The only Eastern Kentucky
Railway Tunnel that is visible is Argillite Tunnel. Traveling south along 207 about two hundred yards past the stores in Argillite,
you can see it on your left as the curve you are in takes you right. Doesn't look like much today! As young men, my friends
and I explored Argillite Tunnel. During the warm months, the tunnel was very muddy and flooded at the south end. However,
you can walk on solid mud during the cold months. There was a time I remember walking in and seeing cross ties with spikes
and being able to walk all the way through. I hear that the south end is caved in and very dangerous today. So don't go in
there unless you have a buddy and you know what you are doing!
All of the other tunnels have caved-in
or have flooded or both. According to Alva Baldridge, the ash smell could almost be overwhelming when he rode the
train to and from Riverton. Those were only two tunnels. Could you imagine the ride through all eight?
I have reseached and researched
without finding anything about how they were built. We know that in Missouri, Hunnewell and Thayer used both local and
immigrant workers. The same can be said of the Transcontinental Railroad. We know how drill holes were made
and dynamite used to blow a section of rock out of the way. My questions are; how many men were used to do this work?, how
many mules were used to haul the dirt to what would become railroad beds?, did they use the finished portion of the track
and the train to help in some way?
I think most definitely of the men
that worked very hard doing the man hand work. The Civil War having just ended, money was hard to come by in this former
border state. A man at that time with a family or a young man trying to leave his mark on the world would be willing to do
almost any type of labor. They did the hardest and one of the most dangerous jobs available. The pay was great. Almost two
dollars a day!
When I drive past or over an old tunnel
on EK or 207 I think of those men of men shoveling and making exact drill holes for blasting! I wonder who they were and their
personal stories.
I have included a chart below of the
eight tunnels and the order in which they were made from Riverton to Grayson.
