Brush Tunnel is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

located about west of

Corriganville, Maryland Corriganville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 455. Corriganville is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical ...

. It was built in 1911 by the

Western Maryland Railway The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM beca ...

, and is currently used by the

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, Maryland, that operates passenger excursion trains and occasional freight trains using both steam and diesel locomotives over ex-Western Maryland Railway (WM) ...

, a

tourist railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

running between

Frostburg Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and is at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located west of Cumberland, the town is one of the first cities ...

and

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...

, as well as the Great Allegheny Passage formerly known as the Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

). Some had expressed concern regarding the dual use of the tunnel, but time has shown that the scenic railroad and the bicycle trail can peacefully co-exist. There is a video camera showing east and westerly views mounted on the tunnel. See the view at https://www.mountainmdtrails.org/gapwebcam The

Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland The Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland (AHTM) is a long rail trail between the C&O Canal in Cumberland and the Mason–Dixon line, where it meets the Allegheny Highlands Trail of Pennsylvania. It forms part of the Pittsburgh–Washington, DC ...

is currently complete from Cumberland to near

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, using mostly abandoned rail

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. The portion of the trail from Cumberland to near Frostburg trail is adjacent to the active tourist line, including the tunnel. As the tunnel was bored for two tracks, and the scenic railroad uses only one, there is sufficient room for the bicycle trail alongside in the tunnel, which is now lighted. (However, trail users are cautioned not to be in the tunnel when a train is in or approaching the tunnel.)

References

* Western Maryland Railway Co., Baltimore, MD (1955)
"Track Chart: Connellsville to Cumberland."
Tunnels in Allegany County, Maryland Places located in Cumberland, MD-WV-PA Railroad tunnels in Maryland Western Maryland Railway tunnels Tunnels completed in 1911 1911 establishments in Maryland {{US-tunnel-stub