The Coburn Tunnel is a bore constructed through Tunnel Mountain for the Lewisburg, Centre & Spruce Creek Railroad in Pennsylvania.
The Coburn Tunnel, also known as the Beaver Dam Tunnel, is a 252-foot bore constructed through Tunnel Mountain for the Lewisburg, Centre & Spruce Creek Railroad (LC&SC) in Pennsylvania.
Incorporated in 1853, the LC&SC was intended to connect Montandon to Spruce Creek, later extending to Tyrone to link with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The nearly 100-mile route was planned to pass through regions believed to contain iron ore and coal. Financial difficulties hindered progress, and proposals to connect with other lines, such as the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, failed to advance.
In 1869, the PRR—viewing the LC&SC as a competitor—leased the company and provided the support needed to begin construction. By 1871, the line reached Mifflinburg, and by 1877 it extended to Rising Springs (now Spring Mills), totaling just over 43 miles. The rugged terrain along Penns Creek required two tunnels: the Paddy Mountain Tunnel (Poe Paddy Tunnel) and the Coburn Tunnel.
The PRR saw limited value in completing the LC&SC’s original route, due to low anticipated traffic. Instead, it focused on a more promising western division, beginning just east of Tyrone. Construction followed Logan Spring Run to Eyer, then traced the valley between Bald Eagle and Tussey mountains, turning southeast through Gatesburg Ridge and along Halfmoon Creek past Pennsylvania Furnace. The line terminated near Fairbrook by 1881.
In 1884, the PRR resumed work on the eastern division, extending west from Spring Mills. The 14.52-mile segment passed through Centre Hall and Oak Hall to Lemont and opened in 1885. However, it was never extended toward State College or connected with the western line. To improve regional connectivity, the PRR chartered the Bellefonte, Nittany & Lemont Railroad to build a line from Lemont to Bellefonte, linking with the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad.
This reconfiguration created two disconnected divisions: the Bellefonte Branch in the east and the Fairbrook Branch in the west. The LC&SC defaulted on its bonds in 1879 and was reorganized as the Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad, leased to the PRR in 1880. It remained under PRR control until its foreclosure in 1913, followed by a 1915 reorganization as the Lewisburg & Tyrone Railway. It was fully merged into the PRR in 1916.
In 1970, Penn Central, the PRR’s successor, abandoned the central portion of the Bellefonte Branch between Mifflinburg and Coburn, including both mountain tunnels. A section of the corridor, including the rehabilitated Poe Paddy Tunnel, has since been converted into the Penns Creek Rail Trail.
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