Vesuvius Tunnel, also known as the Royersville Tunnel, is an abandoned Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad tunnel in Lawrence County, Ohio.
The Iron Railroad was incorporated in 1849 proposing to connect Lawrence County to coal, charcoal, and timber reserves. 1 The line would run from Upper Township in Lawrence County, along the Ohio River, to the southern line of Jackson County, with a possible extension to the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad at Hamden Junction. On April 9, the southern terminus was fixed, and the town of Ironton was founded.
By 1850, the Iron Railroad consisted of six miles of broad gauge line from the Ohio River to the southern portal of the unfinished Vesuvius Tunnel (later named Royersville Tunnel). 1 The 956-foot Vesuvius Tunnel (Royersville Tunnel) opened to traffic in December 1851.
The Iron Railroad merged with the Toledo, Delphos & Burlington Railroad in October 1881, which then merged with its subsidiary, the Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad (TC&StL), in 1882. 1 After falling into receivership, the Iron Rail Company, which included the original Iron Railroad from Ironton to Pedro, was organized in July 1884 and remained independent until Detroit Southern (DS) acquired it in September 1902.
The DS extended the Iron Railway from Lisman to the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad Portsmouth Branch at Bloom Junction, which opened in June 1903. 1 The DS went into receivership in July 1904 and was reorganized as the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway in May 1905 and as the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad (DT&I) in March 1914.
In December 1979, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) acquired the DT&I. 5 Following a rockfall in the Royersville Tunnel, the GTW filed for the abandonment of the 29.35-mile Ironton Branch between Ironton and Bloom Junction in August 1981. 2 3 The tunnel had suffered rockfall in the past, but few customers or mines remained on the line along the branch line. Tracks began to be removed from the Ironton Branch between Ironton and Bloom Junction and on the mainline between Waverly and Washington Court House in November 1982. 4
Information
- State: Ohio
- Route: Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad
- Type: Tunnel
- Status: Abandoned / Closed
- Total Length: 956'
Sources
- Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Company. “HISTORY OF THE DETROIT, TOLEDO AND IRONTON RAILROAD.” DT&I Modelers Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Landrum, J. Erik. “A Brief History of the DT&I .” Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Historical Web Site. N.p., 7 Jan. 1998. Web. 31 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Mayne, Don. “DT&I may abandoned rail lines.” Ironton Tribune 25 Aug. 1981: 1-2. Print.
- “Rail work begins.” Ironton Tribune 30 Nov. 1982: n.p. Print.
- “DT&I to be sold.” Ironton Tribune 31 Dec. 1979: n.p. Print.