UP - Tunnel 3
Photo
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
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)
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
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ca/placer/bh63444/