The map is interesting and the mention of it being a coal RR! I had always heard the line was built to get clay a few miles away? I had presumed the line went to the north as it seemed that way in reference to State Rt. 33. Anyhow if one Googles Haydenville railroad tunnel there are several links that have pictures of the outside and inside of the tunnel and some history on it. One said the tunnel was last used in 1957. One mention from 2013 talks about how the town wanted to seal off the south entrance due to it being dangerous and that homeless people were using it to get out of the weather and the worries of kids entering it. The state forest owns the land the tunnel is on. Sounds like they wanted to put up a grated/ or bars over the entrance to keep people out but allow bats to fly in thru the openings. I don't recall ever seeing any bats hanging from the ceiling when I ventured inside the few times I was there. Sooooo being that this was talked about in 2013 it very well may be sealed by now to keep people out. I know there are a few old coal mines down around the area of the haunted Moonville tunnel in the Zaleski state forest area.Back off the beaten path in some of the hollows you can still see where some of the sealed mines were and occasionly find pcs. of old mine rail. Back by Ingham Station now a ghost town with just a few foundations and cellar holes and a few old wells there was a spur off the old M&C / B&O RR that is East of Moonville tunnel. Off the spur there was a coal tipple, just foundation now and directly up on the hillside above was a tunnel that went thru the hillside over to Bear Valley. The mine was back there by Bear Valley and the tunnel was used to get the coal thru the hillside probably by carts to the tipple to load onto RR cars down below on the spur track. The M&C/ B&O RR line was a old 1850's line. It was ripped out in the mid 1980's by CSX. It blows my mind when i stand back at Ingham Station now to know that Amtrak trains passed right thru there. The roadbed now is covered with trees and all you hear is nature and the wind blowing thru the trees.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2019 10:46PM by Fritz N. Kuenzel.
