Big Savage Tunnel

Big Savage Tunnel

Overview
Location	Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°44′27″N 78°53′37″W / 39.74083°N 78.89361°WCoordinates: 39°44′27″N 78°53′37″W / 39.74083°N 78.89361°W
Status	restored, converted to rail trail
System	Western Maryland Railway (defunct)
Operation
Work begun	1911
Opened	1912 [1]
Closed	1975 (rail line abandoned)
Technical
Length	3,294.6 feet (1,004.2 m)
No. of tracks	Single
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Highest elevation	2,351 feet (717 m)
Grade	0.55%

The Big Savage Tunnel is a formerly abandoned railway tunnel located about 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. The Big Savage, Borden Tunnel, and Brush Tunnels are part of the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail.^[2] It was originally built for the Connellsville subdivision of the Western Maryland Railway.^[3]

Origin of the name

The mountain and tunnel are named for John Savage, an early surveyor who narrowly avoided becoming a victim of cannibalism in the area in 1736.^[4]

Renovated for Great Allegeny Passage bicycle trail

The tunnel was renovated for use on the Great Allegheny Passage trail. It is the longest tunnel on the trail.^[5]

The tunnel is closed between roughly December 15 and April 10 each winter to protect it from icing damage.

References

1. Allegheny Trail Alliance, Latrobe, PA."Tunneling Big Savage Mountain" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-01-13.
2. Gibb, Tom (2003-02-09). "Somerset's Big Savage Tunnel gets new life as bike trail". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
3. "Western Maryland Railway Co. Track Chart: Connellsville to Cumberland, Baltimore, MD" (PDF). 1955.
4. "John Savage" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-04-29.
5. "Bicycling Big Savage Tunnel on the Great Allegheny Passage". Retrieved 2011-04-28.

External links

• Movie of trip through the tunnel (YouTube - large file)
• Map and description of tunnel - WMWestSub.com