Light At The End Of The Tunnel

by Brian Wallace

Title

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Artist

Brian Wallace

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

"I see the light at the end of the tunnel... With my luck, it's probably an on-coming train!"

HO-988 Union Dam Tunnel B & O Railroad, Patapsco River beneath U. S. Route 40. Private Description:

The Union Dam Tunnel of the B & O Railroad is located along the Patapsco River beneath U. S. Route 40. The east end of the tunnel is set about 75 feet east of the slope. The tunnel entrance wall is semi-circular-arched, rock-faced ashlar sandstone with raised-bead pointing. Above the tunnel arch is a plaque that appears to be marble and is carved with "19 - UNION DAM - 02." The tunnel has a brick barrel vault. There are recesses in the brick tunnel wall. The tunnel is single-track now. The tunnel construction is identical to the east end, with the same date plaque. Near the east mouth of the tunnel and along the river between it and the hill that the tunnel passes through are some stacks of stone stringers that date to the earliest construction of the railroad, before the tunnel was built.

Significance: The B. & O. Railroad first began laying their main line in 1829 and 1830. The second division of the main line began at Ellicott's Mills and proceeded west to the fork in the Patapsco, and stone stringers with plate rail were used here from the beginning. The stone stringers were designed with the center of the track clear, so that horses could haul the passenger and freight cars. In 1845 the B. & O. decided to rebuild its entire track from Baltimore to Harper's Ferry, substituting U-shaped edge rail for the earlier strap rail. This was done by 1849. No doubt the valuable iron was taken up and recycled, while the stone stringers were left where they lay. The curve at Union Dam, where the track swung around a jutting section of hill, was very tight, and as equipment got longer, heavier, and faster, tight turns created operational problems. In the summer of 1900 the B. & O. requested bids to remove "dangerous and troublesome curves" at Ilchester and Union Dam by cutting tunnels through the hills. The 1902 Union Dam Tunnel, 810 feet long and 30 feet wide, was built on a more-gradual seven degree curve. The portals were built of sandstone from Grafton, West Virginia and Somerset, Pennsylvania.

Resource: https://data.howardcountymd.gov/scannedpdf/Historic_Sites/HO-988.pdf

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October 29th, 2019

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