad, the Virginia Central Railroad, the state-owned BlueRidge Railroad (with famous tunnels designed by state engineer Claudius Crozet and financed...
Baltschieder BlueRidgeTunnel Hike Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail and Tunnels: Know Before you Go - We Wisconsin The Elroy Sparta Trail's tunnels are a major...
construction of the railroad tunnel under Rockfish Gap in the 1850s as part of the state-owned BlueRidge Railroad. This tunnel was later used by Confederate...
following day. The BlueRidgeTunnel eliminated this grade. As a corporate entity, the BlueRidge Railroad ceased to exist when the tunnels were completed...
Tunnel is a 4,541-foot-long (1,384 m) tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed and abandoned in 1964. It is bored through Laurel Ridge,...
railroad tunnel in the south. 1856: The BlueRidgeTunnel, 4,263 ft (1,299 m), considered a world marvel of engineering when opened. 1872: The Hauto Tunnel 3...
13 – The Virginia Central Railroad begins operations through the BlueRidgeTunnel at Rockfish Gap, Virginia. May – First known slip coach working, at...
Railroad Winchester and Alabama Railroad Winchester and Potomac Railroad BlueRidgeTunnel Confederate Railroads Gabel, p. 1 Gabel, p. 2 Black, III, Robert C...
limited use in pre-industrial times using gunpowder (such as with the BlueRidgeTunnel in the United States, built in the 1850s), it was not until more powerful...
The BlueRidge and Atlantic Railroad of the United States purchased the Cornelia-Tallulah Falls section of the North Eastern Rail Road in an attempt to...
underneath their trenches. The Royal Engineers sent specialist tunnelling companies to the ridge to combat the German mining operations and German artillery...
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