The Pequabuck Tunnel , also known as the Terryville Tunnel , is a railroad tunnel in Plymouth and Pequabuck, Connecticut . It is located on a still-active segment of the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad used by freight trains running between New Britain and Waterbury. Although locally known as the Mile Long Tunnel , the Pequabuck Tunnel is just 3,580 feet long – 0.68 miles. The tunnel is 32 feet wide and 26 feet tall, with regularly spaced recesses in the walls to allow a person to seek safety while a train passes.
8-632: The section of the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill between Hartford and Waterbury opened in July 1855. The route was twisty owing to the hilly terrain. Construction of the tunnel through Sylvan Hill in Plymouth began in 1906, but temporarily stopped in 1907 due to financial issues. Despite a cave-in in July 1908, the tunnel was completed in 1910. The first passenger train through the tunnel ran on January 27, 1911. The Pequabuck station (signed as Terryville)
16-762: A result of CSX's purchase of Pan Am Railways in June 2022, Pan Am Southern will no longer be operated by PAR. CSX inherited PAR's 50 percent stake in Pan Am Southern, with competitor Norfolk Southern owning the remaining half. CSX and NS reached an agreement to have Pan Am Southern be operated by a new Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary named the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad , which the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved. The United States Department of Justice had recommended that
24-587: Is a freight railroad jointly owned by Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and CSX Corporation . PAS is independently operated by the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad , a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming . PAS owns trackage known as the Patriot Corridor between Albany, New York , and the Boston, Massachusetts , area, utilizing rail lines formerly owned by the Fitchburg Railroad and later on
32-420: The Boston and Maine Railroad . It was previously operated by PAR subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway . On May 15, 2008, Norfolk Southern Railway announced that it had come to an agreement with Pan Am Railways to "create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area called the 'Patriot Corridor'." On March 12, 2009, Norfolk Southern and Pan Am received STB approval of
40-568: The STB require CSX to sell its stake in PAS as a condition of the merger to prevent a reduction in competition. Railroads in New England, including Vermont Rail System and Canadian Pacific Railway , had also objected to the plan for G&W to operate PAS, as it would give G&W an even more extensive network in the region than it currently has. Canadian Pacific in particular asserted in a filing to
48-663: The deal. As of May 1, 2009, each of the two companies owns 50% of Pan Am Southern. PAR's trackage between Ayer, Massachusetts and Mechanicville, New York was transferred to PAS and continued to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway Company subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $ 137.5 million. Planned improvements to the route included track and signal upgrades, and expansion of terminals, including new automotive and intermodal terminals constructed in Ayer, Massachusetts and Mechanicville, New York . Planned lines were as follows: As
56-540: Was located near the east portal of the tunnel. As passenger service began to decline, the second track was removed in 1939 and the remaining track was moved to the center of the tunnel a year later. Through service on the entire Hartford, Providence & Fishkill ended in the 1920s, but passenger service on the Hartford-Waterbury segment lasted until 1962. In the last years of service, the Pequabuck station
64-443: Was only open on Saturday mornings. Although passenger service no longer operates on the line, it is still used for freight service by Pan Am Southern . The possibility exists for the restoration of passenger service on the Hartford-Waterbury route, which would include the first regularly scheduled passenger trains through the tunnel in more than a half-century. Pan Am Southern Pan Am Southern, LLC ( reporting mark PAS )
#739260