CN's Port Huron Tunnel

[AARR]

I am reposting this here because I feel its good information to be stored for future reference. Ron Washington is a former GTW/CN employee who shares his experiences at MIRR.com

When I was working in Port Huron, December 1971 - August 1973, I worked the Tunnel Motors, as the assignment was called, many times. I didn't like it. There were three shifts. 07:00, 15:00, 23:00.

The two day jobs were all Sarnia crews, the 23:00 was a Port Huron Conductor and Brakeman, with a Sarnia Engineer. They had to equalize the hours between the Canadian and American crews.

The Port Huron crews would have to drive to Sarnia to go on- and off-duty. We would get a bridge pass from Port Huron to cover the cost of the toll.

There was NO room inside that tunnel to walk beside the cars, if the train separated.

I could probably make a photograph to explain what it would be like, easier than I can explain it here. But, the tunnel was round, it would only handle Plate "C" equipment. So imagine a boxcar in that tunnel. The top two corners of the boxcar almost touching the tunnel. And the bottom two corners also almost touching the tunnel.

And if the train separated, they did once in a while, you would have to walk beside the train, with your feet on the ties, and you would have to lean and kind of crab walk along the wall. I never had to do it, but it wasn't a pleasant experience.

When there were steam engines, I can only imagine what it would have been like down there.

When I was there, they usually had 3, maybe 4 locomotives. After descending into the tunnel, the engineer would have to throttle up to get out the other side. The tunnel would FILL up with smoke. We always had the windows closed as tightly as we could.

One Port Huron Clerk rode through the tunnel one night. He had never been in it and wanted ride through one time before it was gone. He rode in one of the middle units. Nobody told him to keep the windows closed. So, he's all happy looking out the window, there wasn't much to see, and when the engineer throttled up, that engine he was in filled up real quick with diesel exhaust. He survived, but thought he was going to die!

The new tunnel, the one they use now, is about 25 feet in diameter. It has plenty of room on both sides with a walk way all the way through it on both sides. We stopped it in one time coming back to Port Huron and wrote our initials on the wall with chalk. It was gone the next day. That tunnel is damp inside, all the time and the walls get wet. It washed our initials off. We should have used spray paint.

Ron

[J T]

Neat story. Thanks for sharing it.

[Todd Cline]

I have a VERY GOOD book on the Sarnia -Port Huron tunnel. Written by Clare Gilbert. ISBN is: 1-55046-045-5
Covers all aspects of the tunnel, from early construction, to current (1992) operations.. It doesn't cover the "New" tunnel.

Todd.

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Ron Washington? I'm pretty sure Ron's last name starts with J...

[AARR]

Ron Washington? I'm pretty sure Ron's last name starts with J...

He posts as rwas and when I met him he said "Ron Washington". At least that's what I think I remember him saying. That was many years ago and my brain is becoming more and more forgetful So I wouldn't bet with you.

[cnw8835]

Ron Washington? I'm pretty sure Ron's last name starts with J...

He posts as rwas and when I met him he said "Ron Washington". At least that's what I think I remember him saying. That was many years ago and my brain is becoming more and more forgetful So I wouldn't bet with you.

Ron Williams?

[GTW6401]

Ron Washington is a former baseball player/manager.

Ron Jackson is the retired CN conductor.

[AARR]

Ron Washington is a former baseball player/manager.

Ron Jackson is the retired CN conductor.

My apologies to Ron Jackson

[J T]

Ron White?