The CTC equipment at the west switch of Tennessee Pass is showing its age! The power switch has been totally pillaged for parts. The upper signal head is completely missing, and rust and old ties run rampant. If UP ever did decide to reopened Tennessee Pass, they'd have their work cut out in getting the line back online.
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This was one the highest location of any mainline track in the United States. At 10,220 feet, it is an impressive passing over the Continental Divide. When in operation, a curtain could be closed on either side of the tunnel to keep snow and ice out of the tunnel during the harsh winter months.
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Looking west through Tennessee Pass Tunnel from the perspective of the rail head! The tunnel portal has seen its fair share of graffiti in the past two decades. The rails, unsurprisingly, have a significant layer of rust on them.
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A look at the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel. It has now been nearly 21 years since a train passed beneath the Continental Divide through this 1/2 mile long tunnel.
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A look at the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel and a straight shot through to the west portal. While a good sized tunnel at 2,550 feet, it would still take 12.5 of these tunnels lined up end-to-end to equal one Moffat Tunnel. One of the (arguably few) advantages of crossing the Continental Divide 1,000 feet higher up!
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Similar to the Moffat Tunnel, Tennessee Pass Tunnel has a curtain! You are looking at it here, rolled up outside the east portal. However, the purpose of the curtain is quite different from that of the Moffat. Whereas the curtain at the Moffat is designed to help vent the tunnel of exhaust, the curtain at Tennessee Pass is used to keep snow and ice out of the tunnel during the winter.
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Since it is now 6:30pm, the sun is well past the proper position to illuminate the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel. Still, I thought that a picture (even if cast in shadows) of the approach to the tunnel would be a good one to include.
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Standing at the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel, my wife looks up, inspecting the roof of the tunnel portal. You can see the peak of summit just behind her, as the tracks quickly disappear to start the descent down the west side of the line.
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Looking east out the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel, you can see what is left of the signal at the west end of Tennessee Pass siding. Eastbounds would be able to see this signal from well inside the tunnel.
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Anybody have a light? At 2,550 feet long, Tennessee Pass Tunnel is just shy of a half mile long. It has been said ice has built up in the center of the tunnel, covering the rail head and making passage by rail impossible and passage by foot extremely treacherous. I didn't proceed any further into the tunnel, so I am not sure if the rumor is true or not.
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A look through the tunnel at the summit of Tennessee Pass as seen from the top of the signal at the west end of the siding. This view should be obscured, but since the signal head itself has been removed, it is a clear shot!
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Here it is! The very top of Tennessee Pass and, at the time of the idling of Tennessee Pass, the highest Class 1 rail line in the United States at 10,221 feet above sea level. The tunnel is about a half mile long and looks - from this shot - to be clear of any major obstructions.
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