Taft 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 in the

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located in the southwest part of

Lisbon, Connecticut Lisbon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, by road northeast of Norwich. The population was 4,195 at the 2020 census. The town center is also known as the village of Newent. The town school is Lisbon Central School. Its on ...

. Completed in 1837, it was the first

common carrier A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...

railroad tunnel built in the United States, though it was not used until 1839 (before which several other tunnels were in use). It is still in use in its original form.

History

In late November 1835, the Norwich and Worcester Railroad awarded a contract for construction of the first of its line from

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

Jewett City, Connecticut Jewett City is a borough in New London County, Connecticut, in the town of Griswold. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census. The borough was named for Eliezer Jewett, who founded a settlement there in 1771. Geography According to the Uni ...

. The most difficult section of the railroad to construct, it ran along the rocky ledges of the Quinebaug River and required a short tunnel under Bundy Hill. The tunnel was long, wide, and high. It was ready for rails to be laid on August 26, 1837, and declared complete two days later. Some passenger and freight service began around September 1839, though the railroad did not officially open until March 9, 1840. The Taft Tunnel is the oldest common carrier tunnel in the country to be completed, although the Staple Bend Tunnel of the non-common carrier Allegheny Portage Railroad was completed in 1833. However, it was not the first to open - the

Yorkville Tunnel The Park Avenue main line, which consists of the Park Avenue Tunnel and the Park Avenue Viaduct, is a railroad line in the New York City borough of Manhattan, running entirely along Park Avenue. The line carries four tracks of the Metro-North ...

(opened October 27, 1837),

Black Rock Tunnel The Black Rock Tunnel is an active rail road tunnel of the old Reading Railroad. The 1835 tunnel was the third rail tunnel constructed in the United States, and is the third oldest still in use. The tunnel is also notable as being the first for ...

(opened 1838), and

Howard Tunnel The Howard Tunnel is located near Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania. In operation since 1838, it is the second oldest active rail tunnel in the U.S. Originally constructed by the York and Maryland Line Rail Road, it formed a critical link in the north ...

(opened 1838) were all in service before the Taft Tunnel. Now used by the Providence and Worcester Railroad for freight service, the tunnel is still among the oldest active railroad tunnels in the United States.

References

External links

{{commons category inline Railroad tunnels in Connecticut Transportation buildings and structures in New London County, Connecticut Lisbon, Connecticut Tunnels completed in 1837 1837 establishments in Connecticut

History

See also

References

External links