Blue Ridge Tunnel
Last week we went to the Blue Ridge Tunnel on Afton. It is an old railroad tunnel that is now a walking trail. Here is the history from the Blue Ridge Tunnel Foundation (more info found at this link).
The Blue Ridge Mountains and Alleghany Mountains were a natural barrier for passenger and freight traffic between Richmond and the Ohio River, then the western border of the state. Members of the Virginia legislature who had invested in turnpikes and canals needed convincing that railroads could do a better job of crossing those 423 miles.
When steam engines improved in the 1840s, the state of Virginia bought stock in the privately owned Louisa Railroad. Private investors, though, were unwilling to take on the expensive task of traversing the mountainous terrain at Rockfish Gap. As a result, the legislature approved critical public funding for the 17-mile-long Blue Ridge Railroad in March 1849.
​In February 1850, the General Assembly changed the name of the Louisa Railroad to the Virginia Central. This new entity would build west from Ivy (then Woodville) in Albemarle County and connect with the eastern terminus of the Blue Ridge Railroad at Mechum’s River, also in Albemarle County. Simultaneously, the Virginia Central would lay tracks from Staunton to Waynesboro while building farther west to Covington in Alleghany County. Meantime, the Covington and Ohio Railroad would begin at the Ohio River and meet with the Virginia Central in Covington.
Despite many negotiations concerning shared costs, the Virginia Central assumed control of the Blue Ridge Railroad after the line opened in April 1858. But state budget cuts beginning in 1855 slowed construction to the Ohio River and the 1861 – 1865 Civil War halted it altogether. The Virginia Central merged with the Covington and Ohio in 1868 to become the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. In 1873, the route between Richmond and the Ohio River was completed at last.
In 1944, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway replaced the 86-year-old Blue Ridge Tunnel with an adjacent tunnel at a slightly lower elevation on a curved alignment that could accommodate larger locomotives. Somewhat parallel to the old passage, the newer tunnel is still in daily operation, as is the 100-feet-long Little Rock Tunnel in Albemarle County. The old Blue Ridge Tunnel has not hosted traffic since then.
It was Mom’s birthday and she wanted to go so we went. Most of the extended family on Mom’s side came.
We arrived at the tunnel around 7 and hiked it. It was really fun to hike but there really isn’t much to say as you literally walk to the beginning of the tunnel, walk through it, turn around, and go back. It was really fun to walk through, and it was like a cave, so it was roughly 55-65*F. It was kinda cold without a jacket but since it was hot outside it was really refreshing. Water dripped from the ceiling which helped keep things interesting. There was water on either side of the trail most of the way and even some crayfish in the water.
We finished off the night with Kline’s ice cream in Waynesboro.
If you are considering going, I recommend this site which has more info on where, what, and how.
Some random pictures I didn’t know what to do with. This felt like something good to write a post about but it was really hard. It’s like every other tunnel you’ve been in and it’s dark so it’s kinda hard to be descriptive.
