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UP - Tunnel 3

Placer County, California

Photos 

East Portal Of Tunnel 3, View To West, 135mm Lens. This Tunnel Was Photographed To Provide Context, Because Even Though Somewhat Enlarged, It Illustrates The Nature Of The Unlined Hard Rock Tunnels Typical Of The Original Central Pacific Construction

Photo taken by Ed Anderson for the Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #299213

Map 

Description 

The Central Pacific First Transcontinental Railroad is a segment of the western half of the first transcontinental railroad, built from Sacramento, California to Promontory Summit, Utah between 1863 and 1869, where it joined the Union Pacific Railroad which had built west from Omaha. For the purpose of the current project, the first transcontinental railroad was found likely to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places at the national level of significance under Criterion A for its significance in transportation history, in uniting the East and the West, and in the development of the West. The railroad's period of significance is 1869 to 1945, from the line's completion in 1869, through the years of its role in the settlement and development of the West, to the conclusion of the railroad's achievements in World War II. Tunnel 3 is a contributive element of this historic property.

Tunnel 3 is a 380-foot, single track railroad tunnel bored through a rocky point on the north slope of Mclntosh Hill by Central Pacific forces in 1868. The Southern Pacific Railroad slightly enlarged the tunnel in 1921 during the double-track project, and again in 1942 to accommodate larger locomotives and rolling stock; these alterations, however, do not appear to have appreciably changed its appearance from the period of its original construction. The tunnel is on a nine degree, twenty-five minute right-hand curve, and carries the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad's (formerly Southern Pacific) Donner Pass line.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Tunnel on Union Pacific Railroad
Location
Placer County, California
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1868; widened and double tracked 1921 & 1942
Railroads
- Central Pacific Railway (CPRR)
- Southern Pacific Railroad (SP)
- Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
Design
Tunnel
Dimensions
Total length: 380.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+39.30295, -120.53994   (decimal degrees)
39°18'11" N, 120°32'24" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/712122/4353281 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Cisco Grove
Inventory number
BH 63444 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (7,963)
Bore Tunnel (294)
Built 1868 (109)
Built during 1860s (563)
California (2,672)
Central Pacific Railway (34)
HAER documented (1,109)
Open (40,329)
 Owned by railroad (13,091)
Placer County, California (70)
Railroad (16,165)
Southern Pacific Railroad (671)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,376)
Tunnel (1,342)
Union Pacific Railroad (2,397)

Update Log 

  • November 22, 2021: Photo imported by Dave King
  • October 9, 2014: Added by Dave King

Sources 

  • Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • HAER CA-212 - Central Pacific Transcontinental Railroad, Tunnel No. 3, Milepost 180.65, Cisco, Placer County, CA

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