Adena Tunnel

The abandoned Adena Tunnel is located along the former Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway in Adena, Ohio.

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The abandoned Adena Tunnel is located along the former Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway in Adena, Ohio. The 499-foot tunnel was completed in 1899. ¹

On October 23, 1930, two men were killed and a third seriously injured when the tunnel partially collapsed onto the caboose of a passing freight train. ² Approximately 300 feet of the tunnel fell in. ³ The victims were recovered after six hours of excavation, as a crowd of nearly 3,000 gathered to observe the rescue efforts. ²

On July 1, 1999, the W&LE filed notice to discontinue service on 18 miles of its Valley Subdivision between milepost 188½ near Unionvale and milepost 205½ near Warrenton. ⁴ The proposal included the stations of East Cadiz (MP 185), Kenwood (MP 189), Adena (MP 192), Dillonvale (MP 199.9), and Warrenton (MP 204), as well as the tunnel. The request was approved, and the line was subsequently placed out of service.

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Sources

1. Sanders, Craig. Introduction. Canton Area Railroads. Charleston: Arcadia, 2009. 7-10. Print.
2. “RAILROAD TUNNEL COLLAPSES ON TRAIN IN OHIO.” Reno Evening Gazette 23 Oct. 1930: n. pag. Print.
3. “W. & L. RR seeks cause of cave-in.” Plain Dealer [Cleveland] 23 Oct. 1930: n. pag. Print.
4. “Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company—Abandonment Exemption— in Harrison and Jefferson Counties, OH.” Federal Register 64.139 (1999): 39186-87. Print.