Flat Rock Tunnel
The Flat Rock Tunnel is an active railroad tunnel located on Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Line near Manayunk, Pennsylvania, United States. The tunnel was built by the Reading Railroad for its line along the Schuylkill River.
Flat Rock Tunnel in Pennsylvania, western portal
 Stereo pair view | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lower Merion, Montgomery County, near Manayunk, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 40°02′07″N 75°14′39″W |
| Status | Active |
| System | Originally Reading Railroad Now Norfolk Southern |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 1838 |
| Opened | 1840 |
| Technical | |
| Length | 940 feet (290 m) |
| No. of tracks | Originally Double Now Single |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Construction of the tunnel started in 1836 and it opened in 1840.[1] In 1858-9 the Flat Rock and Black Rock Tunnels were widened to accommodate the wider rolling stock from the Lebanon Valley Branch. The spacing between the tracks was increased from 4 feet (1.2 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m). The widening of the tunnel was the first project to employ electric detonation of multiple explosive charges.[2]
References
- Treese, Lorett (2003). Railroads of Pennsylvania: fragments of the past in the Keystone landscape. Stackpole Books. p. 41. ISBN 0-8117-2622-3. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- "From Branch Line to Main Line: The Story of the Lebanon Valley Branch" (PDF). The RSME Timetable. Reading Society Model Engineers: 5. May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-539, "Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Flat Rock Tunnel, Beneath Flat Rock Hill, west of Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), West Manayunk, Montgomery County, PA", 2 photos, 10 data pages, 1 photo caption page
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