A Short History of the Fitchburg Steam Engine Company.
Seen Below, is the Hoosac Tunnel finished in ( 1875 ) the Project
itself took 25 Years to complete, with untold heartache due to
a tragic ( 195 lives ) being lost during the building of the tunnel
mainly due to the introduction of Tri-nitro glycerine being used
during early to mid' stages, without good handling techniques.
The Tunnel was started from the Eastern side of the mountain,
and not long after from the West - but due to many hardships
along the way it nearly ground to a - halt - and in 1863 it was
decided to sink a central audit from the top of the mountain to
the depth of the tunnel and then start working towards both
directions in order to speed up its progress - this central audit
also acted as an air inlet for the tunnel on completion of the
total project : the planned length of the central shaft work was
completed in 1870 and in 1872 the Eastern side was opened to
the central tunnel for the first time., with the FINAL opening to
the Western tunnel occurring on the - 27th of November, 1873.
All types of Blasting, Boring, and pneumatic drilling were tried
during the excavation work - one of the first being Gun Powder.
The Firm of Mr.Charles Burleigh ~ The Burleigh Drill Company ~
of Fitchburg had a large part to play within those project years.
Fitchburg's " Alvah Crocker " part - instigator at the start of the
project - which when finally finished opened up the route from
Fitchburg to New York, from there to the Western rail corridor.
At that stage in time - the tunnel became the longest in North
America - and the Second longest in the World, and One of the
Greatest Engineering Feats of the 19th Century.
During 1873 another contract company took over and started on
the final finishes including the heightening of and reinforcement
of certain areas within the tunnel as well as the installation of a
tunnel drainage system, parts of the tunnel arch were re-bricked
after this work and all that was left was the job of finishing the last
remaining work to the track which had been partly completed by
sections - keeping up with the pace of the project - mainly due to
three reasons - the first being enough light to work by, second was
the removal of rock, and the transport of bricks for the archways.
The single line including all other work was completed late in 1874.
~ The first train through the tunnel was on the 9th of February, 1875. ~
~ Completed Cost .. Somewhere between $14,000,000 and $21,250,000 ~
The cost is Speculative due to the 25 years in all the building stages
~ A second rail system went in six years later and was in use by 1881 ~
~ The tunnel rail system, became fully electrified by the end of 1911. ~
~ The twin rail was changed back to a single line in the year of 1957. ~
~ The tunnel today ( 2006 ) is still in use - it's purpose for freight only ~
The Hoosac Tunnel - was used on April 29, 1997 for a special shipment
to South Carolina, this shipment being the reactor vessel stored in a
NRC - approved container, the vessel coming from the Yankee Rowe
Nuclear Power Station. A trip of some 1,100 miles through nine states
over a period of 8 days and nights, a very successful trip throughout.
The vessel weight-165 tons, Container weight-100 tons and filled with
80 tons of concrete making it a rail job only - lucky to have a tunnel !!
( See bottom of page for Tunnel Specifications )
Tom in the Hampshire Valley is also an amateur photographer and sent in these shots - all taken in Y2K.
* For those interested in Amateur Radio - Check out Tom's Site by Clicking Here *
In 2006 it was for sale at an asking price of $50.00 U.S.
from " Railroad Memories " Direct link on - Links page.
The picture on the card depicts the Western portal. ~
one can just see the tunnel entrance and imagine
all the camp site's for the workers plastered along
either side of this valley. When the Tunnel was in
regular use the Portal's had " automatic " weather
doors fitted to stop ice building up on the rails as
well as the sides and roof of the interior, due to a
constant draft of cool air from within the Tunnel.
Rail-fans - PLEASE NOTE - The Entry to the Western Portal is on - Private Property.
