[Steam-engine] Locomotive exhumation??

[Robert Smith]

Unearthing buried 1925 train in Church Hill
I'm sure that many of our railroad members will find this of interest.

From:  Richmond, VA   27 June, 22006

Churchill is a well known area in an older section of Richmond.

I will try to follow this and keep you posted.  Anybody got a few million that they want to donate to this project?

By Ray Daudani, NBC12 News

It was once called "the train that would never move," but now there are plans to unearth a steam locomotive buried in Church Hill for more than 80 years. 

There are still remains of the Church Hill Tunnel; trains used to go through there every single day until a deadly collapse back in 1925. Back when trains were king, the Church Hill Tunnel was the red carpet where they marched through town.

But October 2, 1925, as crews worked to reinforce the tunnel and train 231 made its way through, the tunnel collapsed. One dead and three missing -- soon turned to three, perhaps all four, dead. The tunnel was soon sealed closed.

Now, more than 80 years later, a railroad executive and the Virginia Historical Society are ready to study whether they can unearth the train.

Next month, they'll drill a number of six-inch holes in Jefferson Park, just big enough to drop down video cameras and see if they can dig it up.

Why are they interested in actually digging this up? "Because it's there, I want to be the guy that dug up the locomotive. That's about the only thing I can say," says CEO of Gulf & Ohio Railways Pete Claussen. "I am interested in history. I'm interested in railroading, that's my business. The two come together here and somebody's got to do it."

One thing that hasn't been decided is exactly who would pay for unearthing the locomotive. The History Channel has expressed some interest in a documentary and may provide some of the funding. 

(c) 2006. WWBT, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Story Created: Jun 26, 2006 at 5:33 PM EST
Story Updated: Jun 26, 2006 at 5:33 PM EST 

This is the link to the original artical which includes picture of the locomotive --

  http://www.nbc12.com/home/3230436.html


    Happy Steamin',

        Bob Smith