Skip to main content

Brockville Railway Tunnel

Image
By
Recently, I had found out about a neat tunnel called the Brockville Railway Tunnel that was used for trains in Brockville, Ontario, located in the Thousand Islands region of the province. By chance, I decided to visit the tunnel on my way to Ottawa this past weekend.

An engineering marvel at 1730 feet in length, the Brockville Railway Tunnel happens to be the first railroad tunnel constructed in present-day Canada. The tunnel was built between 1854 and 1860 for the Brockville and Ottawa Railway to connect the Brockville waterfront on the nearby St. Lawrence River with the Ottawa River near Arnprior, Ontario to the north. Part of the tunnel is lined with brick, whereas natural stone forms the walls of the tunnel around its center portion. It should be noted that the plans to construct the tunnel was not without some public disagreement, as a number of people felt that it would be easier and more cost effective to build the rail line along the riverfront instead of building the tunnel under downtown Brockville. Supporters of building the tunnel prevailed, and as a result, trains traveled through the tunnel between 1860 and 1970.

The City of Brockville now owns the tunnel and it is used for recreational and tourism purposes. Recent renovations that took place in 2016 and 2017 (to coincide the Canada's 150th anniversary celebrations) to allow people to traverse the tunnel from end to end, as well as connect downtown Brockville and the city's waterfront with the Brock Trail system. With the renovations, there is a synchronized light and music show running every day of the year that you can enjoy if you are visiting the tunnel.

Historical plaque.

South entrance to the tunnel.

An alternate view of the south entrance to the tunnel.

Inside the brick lined part of the tunnel.

A section of the tunnel where natural rock is used for the tunnel wall. You may be able to see the transition to a brick lined portion of the tunnel wall in the distance, along with a change in the color of the light as well.

A section of the tunnel where natural rock is used for the tunnel wall.

Looking out towards the south portal of the tunnel.

Here are also a few YouTube videos to check out about the history and modern day renovation of the Brockville Railway Tunnel.



Sources and Links:
"The History of the Brockville Railway Tunnel" --- Brockville Railway Tunnel
"Brockville Railway Tunnel" --- Philips "The newly restored Brockville Railway Tunnel illuminated with Philips Color Kinetics dynamic LED lighting opens to the public this Saturday." --- Cision
"Railway Tunnel 2017 Preview" --- YourTV Brockville-Smiths Falls
"Brockville Railway Tunnel was Canada's First Railway" --- RailwayTunnel Brockville
Labels:
Location: 1 Water St W, Brockville, ON K6V 3L5, Canada

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more