The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-05-10
BLUE RIDGE RAILROAD
WAS NEARLY FINISHED.
Eighty Per Cent of the Grading Of
the Highway Across the Noun
tains Completed when the
Work Stopped.

Anderson, May S.-Every now and
then some merstion is made of the
completion of the Blue Ridge Rail-
road across the mountains into Ten
nessee and Il close study of the
amount Of work already done toward
the building Of this road, which would
mean much to this country, reveals
the fact that about SO per cent Of
The actual grading Of the road be-
| tween Walhalla and Knoxville. Tcnr,
, is completed and the remainin" 90
per cent represents about forty miles.
The route Of the proposed road
lt>ds Through very mountainous
country. In fact, the road will have
10 pass through three tunnels making
Il total distance under ground Of more
thai? two miles before it reaches the
| Georgia Zine. After it crosses the
state line there are other places where
tunnels will be necessary and one
tunnel alone in Georgia will have to
be mile and Il half long.
The proposed route Of the line
leaves the present road at West Un-
ion and goes to the right Of Walhal-
la. The old promoters have con-
structel ralmber of large fills not
for from Walhalla toward Stump
House Mountain.
The first tunnel Of the route after
leaving West Union is known as Sad
die tunnel. This tunnel will be one
half Of a mile long and it is said that
two-thirds of the work on this tun-
mel is completed. The next tunnel is
known as Poplar Gap, which is one
fourth Of mile long and one-half
of this work has been completed.
The largest tunnel before the road
reaches the Georgia line is at Tunnel
Hill. There is little history con-
nected with the digging of this tun-
mel which will be worth mentioning
1t was way back in 1852 that the
actual work on the route between
West Union and Knoxville, Tenn,
commenced. The railroad authorities
had big undertaking on their hands
in tunnelling Tunnel Hill and they
decided to get the work done by con-
tract. The contract was let in 1855
to man by the name of Banks. Mr..
Banks lacked labor, so he secured
five hundred able-bodied Irishmen
and their families to come from Ire
land especially to dig this tunnel
These Irishmen came and proved
to be good workmen, but after work
ing several months Mr.. Banks failtd
financially or otherwise and the con-
tract was then let to Humbcrt and
Hitchcock for completion.
The Irishmcn built a small town Of
their own on top of Stump House
Mountain. near the mouth Of the
east end Of the tunnel. A number of
the descendants of the workmen are
now living on and about the noun
tain.
Hmbert & Hitchcock. like Mr.
Banks, failed after working on the
tunnel for several months and since
the failure of these gentlemen, very
little, if amy, work has been done to-
ward the completion Of the tunnel
for it was then that the War Be
tween the States broke out and the
project was deserted.
The promoters Of the road, when
the war commenced, had spent large
amounts Of money on the road. Tn
fact. more than a million dollars
must have been spent on the grading
alone.
""hc tunnel through Tunnel HI
WI h"v" to hr one and quarter
piles Ion" and Of this distance at
least two-thirds hes been completed
The east end of this tunnel is not
r'"rr than one hundred yards from
Ito famous Tssagucena Falls. of which
so much has been written. The work
was commenced at six places at one
time. Tt was started at the east and
west ends and then four shafts were
made at certain distances apart. A
person can walk from the east end
q" H." tunnel pass shaft no l, which
is 220 feet deep, and nearly to shaft
No. 2. This latter shaft is 275 feet
d"'p and the work has been deserted,
the MANY springs in the shaft have
| furnished enough water to fill that