9. The Staple Bend Tunnel
Staple Bend presented a problem to the railroad designers. Inclines to overcome its height could not be built without exceeding the legislated maximum grade requirement. The solution was a tunnel, 900 feet through solid rock, requiring the removal of nearly 15,000 cubic yards. Workers drilled narrow holes, about one inch in diameter, to a depth of three feet. The holes were drilled by three-man teams, using hand-held boring tools. About nine holes were drilled in a pattern. Once the holes were completed, an eighteen-inch cloth-covered tube of black powder was tamped into the cavity. Fuses were inserted and then lit. The work teams timed their blasting to coincide with their noon meal, eaten as the dust settled.
Other teams cleared the rubble and dust away as the drillers began work on the next set of holes. The process was repeated, day after day, the men working twelve-hour shifts Monday through Saturday. The tunnel grew at the rate of about eighteen inches per day, with crews at both ends working towards each other. On December 21, 1832, the teams met each other, and by the end of April, 1833, the tunnel was completed, with rails laid and the entryways decorated on both ends. The crews who built the Staple Bend Tunnel – the first railway tunnel constructed in the United States – received $13 per month for their labors, as well as room and board during the construction period. The tunnel still stands as a tourist attraction.