East Side Rail Tunnel

Started by Ademan, May 26, 2011, 11:23:27 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
There's been talk of this place a lot on this forum, so I've finally decided to dig through all my old shit and post a bunch of pictures.

The train tunnel had eluded me for years and years, since it was welded shut and completely inaccessible. One day, out of nowhere, a friend called me and told me he'd heard mention of it possibly being open. I rushed down, that day, and experienced the inside for the first time. A holy grail of mine, finally accomplished. This was August of 2010.
Since then, I've been back dozens of times with dozens of other explorers. We've had people from as far as Va, Ga, Pa, TN, and NC in here.

The train tunnel is a pain in the ass to shoot. It's pitch black, moist as shit, and huge(making any scale of size hard to show). Long exposures and light painting are the only way to shoot it and make it look eve half decent. Most people who visit, don't even shoot it.

Anyways, a quick history:
The East Side Railroad tunnel project began in 1906. Crews working east from Benefit St. and west from Gano St. met below Cooke St. on April 7, 1908, a day earlier than expected. The tunnel officially opened on November 15, 1908.
It is 22 feet high, 31 feet wide, 5080 feet long, and the reinforced concrete roof is a set of "three-centered arches varying from two feet at the crown to four feet at the skewbacks." 200,000 yards of material was excavated, and the cost of the project, which included the bridge over the Seekonk river and the approach to Union station was two million dollars. No casualties were reported during construction.
Originally the tunnel had two tracks, one of which was electrified, as the line to Bristol and Fall River was served by electric interurban cars until 1934. The tunnel also provided a route to Boston for trains that did not need to stop at Pawtucket. Traffic patterns changed, the second track was removed in the 1950's and the tunnel became a route for freight trains only. The line to Bristol was abandoned in 1976. In 1981 ownership of the tunnel itself was transferred to the State of Rhode Island and the last train traveled through it shortly after that.

And now, some photos from my many visits to the East Side Rail Tunnel.

1


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


10


11


12


13


14


15


16


17


18


19


20




Now...Go play. Bring me back your shots.

Must. check. this. out. now.

June 21, 2011, 03:57:18 PM #2 Last Edit: June 21, 2011, 04:59:26 PM by Doug508
How exactly do you get to it? I tried today, but I couldn't find a path leading away from the bridge. The only things resembling paths were way too overgrown.

@ Doug508 go to the main road where the dunkin donuts is located and walk in the direction till your parallel with the seekonk river bridge, you'll see the cement headstone of the tunnel behind a fence simply walk around the fence and down the hill to get to the doors.