The Negro Mountain Tunnel is an unfinished South Pennsylvania Railroad tunnel. Work started on the tunnel around Christmas 1884 and ended abruptly in August 1885. It is one of the tunnels the Pennsylvania Turnpike didn't use when that route was charted using various other tunnels started by the South Penn.
Only 734 of the planned 1,100 feet were excavated for the tunnel when the plug was pulled on The South Pennsylvania Railroad in 1885. For more information on the South Pennsylvania check my earlier post here: http://coalandcoke.blogspot.com/2014/11/abandoned-pennsylvania-turnpike.html or simply do a Google search. This railroad that never was has a very interesting story.
Things we expected to find in this tunnel, we didn't. Things we didn't expect to find, we did. For instance, we worked our way to the back of the tunnel expecting to find drill holes for the next blast. Instead we found all the debris from the last blast and it was just left there. They were working this tunnel until the word came down and they just quit. However, there were drill holes in the beginning. It looked like they were either widening the tunnel or the tunnel started wider and the plans changed. In this case there was no debris so the plans changing is the best bet. One thing we certainly didn't expect to find was a coal mine tunnel inside the railroad tunnel. There is a coal seam 2.5-3 feet thick running almost the entire length of the tunnel. Towards the middle of the tunnel we found a cinder block wall in the coal seam. A block was missing at the edge and when we shined a light through there we discovered a coal mine. After moving a block on the top we were able to put a camera back there.
Lets look at the photos.
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| This is off the road above the tunnel. |
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| The tunnel sits down in this old cut. Most of the cut in front of the tunnel has been filled in. This area was strip mined. Amazingly the tunnel portal is not covered. |
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| Lowering down into the tunnel. |
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| The east portal. On the left is where the tunnel seemed to start wider. |
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| Looking back into the tunnel. After this, there was about 4 inches of water on the floor but the edges were relatively dry. Not really dry, very muddy, but not saturated. |
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| The shelf to the left of the opening. |
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| Drill holes for the charges. |
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| A.F. Mostoller who lived near Brotherton shot most of these charges and drove a dump cart. |
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| Compare Larry from Johnstown to the size of the tunnel. It's pretty big. |
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| Wood from 1885 still survives all through here. |
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| Heading back. |
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| This tunnel contains very rare cathedral ceilings. Most of the wood survives behind the frame. |
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| The coal seam. |
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| A look at the wood. |
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| The back of the tunnel. Not a drill hole to be found. |
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| Some of the wood frame laying on the tailings pile. |
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| A photo of the three of us at the back of the tunnel. It didn't turn out very well. I like it though. |
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| Russ and Larry poking around. |
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| Looking out toward the front. |
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| More wood supporting the cathedral ceiling. |
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| The roof. |
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| Looking up at the ceiling and out toward the entrance. |
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| Wooden supports. |
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| This is the block wall in the coal seam. |
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| You can see the roofing timbers. |
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| Coal mine!! |
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| Another close up of the tunnel wall. |
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| Ceiling. This section is kind of worn but considering its age, it's not too bad. |
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| This is a survey marker from the original turnpike survey. |
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| Heading out of the tunnel. |
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| Me. |
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| Until next time..... |
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| A photo of a wind farm taken from the truck. |
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| This is the railroad grade to the west of the tunnel. |
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| An active strip mine. |
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| On top of the grade west of the tunnel. |
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| Old box culvert underneath the grade. |
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| The other side of the culvert. |
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| This is a grade east of the tunnel. |
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| An old cut across from the grade. |
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| On top of the grade. |
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| This old arched culvert is amazing! |
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| Perfect condition. |
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| Looking out the other end. |
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| Size comparison. |
On the way back home we stopped along the turnpike to have a look at the Quemahoning Tunnel. This one looks a lot trickier. Another day.
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| This is 20 feet off of the turnpike. |
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| Same design. |
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| These are a couple of Russell Loves photos. |
