The abandoned Adena Tunnel is located on the former Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway in Adena, Ohio.
The Adena Tunnel was completed by the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway (W&LE) in 1889. 1
On October 23, 1930, two men were killed and a third seriously injured when the tunnel partially collapsed on a passing freight train caboose. 2 Approximately 300 feet of the tunnel had fallen in. 3 The victims were recovered after six hours of excavation surrounded by a crowd of 3,000 that had gathered around to watch the progress of the rescue. 2
On July 1, 1999, the W&LE filed a notice to abandon 18 miles of its Valley Line, from milepost 188½ near Unionvale to milepost 205½ near Warrenton. 4 The proposal included the stations of East Cadiz (milepost 185), Kenwood (milepost 189), Adena (milepost 192), Dillonvale (milepost 199.9), and Warrenton (milepost 204)—along with the tunnel. The request was subsequently approved and the line was placed out of service.
Information
- State: Ohio
- Route: Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway
- Type: Tunnel
- Status: Abandoned / Closed
- Total Length: 800 feet
- Spans:
- Navigational Clearance:
Sources
- Sanders, Craig. Introduction. Canton Area Railroads. Charleston: Arcadia, 2009. 7-10. Print.
- “RAILROAD TUNNEL COLLAPSES ON TRAIN IN OHIO.” Reno Evening Gazette 23 Oct. 1930: n. pag. Print.
- “W. & L. RR seeks cause of cave-in.” Plain Dealer [Cleveland] 23 Oct. 1930: n. pag. Print.
- “Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company—Abandonment Exemption— in Harrison and Jefferson Counties, OH.” Federal Register 64.139 (1999): 39186-87. Print.
It’s abandoned in 99 why did they spray it for weeds in 2009. And that’s not the Arena tunnel, it’s the Herrick tunnel
I agree with you!