Greenwood Tunnel (Greenwood, VA)
Greenwood Tunnel (1854-1944)
Greenwood, Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia incorporated the Blue Ridge Railroad on March 5, 1849 to build 17 miles across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mountain crossing, to become part of the Virginia Central Railroad upon completion, would tunnel through Rockfish Gap between Charlottesville and Staunton.
Blue Ridge Railroad chief engineer Claudius Crozet opted for a route with four tunnels. The easternmost of these was Greenwood Tunnel, a 538-foot, fully brick-lined bore completed November 1853. For the first four years of operation, prior to the completion of nearby Blue Ridge Tunnel (4273 feet), trains used a temporary 4.5-mile Mountain Top Track over the summit at Rockfish Gap. Two additional tunnels were built between Greenwood and Blue Ridge including Brooksville Tunnel (864 feet) and Little Rock Tunnel (80 feet).
During the Civil War, the Virginia Central served as a critical east-west link for the Confederacy. Shortly thereafter in 1869, a merger of the Virginia Central with other area railroads formed the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway.
Greenwood Tunnel was bypassed with a parallel cut in 1944. Both brick portals were sealed with concrete following abandonment and remain standing today. The cut that replaced the tunnel in 1944 is still used today by CSX freight trains and Amtrak's Cardinal. Brooksville Tunnel was daylighted in the 1960s to prepare for the construction of Interstate 64 directly over the west portal. Little Rock Tunnel, originally intended to be a deep cut until hard rock was encountered during construction, is still in active use today. Blue Ridge Tunnel was abandoned in 1944 upon completion of a lower, larger parallel bore. Details of the original tunnel are found with the Blue Ridge Tunnel photos.
Note: This text and accompanying photos are the copyright of Christopher Muller and may not be reproduced in whole or in part on any website, message board, or other medium.
Read MoreGreenwood, Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia incorporated the Blue Ridge Railroad on March 5, 1849 to build 17 miles across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mountain crossing, to become part of the Virginia Central Railroad upon completion, would tunnel through Rockfish Gap between Charlottesville and Staunton.
Blue Ridge Railroad chief engineer Claudius Crozet opted for a route with four tunnels. The easternmost of these was Greenwood Tunnel, a 538-foot, fully brick-lined bore completed November 1853. For the first four years of operation, prior to the completion of nearby Blue Ridge Tunnel (4273 feet), trains used a temporary 4.5-mile Mountain Top Track over the summit at Rockfish Gap. Two additional tunnels were built between Greenwood and Blue Ridge including Brooksville Tunnel (864 feet) and Little Rock Tunnel (80 feet).
During the Civil War, the Virginia Central served as a critical east-west link for the Confederacy. Shortly thereafter in 1869, a merger of the Virginia Central with other area railroads formed the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway.
Greenwood Tunnel was bypassed with a parallel cut in 1944. Both brick portals were sealed with concrete following abandonment and remain standing today. The cut that replaced the tunnel in 1944 is still used today by CSX freight trains and Amtrak's Cardinal. Brooksville Tunnel was daylighted in the 1960s to prepare for the construction of Interstate 64 directly over the west portal. Little Rock Tunnel, originally intended to be a deep cut until hard rock was encountered during construction, is still in active use today. Blue Ridge Tunnel was abandoned in 1944 upon completion of a lower, larger parallel bore. Details of the original tunnel are found with the Blue Ridge Tunnel photos.
Note: This text and accompanying photos are the copyright of Christopher Muller and may not be reproduced in whole or in part on any website, message board, or other medium.
