Otisville Tunnel
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (December 2020) |
The Otisville Tunnel is a railroad tunnel that carries Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line beneath the Shawangunk Ridge. It is the longest tunnel in the Metro-North system, at 5,314 feet (1,620 m) in length.[1] Although the track curves at the western opening, the tunnel itself is a straight line, allowing an observer to see all the way through.
It has been leased by Metro-North from the Norfolk Southern Railway since 2003.[2]
History
[edit]The tunnel was built in 1908 by the Erie Railroad at the highest point of the Graham Line. The original Erie mainline went over the hill and connected at both ends with the tunnel. Later the "over the hill" tracks were abandoned and all trains ran through the tunnel.
It later operated under the auspices of the merged Erie Lackawanna Railway from 1960 to 1976, and then Conrail from 1976 until it was acquired by Norfolk Southern as part of the breakup of Conrail.
Metro-North took over passenger service in 1983. Today, the tunnel serves trains between Otisville and Port Jervis on Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line.
Location
[edit]It passes underneath the Shawangunk Ridge at Otisville, New York, just past Otisville station on the Metro-North Port Jervis Line.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Improvements on the Erie Railroad". Railway and Locomotive Engineering. 24 (8): 327. August 1911. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
- ^ Aviation, United States Congress House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on (January 1, 2003). Planes, Trains and Intermodalism: Improving the Link Between Air and Rail : Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Aviation and Railroads of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, February 26, 2003. U.S. G.P.O. ISBN 9780160707841. Archived from the original on July 8, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
External links
[edit]- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-21, "Erie Railway, Otisville Tunnel"