Gallitzin tunnel
| Gallitzin tunnel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gallitzin Tunnel on the left and Allegheny Tunnel on the right before the renovation (1993)
|
||||
| use | Railway tunnel | |||
| place | Gallitzin | |||
| length | 1099 m (Allegheny Tunnel, Gallitzin Tunnel) 496.5 m (New Portage Tunnel) |
|||
| Number of tubes | 3 | |||
| construction | ||||
| Client | Pennsylvania Railroad | |||
| business | ||||
| operator | Norfolk Southern Railway | |||
| location | ||||
|
||||
| Coordinates | ||||
| West portal Allegheny and Gallitzin Tunnels | 40 ° 28 ′ 54 ″ N , 78 ° 33 ′ 3 ″ W. | |||
| East portal Allegheny and Gallitzin Tunnels | 40 ° 28 ′ 45 " N , 78 ° 32 ′ 17" W. | |||
Map with all coordinates: The Gallitzin Tunnels are three historic railway tunnels on the Pittsburgh – Harrisburg railway line through a hill on the ridge of the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania . They consist of the now abandoned Gallitzin Tunnel , the Allegheny Tunnel , which runs parallel, and the shorter New Portage Tunnel further south . All three tunnels run under the village of Tunnelhill and are now operated by the Norfolk Southern railway company. A park and a museum have been set up for visitors at its western end in the town of Gallitzin .
Allegheny tunnel
The Allegheny Tunnel is now double-tracked and nearly 1,099 m (3605 ft) long. It was built from 1850 by the Pennsylvania Railroad for the new railway line coming from Altoona via Horseshoe Curve and opened in 1854. More than three hundred workers were involved in its construction under the direction of Herman Haupt . For a long time, the tunnel was little changed until Conrail significantly rebuilt it in 1994–1995. It was expanded to two tracks, and the substructure was lowered slightly so that two-story container wagons can now also pass through the tunnel.
Gallitzin tunnel
The Gallitzin Tunnel is the youngest of the three structures. It was started in 1902 and opened in 1904. It is the same length as the Allegheny Tunnel and runs parallel. After the reconstruction of this tunnel, the Gallitzin Tunnel was decommissioned and the rails were removed.
New Portage Tunnel
This tunnel is located to the south (west portal at 40 ° 28 ′ 38.3 ″ N , 78 ° 32 ′ 41.3 ″ W , east portal at 40 ° 28 ′ 40.8 ″ N , 78 ° 32 ′ 20.1 ″ W ), slightly higher and at 496.5 meters (1629 ft) it is significantly shorter than the other two. It was built from 1850 by the New Portage Railroad belonging to the state of Pennsylvania , which needed an alternative route for the old Allegheny Portage Railroad because of the competing new route of the Pennsylvania Railroad . But soon after the line opened through the New Portage Tunnel and via Muleshoe Curve to Duncansville in 1865, the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the line and dismantled much of it. The tunnel itself was widened to two lanes at the end of the 1890s and used for eastbound traffic. In the 1980s, Conrail dismantled a track and relocated the remaining track in the middle of the tunnel so that the New Portage Tunnel can also accommodate double-deck container wagons. It is mainly used for eastbound traffic.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Classic Railroads You Can Model , page 79
