Opened 1876 | Status Abandoned Closed 1915 Start Merritton, St. Catharines | |
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Other name(s) Blue Ghost TunnelGrand Trunk Railway Tunnel Similar Screaming Tunnel, Van Horn Mansion, Ghostlight Theatre, Winery At Marjim Manor, Devil's Hole State Park | ||
The Merritton Tunnel, also known as the Blue Ghost Tunnel and the Grand Trunk Railway Tunnel, is an abandoned railway tunnel that connected Merritton (now part of St. Catharines) and Thorold, Ontario. The decision to build the tunnel came from the need for "a more durable and less interrupted way to cross the new canal" situated directly above it via vehicles. Built in 1876, the tunnel is located between locks 18 and 19 of the former third Welland Canal, was built using Queenston limestone and spans a total length of 713 feet when including the winged stone work at either end. Hundreds of men armed with picks and shovels, as well as several horses were used in the excavation of the tunnel. The tunnel was used periodically until 1915, when Harry Eastwood was the last official engineer to pilot a train through the tunnel. Following that, the tunnel was used only occasionally by farmers to transport cattle or as a safe passage from the weather.
Accidents
Several fatal accidents occurred during the construction and use of the tunnel and the railway running through it. In 1875, a fourteen-year-old was killed when they were crushed under a large rock. On January 3, 1903 at 7:03 AM, Engine Number 4 and Engine Number 975 met in a head-on collision approximately a third of a mile from the western entrance of the tunnel. The trains were moving at approximately 22 miles per hour when they crashed, and the firemen of both trains, Charles Harning of Engine Number 4 and Abraham Desult from Engine Number 975, died as a result of their injuries. In total, 107 men were killed during the construction of the tunnel and the canal in its surrounding area.
