The Bloody Pit
A few friends and I decided to make the three-hour-plus trip to see the Battenkill run today. Intel reported that they would run South to Eagle Bridge and pick up the two former Saratoga & North Creek BL2s and an accompanying caboose. Except when we got there we found out that the intel was bad. There was no sign of the Battenkill running at all.
Instead, a friend and I headed East because we thought we heard chatter on the Pan AM frequency. We caught up with 16R at North Adams. They were in the process of a crew change so we quickly headed to the East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel. This location was high on my bucket list.
Built between 1851 and 1877, the nearly five-mile-long tunnel earned the nickname "The Bloody Pit" as it claimed the lives of over two hundred workers during its construction. One of the most deadly incidents occurred in 1867 when the 1,000 central ventilation shaft was being built and an explosion killed thirteen workers. Today the tunnel is frequented by urban explorers and ghost hunters as well as railfans. The tunnel is supposedly one of the most haunted sites in Massachusetts. If you believe such things.
The Bloody Pit
A few friends and I decided to make the three-hour-plus trip to see the Battenkill run today. Intel reported that they would run South to Eagle Bridge and pick up the two former Saratoga & North Creek BL2s and an accompanying caboose. Except when we got there we found out that the intel was bad. There was no sign of the Battenkill running at all.
Instead, a friend and I headed East because we thought we heard chatter on the Pan AM frequency. We caught up with 16R at North Adams. They were in the process of a crew change so we quickly headed to the East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel. This location was high on my bucket list.
Built between 1851 and 1877, the nearly five-mile-long tunnel earned the nickname "The Bloody Pit" as it claimed the lives of over two hundred workers during its construction. One of the most deadly incidents occurred in 1867 when the 1,000 central ventilation shaft was being built and an explosion killed thirteen workers. Today the tunnel is frequented by urban explorers and ghost hunters as well as railfans. The tunnel is supposedly one of the most haunted sites in Massachusetts. If you believe such things.