This past summer - another day trip that my parents, sister, and niece went on was to Rockland Tunnel (also known as Woodhill Tunnel) in Kennerdell, PA.
It's an abandoned railroad tunnel that has been transformed into a creepy path for hikers and cyclists. Here are some photos from that day. It's part of the Allegheny River Trail. It's off I-80 in Western Pennsylvania and is the remains of the Allegheny Portage Railroad from the 1860's. Initially it was a 4-mile railroad loop as a part of a track designed to help export crude oil from the region. This loop ended up being inefficient due to its sharp turns, ice jams, and rockslides. By the 1910's a more direct route was needed.
That direct route was the Rockland (Woodhill) Tunnel - that you see here - a half mile - largely straight tunnel that opened in 1916. It remained in use until the late 20th century. In 2003 it was transformed into the local hiking and biking trail system.
As you can see in these photos - the tunnel is VERY DARK. Walking in from the car side - we could barely see the light at the other end (the tunnel curves slightly to the left). The tunnel walls now have graffiti on them.
Once we reached the other end of the tunnel we saw a trail that runs along the Allegheny River. It was a pretty neat stop - I have to say. A little creepy but cool.
Not too far from Rockland Tunnel is Freedom Falls and Rockland Iron Furnace. I will post about those in another blog entry.
Here's a look at both ends of the tunnel. Since we went in summertime you can see the greenery surrounding it. I did try to get photos of the hillside, too...
And the path. The walkways were nicely kept. It was a lovely day when we went. We did encounter others visiting the area. Those of us who had not been there before were surprised at just how dark the tunnel was but you could tell some of the visitors go there often and zipped thru it on their bike's without hesitation.
What do you think - would you have been a little 'iffy' about entering the tunnel without knowing what as 2 feet in front of you or when it was going to end?
