Hoosac Tunnel Discussion & News

It's over, NS had the chance to own. They'll make due with their trackage rights over the B&A.

Hi all - big-picture question for the group...

I know that the B&A and B&M both use tunnels to contend with the worst of the mountains as they head west out of New England. But, unless I am mistaken, the Rutland line (Bellows Falls to Rutland) crosses the same mountain range without use of a tunnel (and the CV does so as well, a short ways to the north). How are the two Vermont lines able to accomplish this without a tunnel? Is it simply a matter of the mountain range "petering out" as it gets further north? Or did the B&A/B&M endure the creation of tunnels as the price to pay for a straighter, flatter route (with the implication that the two lines in VT may be hillier / windier)?

Thanks in advance for any insights. This forum is a real gem in terms of the amount of knowledge that is thoughtfully shared.

All depends on where the notches are. Vermont got them Mass don't.

The only tunnel on the B&A is the very short one in Canaan NY. They climb the Berkshires on 1.5 to 1.8% grades to reach the summit in Washington MA. The PAS main follows the Deerfield river on a fairly level route until it hits the steep wall of the Hoosac range, Hench the 4.75 mile long tunnel. Also there's the short little Hoosac tunnel in N. Adams MA.

Right - as I look at it, I see Stateline tunnel is only 580 feet in length. Nothing close to Hoosac.

So really, the B&M is the outlier among these routes. For some reason, I was under the impression that Stateline was longer than it is.

VTR (former GMRC) has steeper grades than the B&A, pretty sure over 2% or even close to 3%. NECR doesn't have a true East-West crossing but runs more on a North-South axis.

johnpbarlow wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 8:19 am Q: can Hoosac Tunnel be upgraded to facilitate DPU operation? In my limited internet research on the topic, I couldn't find any technology that would definitively enable head end to DPU radio communications in a long tunnel that takes several minutes for a train to pass through. Thanks.

Found this on you tube----------------

mrj1981 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:54 am Hi all - big-picture question for the group...

I know that the B&A and B&M both use tunnels to contend with the worst of the mountains as they head west out of New England. But, unless I am mistaken, the Rutland line (Bellows Falls to Rutland) crosses the same mountain range without use of a tunnel (and the CV does so as well, a short ways to the north). How are the two Vermont lines able to accomplish this without a tunnel? Is it simply a matter of the mountain range "petering out" as it gets further north? Or did the B&A/B&M endure the creation of tunnels as the price to pay for a straighter, flatter route (with the implication that the two lines in VT may be hillier / windier)?

Thanks in advance for any insights. This forum is a real gem in terms of the amount of knowledge that is thoughtfully shared.

The B&A was built first, in fact it is the first mountain railroad in the US. They didn't have the tech to build a tunnel like Hoosac when it was built.

neman2, thanks very much for finding and posting that very informative Youtube video re: Locotrol DPU operation in tunnels! It will be interesting to see if NS/CSX think the Hoosac Tunnel warrants such an upgrade to support DPU ops.

Highly unlikely.

taracer wrote:The B&A was built first, in fact it is the first mountain railroad in the US. They didn't have the tech to build a tunnel like Hoosac when it was built.

Very interesting - I was unaware of that fact, Taracer! Thanks to you (and everyone else) for your responses.