The Hoosac Tunnel in Massachusetts took 24 years to build and claimed the lives of around 200 men, earning it the nickname 'the Bloody Pit'. The railway tunnel runs between North Adams in the west and the town of Florida, Massachusetts, in the east.
Construction and Fatalities
Construction began in 1851 and was finally completed in 1875. During those 24 years, workers were killed by explosions, falling rocks, and accidents with ladders and scaffolding. The dangerous conditions led to a strike in 1865, during which workers burned buildings in protest.
In the year following the strike, a further 14 men were killed or injured while working in the tunnel.
The Deadliest Accident
On October 17, 1867, the tunnel saw its deadliest accident. Workers were digging a 1,028-foot-long vertical exhaust shaft when a candle ignited fumes that had leaked from a lamp. The resulting explosion ripped through the shaft and set the hoist alight, collapsing it into the shaft and trapping 13 men working at the base.
The pumps were destroyed, and the shaft began to fill with water. The following day, a worker was lowered into the shaft in an attempt to save the trapped men, but he was overcome by fumes and reported no survivors when he reached the surface.
Aftermath and Legacy
Months later, when workers reached the bottom of the shaft, they found that some of the men had survived long enough to build a raft to escape the rising flood waters before they suffocated. The men died due to a lack of oxygen as fires burned through the air.
Despite the tragedies, the tunnel was eventually completed and used by both passenger and freight trains. Today, it still stands but is only used for freight trains.
