Rating:
47457
{73}%
4 votes
Badger State Trail - Stewart Tunnel
Photos
North end of the Stewart Tunnel.
Photo taken by Eric Hanson in September 2010
Enlarge
BH Photo #191071
Description
The Stewart Tunnel was named after James Stewart of Lancashire, Pennsylvania, who was apparently a contractor on the project. It appears that James was thrown from a buggy and killed while he was following the proposed route of the new railroad. As a result of this unfortunate accident the tunnel was named after him.
The tunnel itself is about 1,000 feet in length and is on a curve which means that you cannot see the other end when you initially enter it. The Illinois Central Railroad ran its first train through in February of 1888 and the railroad itself was abandoned in the late 1990's. The lining of the tunnel has been modified numerous times over the years. It now is used by pedestrians and bicyclists on the Badger State Trail.
Facts
- Overview
- Tunnel on Badger State Trail
- Location
- Green County, Wisconsin
- Status
- Open to pedestrians
- History
- Built in 1887 by the Illinois Central Railroad
- Railroads
- - Illinois Central Railroad (IC; ICG (1972-1988))
- Wisconsin & Calumet Railroad (WICT)
- Design
- Tunnel carved out of the natural bedrock.
- Dimensions
-
Total length: 1,260.0 ft.
- Also called
- Badger State Trail - Belleville Tunnel
IC - Stewart Tunnel
IC - Belleville Tunnel
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +42.81169, -89.56580 (decimal degrees)
42°48'42" N, 89°33'57" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
- Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/290222/4743096 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Belleville
- Land survey
- T. 4 N., R. 8 E., Sec. 36
- Elevation
- 958 ft. above sea level
- Inventory number
- BH 47457 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- August 27, 2018: Updated by John Marvig: Added category "Bore Tunnel"
- December 28, 2015: New photo from Charles Kuehn
- April 4, 2015: New photos from John Marvig
- October 21, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "Rail-to-trail", "Railroad", "Wisconsin & Calumet Railroad"
- December 29, 2010: Added by Eric Hanson