CNO&TP Tunnel 5

[butch]

I took advantage of the recent cold weather to see if I could get to the south portal of CNO&TP Tunnel 5 at Sloan's Valley (south of Burnside, Ky.)  Usually, about 200 ft. before the tunnel the water and muck gets so deep that you could only approach wearing waders.  My hope was that the swamp would be frozen and it was which enabled me to not only get to the portal, but skate over the 300 or so more feet of ice inside the tunnel, to reach dry land. 

The first picture is taken from the spot where you usually have to stop, unless you are very flexible and adventurous.  Notice the ATV tracks in the pictures.  Someone had come through before it was completely frozen and broken of the ice, which then refroze as part of the solid slab.

The second picture is taken from about halfway to the portal.  If you look, you can see icicles hanging down from the north portal about 900 feet away.

The third picture is from inside the tunnel looking back out. 

The last picture was a surprise, and the reason I bring my big light.  I was walking back through the tunnel and happened shine the light on the roof and I found several of the old telegraph/phone line-well, they are not poles, so I haven?t decided what I should call them.

But it was a fun afternoon.

[E.M. Bell]

Thats a good find Butch..I figured you had been in there before. Kings Mountain tunnel also has stand off still in place for the wire, or at least thats what I think they are..

[butch]

I have been in the tunnel before from the other side,  I  just didn't see the stuff mounted from the roof.   I want to try to do the same thing at Kings Mountain, because the north end is always full of water, but with the rain this week, any ice will probably melt.  By the way,  how do you insert pictures with text to go with them, instead of just loading the thumbnails at the end?  I can't figure it out. 

[NSyorktown]

Very cool photo's . . . . . . thanks for sharing. 

I've seen a number of pics of the early bores, and I'm sort of surprised that the Rathole Division wasn't known as the "Dungeon Division" instead.  Maybe the tunnels were in much better shape in their day, but they still look pretty spooky to me. 

Plus it's not like the term "Rathole" is all that complimentary, either!

[butch]

I guess characterizing a tunnel?s condition is a relative thing.  Ten of the twelve Rathole Tunnels in Kentucky still exist and only Tunnel 1 has any significant roof fall.  When I think of other abandoned tunnels in Kentucky, they are in pretty good shape.  For example, their condition is similar to the abandoned Kentucky Central era tunnels, and they are in better shape than the Eastern Kentucky Railway or Kentucky Union tunnels.  And I would suggest the ?dungeon? aspect is more a product of the era that they were built.  As you say, ?Rathole? is not exactly a complementary term.  Even though the early steam engines were not as big as the ones we typically see pictures of, I am sure that riding in the cab through four tunnels in about a mile (Tunnels 6-9); or one tunnel for almost a mile (Tunnel 2) was not something to look forward to.  Nor was the knowledge that you would be doing it 26 times on a trip south out of Danville.

Check my signature line for a link to some of my pictures and some other Rathole info.  (Someday I?ll make the webpages prettier, but not this week.)

[NSyorktown]

Great photo's, Butch.  I went through about every directory.  Neat stuff!

Your note about running through all those tunnels on the way out of Danville really hits home.  As if a train crew doesn't have enough to worry about with its full consist, they also faced the adventure of "not" knowing what was ahead (rock slides, flooded tunnels, etc.). 

It certainly made railroading EXCITING in its day, didn't it?

Take care . . . . . RDS

[J-man]

Great pics butch!

[Dieselfan]

Nice pics Butch! I'd love to get ahold of those insulators and add them to my collection!

[butch]

Well, you'd have to pack a really big ladder through knee deep muck, or if you go this week, you can skate across the ice.

ba