Staple Bend Tunnel
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Staple Bend Tunnel
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Staple Bend Tunnel
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| Location | Mineral Point, Conemaugh Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°21′33″N 78°51′19″W / 40.35917°N 78.85528°WCoordinates: 40°21′33″N 78°51′19″W / 40.35917°N 78.85528°W |
| Built | 1833 |
| Architect | Welch, Sylvester; Appleton, J. & E., Builders |
| Architectural style | Other |
| MPS | Allegheny Portage Railroad MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 94001187 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1994 |
| Designated NHL | April 19, 1994 |
| Designated PHMC | August 19, 1947 |
The Staple Bend Tunnel, about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a town called Mineral Point, was constructed between 1831 and 1834 for the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Construction began on April 12, 1831. This tunnel, at 901 feet (275 m) in length, was the first railway tunnel constructed in the United States. It is rock bored and stone lined.
Finished in June 1833, the Staple Bend tunnel was advertised as the first railroad tunnel in the United States. It was the third tunnel of any kind built in the US, the first tunnels were for other canals in Pennsylvania.
Work began on November 21, 1831 and often occurred during inclement conditions. The men were paid $13 per month plus room and board for 12-hour days 6 days per week. Workers chipped and blasted 901 feet of solid rock to make the tunnel.
Approximately 14,900 cubic yards of bedrock was removed using black powder blasting. This was done by drilling three-foot-long holes and packing them with powder. Drilling one typical hole took up to three hours of hard effort using a three-man crew. Nine to ten holes, each one-inch in diameter and thirty-six inches in length, were made before blasting. One pound of explosive powder wrapped in paper was pushed into each hole, tamped down, punctured with a sharp needle, and a fuse added. Fuses were lit with explosions to occur at mealtime. Workers would eat while the dust settled; then get to work cleaning (mucking) the tunnel. Of the 36-inch hole drilled only 18 inches, or half of the hole, was blasted.
The tunnel grew about 18 inches each day, with both sides moving toward the center. On December 21, 1832 the workmen broke through the final barrier and connected the two ends of the tunnel. There was much celebration with speeches and toasts. The full tunnel excavation was completed in April 1833.
The ends of the Staple Bend Tunnel were lined with cut stone for safety. Rock and dirt might fall due to rain or other weather, or from the effects of the portage railroad going through the tunnel. The fancy entranceways to the tunnel were to impress the travelers and the general public. The style was described as a " Roman Revival style with low relief lintel supported by Doric pilasters on each side." Of the money spent (the total cost was $37,498.85) nearly half was to build the fancy entrance ways. Although it is believed no workers was killed during the construction of the Tunnel, a prominent Cambria County citizen by the name of Rowland Humphreys was killed in the Tunnel on/about June 12, 1852 as he was walking next to a train and was crushed to death by shifting cargo from one of the cars. A few years later, the Portage RR and Tunnel was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857.
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