Back to tunnels. The Brockville Railway Tunnel was the first railway tunnel built in Canada. It takes 20 to 30 minutes minimum to walk the tunnel. It was built between 1854 and 1860 and was a tunnel for trains to pass through. The rationale says it was designed to provide a rail link from the timber trade to the port facilities on the St. Lawrence. It goes under the town. A hill was the obstacle.
The chief engineer recommended the rail line run around the high grade of the community and simply come down to the river and avoid the hill. However, the philosophy of the Canadian railway builders seemed to be based on the belief that no railway was complete without at least one tunnel. The council of the day and the citizens of Brockville seemed to agree and pledged their support to the building of the tunnel under the city for a direct access north. Numerous people died in the building of the tunnel, and it had its accidents during operation as well. Its short height meant that shortened steam engines had to be used to travel through it. Despite its constrained size it was in operation until 1970. Today it is a tourist attraction with a light show on the walls.
It is 1,721 feet long. Is that long? It seems so to me. Mount MacDonald tunnel under Roger's Pass in Glacier National Park is 14,723 metres long - that's the longest in Canada. Brockville is third from the bottom at 527 metres long, but is also the oldest tunnel in Canada.
What might the longest in the world be? It is the Gotthard tunnel at 57 km (35 miles) or 57,500 metres long from the Netherlands to Italy. Switzerland, Austria, Japan, England and South Korea all have tunnels over 50,000 metres long.
That seems like a "bad dream" trip to me.
Here's the tunnel, followed by a post card image today.
