Sunrise..
Crozet Tunnel,
Inside..The Crozet Tunnel.....
Its purpose was to provide a crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains for the Virginia Central Railroad.
Overseen byClaudius Crozet as chief engineer , the crossing was accomplished by using four tunnels, including the 4,263-foot (1,299 m) Blue Ridge Tunnel near the top of the pass.
Overseen byClaudius Crozet as chief engineer , the crossing was accomplished by using four tunnels, including the 4,263-foot (1,299 m) Blue Ridge Tunnel near the top of the pass.
With construction proceeding from either side, the complex was dug though solid granite with only hand drills and black powder, a decade before the invention of dynamite.
The tunnel was less than a half-foot (0.1 m) off perfect alignment when it was holed-through
on Christmas Day 1856.
When complete, it was the longest in the US and one of the longest tunnels in the world,
When complete, it was the longest in the US and one of the longest tunnels in the world,
a remarkable feat of engineering.
Opened to rail traffic in April of 1858, it was considered to be one of the engineering
wonders of the modern world.
A Newer Tunnel was put in in 1944...And is in use today....(The new one was 4ft. off
alignment when holed-through)
