A Train and 2 Bodies Sealed Inside Since 1926 - Read description

The article is: CRAWLING INTO THE BELLY OF A RICHMOND LEGEND Richmond Times-Dispatch July 5, 1998 You find some of the coolest places. Chris, FYI the audio is mono (L) only up to 1:40 then again @2:01 till end. Ck your mic.

My dad was a brakeman for Sante Fe his whole career. He took me and my brother to this tunnel when I was about 9 or 10. I remember thinking " what's the big deal?" As a man in his mid forties, I find this story both fascinating and tragic. I regret not showing it the reverence it deserves. Great video, thanks!

Imagine. Being a land developer, knowing the land you want to build on has a history of cave ins and unstable ground, with a train buried beneath it… and still wanting to build on top of it.

I read the book about this and as one posted that tunnel was a disaster waiting to happen. One incident after another till it was temporarily closed. The tunnel was left unused for nearly 25-27 years before they decided to put it back into service. The C&O put up a vast amount of funds to update and strengthen the tunnel. All was going good and on schedule till the day off 10/2/1925 when the tunnel finally gave away. The fireman who crawled out had suffered 3rd degree burns from the steam engine when it burst under pressure and died later in the hospital from his injuries. The engineer was found but had also suffered the same fate as the fireman, he had gotten pinned and couldn't move and died from the injuries. After another 2-3 days the search for the other two unaccounted for was called off due to safety reasons and we're left in the tunnel as their final resting place.

We had a similar thing happen in the UK in 1979 at Penmanshiel Tunnel. Two workers, one driving an excavator and one driving a dump truck were killed when then tunnel they were doing improvement works in suddenly collapsed trapping the two men inside. Thirteen men escaped, but rescue efforts failed to reach the other two. The tunnel was sealed up as it was deemed too dangerous to retrieve the bodies.

If I recall the current railroad still owns the tunnel underneath the city. That is why is it sealed up. Back when the tunnel was originally built the soil composition was not suitable for tunnel construction. During the construction phase they had cave ins. The tunnel was eventually lined with stone blocks but after several years the soil and the drainage in the soil just couldn’t and wouldn’t make it suitable. The train that is still in the tunnel was there for routine maintenance on the tunnel when this latest collapse happened. Taking several brave and strong honorable men. My they Rest In Peace.

I'd imagine that most of the people in those buildings don't even know about the people buried in those tunnels.

As both a railfan and a history enthusiast, I found this to be very interesting! Thank you for sharing this story and footage with us.

I was in the open section of the tunnel back in 1990. It wasn't flooded then. I found an old rusted rail spike from the tracks. Great video.

The tunnel was accessible in the 80’s when this part of downtown was a bit “rough”. Used to have Halloween ghost walks here, years ago

Wow, never heard about this. I can’t imagine what they went through if they did not die instantly. Waiting to be rescued and then the realization they would not be rescued. Very sad story but thank you so much for sharing.

Im born and raised in Richmond and used to live about 2 blocks away from the tunnel and those stairs you climbed. The legend goes that when the boiler exploded the engineer managed to sprint out purely through shock and adrenaline, and then collapsed next to some workers. There was supposedly a sighting of a man attempting to break back into the capped tunnel some years later, and a man who came running OUT of the tunnel some days after the collapse, who then sprinted all the way to a cemetery called Hollywood cemetery, into a tomb by the name of Poole.

I love your videos about these various historical sites and somehow find them very relaxing at the same time.

Technically this is a burial site and must be respected accordingly.

There was an excellent article in the July 1980 issue of Rail Classics magazine. This was a Chesapeake & Ohio tunnel that was bypassed. When the collapse happened crews were inside attempting to shore things up with iron rings and to enlarge the tunnel for the larger freight cars of the day. After the collapse shafts were sunk on the hillside above and they did find the coupler between the engine and the first car. Further excavation was deemed too dangerous and the effort was given up. The ground in that area is blue marl and clay. The train is buried about 100 feet in from that western portal. A number of workers made it out alive. 👨

I've been obsessed with this story since the 80's. Good Video, Thanks for respect for this story.

Very cool- thanks for sharing this story. Hearing little-known stories, that affected normal people in a normal town, are what brings history to life for me. Well done.

I believe there's 'only' 2 bodies in that tunnel. 4 men died due to the collapse- 1 managed to escape the tunnel, but died later of burns (from the exploding boiler of the train). One body was recovered during rescue attempts, but the other 2 weren't, and remain inside.

Most graves become obscure as time goes by . This grave is immortal .

I stumbled on this randomly but very glad I did. Fascinating history. Thank you for being so respectful of the site. With all the green around at least it is a peaceful place.