Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) tunnel collapse. Work was being done to re-inforce the tunnel to open it back up for regular use when it caved in. At least four people died because of the collapse, two of which are still in the tunnel with the train.
Attempts were made to get the train and all of the bodies out, but additional cave ins proved to be too much to handle. One body was able to be recovered but the rest are still trapped inside. In the year following the cave in, the western portal was sealed off. The eastern end is still open but it is difficult to find. I tried once but I couldn’t get anywhere close to it. Admittedly, I did not really try that hard. The western portal is easier to find but it is behind a locked gate to an apartment complex. It is very easy to visit if you know someone with a keycode.
Some History:
When the tunnel was being contructed in the 1870s, cave ins were a constant issue and several workers died on the job. At one point a cave in caused several houses in the Church Hill neighborhood to fall into the ground. The tunnel was useful for a time but ended up becoming obsolete.
The tunnel runs under Jefferson Park and part of the park was destroyed during the 1925 cave in. This collapse luckily happened when the park was empty. It is also fortunate that the cave in happened when a work train was inside of it, not a passanger train. Unfortunately however, some people were still inside when the collapse occured. There has never been an accurate estimation of how many people were inside when tragedy struck. There were at least four men who did not escape but people at the time speculated that the number could have been much higher.
One of the workers, Benjamin F Mosby, was badly burned by hot water that splashed on him during the collapse. He managed to get out through the eastern portal of the tunnel but died in a nearby hospital several hours later. People seeing him escape the tunnel ended up giving birth to the legend of the Richmond Vampire. Allegedly, a “vampire” was seen attacking one of the rail workers and was then chased to a grave in Hollywood Cemetery. Several people believe that the “vampire” that was spotted was actually just a very disfigured Mosby. The extensive burns over his body gave him a less than human appearence that probably startled uninformed onlookers.
More Info:
This is a very basic recounting of the whole event. If you are looking for more detailed information, you can check out these sources. There is also a book on the subject that I read recently and would highly recommend. It is featured in the set of photographs below.
The Tunnel
Jefferson Park
Alleged Tomb Of The Richmond Vampire
RIP to all those who died because of this tunnel. You are not forgotten even if your names have been.
