The Board Tree Tunnel is an abandoned railroad tunnel along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Fairmont Subdivision in West Virginia.
The Board Tree Tunnel is an abandoned railroad tunnel along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Fairmont Subdivision in West Virginia.
History
Construction of a line between Baltimore, Maryland, and the Ohio River at Wheeling, Virginia, commenced in 1828. 1 2 It reached Harpers Ferry in 1834 and Cumberland, Maryland, in 1842. Construction west of Cumberland resumed in late 1848 as the B&O pushed toward the Ohio River. The line crossed the Allegheny Mountains through Grafton and Fairmont, Virginia, before turning northwest toward Wheeling.
A tunnel at Board Tree was completed under the supervision of B&O chief engineer Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II. Work involved using a segmental cast-iron lining system pioneered in the contemporaneous Kingwood Tunnel. Workers were recruited from coal mines to excavate the tunnel, with operations utilizing black powder as an explosive. About 30 deaths and 300 injuries occurred in the excavation of the Board Tree and Kingwood tunnels. Work began in 1851 and was completed in 1853. 1
The railroad played an important role in the development of north-central West Virginia during the late nineteenth century. Timbering expanded rapidly during the 1860s. 6 These communities later participated in the “third wave” of development in the natural gas and oil industries, and by the end of the 19th century. Other industries along the line included pottery and glass manufacturing. In later years, the B&O designated the route between Cumberland, Fairmont, and Wheeling as the Fairmont Subdivision.
The industries that had supported the Fairmont Subdivision gradually declined during the 20th century. The timbering industry largely disappeared by the end of the nineteenth century, and natural gas and oil production in the region began to decline by the 1940s. 6 By the 1950’s, many of the pottery and glass manufacturers along the line had closed. With traffic diminishing, the B&O rerouted through freight in 1956 over its Short Line Subdivision between Clarksburg and New Martinsville, following the Ohio River north to Wheeling. 5 Additional traffic was routed through Pennsylvania on the B&O line between Wheeling and Pittsburgh. 3
Formal abandonment of portions of the Fairmont Subdivision followed in later decades. On January 5, 1972, the B&O filed to abandon 27 miles of track between Moundsville and Board Tree Tunnel. 2 A subsequent filing sought abandonment of the line from Board Tree Tunnel to Mannington, where the Consolidated Coal Company had developed the Nailler No. 79 coal mine. 4 After approval, the railroad removed the tracks between Moundsville and Mannington. The remainder of the line from Mannington to Fairmont remained in service until 2000.
Gallery
Details
- State: West Virginia
- Route: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Fairmont Subdivision
- Status: Abandoned or Closed
- Type: Tunnel
- Total Length: 2,350'
Sources
- “Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.” WV Railroads, 8 Aug. 2012, article.
- “Baltimore & Ohio.” American Rails, 2017, article.
- Baker, Wilber. “Memories of the Fairmont Subdivision.” Sentinel, Nov.-Dec. 1988.
- Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training 2006. Annual Report and Directory of Mines. June 2007.
- Jourdan, Katherine M. Cameron Downtown Historic District. Department of the Interior, 22 June 1998.
- Gioulis, Michael. Mannington Historic District. Department of the Interior, 30 Jun. 1995.