Backwards Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Backwards Tunnel, also known as the Ogdensburg Railroad Arch, is located in Ogdensburg
, New Jersey
. The tunnel was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on December 28, 2005.
took over control of the tunnel in 1881 when the Midland Railway Line was merged into it. The tunnel was first referenced as the Backwards Tunnel in 1976 because it was thought that the tunnel should have been wider over the road than over the river. Ogdensburg declared the tunnel a borough historic site in 1991. A flood in 2000 which caused two nearby dams to burst damaged the tunnel. A book was published in 2009 about the history of the tunnel.
Ogdensburg, New Jersey
Ogdensburg is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,638.The borough was formed based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1914, from part of Sparta Township, based on the results of a referendum...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The tunnel was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on December 28, 2005.
History
The tunnel was built in 1871 by the Midland Railway Line in order to cross the Wallkill Valley. New York, Susquehanna and Western RailwayNew York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also known as the Susie-Q, or simply the Susquehanna, is a Class II American freight railway operating over 500 miles of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several...
took over control of the tunnel in 1881 when the Midland Railway Line was merged into it. The tunnel was first referenced as the Backwards Tunnel in 1976 because it was thought that the tunnel should have been wider over the road than over the river. Ogdensburg declared the tunnel a borough historic site in 1991. A flood in 2000 which caused two nearby dams to burst damaged the tunnel. A book was published in 2009 about the history of the tunnel.
Design
The tunnel is a double stone arch design and is a 180 feet long. The one arch which Cork Hill Road runs through measures 16 wide and 15 feet tall. The other arch which the Wallkill River flows through measures 20 wide and 16 feet tall. The rail line ran on top of the tunnel.See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Sussex County, New Jersey
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
- Sterling Hill Mining MuseumSterling Hill Mining MuseumThe Sterling Hill Mine, now known as the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, is a former iron and zinc mine in Ogdensburg, New Jersey. It was the last working underground mine in New Jersey when it closed in 1986. It became a museum in 1989. Along with the nearby Franklin Mine, it is known for its...
, located nearby the tunnel and also on the National Register of Historic Places.