The Henryton Tunnel, located near
Henryton in southern
Carroll 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 south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, is the third-oldest
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 ...
in the world that remains in active railroad use.
[Steve Okonski']
B&O RR Photo Tours from Woodstock to Henryton
/ref> Constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
(B&O) Railroad and opened around 1850, it was the first tunnel constructed on the B&O's Old Main Line. In 1865 the tunnel was widened to accommodate double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
. It was rebuilt into its current form in 1903. The tunnel has brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
portals and lining. The coping
Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social.
Theories of coping
Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...
and footings are concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
.
See also
* Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
* Industrial Archaeology
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...
References
External links
*Steve Okonski'
B&O RR Photo Tours from Woodstock to Henryton
photos of the tunnel and its approaches
Railroad tunnels in Maryland
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tunnels
CSX Transportation tunnels
Transportation buildings and structures in Carroll County, Maryland
Tunnels completed in 1850
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