Santa Cruz, CA Railroad Tunnels

California Nostalgia

Old Santa Cruz, CA Railroad Tunnels

Here is a description of the 4 main railroad tunnels on the Los Gatos to Santa Cruz line, opened in May 1880. For 60 years, the railroad transported people and freight between Santa Cruz and San Jose. The line washed out in the storms of February 1940. The rails were removed in 1941. The two longest tunnels were sealed at both ends using dynamite in April 1942. All photos below were taken in February 2008.

#	Name	Length feet	Open	Sealed	Tunnel Portals listed in order on route from San Jose	Elev. feet	Notes
A	Wright's Station-Burns Creek AKA Wright's Tunnel AKA the Summit Tunnel	6,208	1880	1942	1. Northern Portal at Wright's Station	-	Shut for 2 years after the April 1906 earthquake
A		6,208	1880	1942	2. Southern Portal at Burns Creek near Laurel	-	Hard to access Many thanks to Corky
B	Laurel-Glenwood Tunnel AKA the Glenwood Tunnel (This tunnel runs under Highway 17.)	5,793	1880	1942	3. Northern Portal at Laurel	920	Easy access behind marker
B		5,793	1880	1942	4. Southern Portal at Glenwood Drive	920	Easy visual access at road - physical access more difficult
C	Mountain Charlie Tunnel AKA Clem's Tunnel	910	1880	?	5. Northern Portal at the junction of Glenwood Drive and Mt. Charlie Road (caved in)	900	Easy access
C	Mountain Charlie Tunnel AKA Clem's Tunnel	910	1880	?	6. Southern Portal on Zayante side of hill, which can be entered	900	Easy access
D	Zayante Tunnel (N. of Eccles)	240	1880	?	7. Northern Portal is sealed	-	Currently used for business record storage
	Felton (S. of Big Trees)	263	1880	?	-	-	-
	Rincon (S. of Rincon)	127	1894	?	-	-	-
	Mission Hill (Santa Cruz)	927	1880	Open	-	-	-
20	200	60	50	50	300	50	150

.	. Photos below are Portal # 1 - Wright's Station	.
The Approach to the Wright's Tunnel Northern Portal - Wright's Station Much of the bank on the right has been washed away, leaving a wide 20 -foot deep creek bed. One of the last railroad ties can be seen sticking out over the void, just behind the photographer. The tunnel was closed for 2 years after 1906, due to a 6-foot lateral shift where the San Andreas fault runs directly under the tunnel, not very far in from this northern portal. .
Twin Falls The first 10 feet of the top of the tunnel's northern portal collapsed long ago. In February 2008, we have a waterfall on each side of the entrance, and a creek bed to the right. .
Looking Out from Inside The Wright's Tunnel northern portal is sealed (caved in) about 100 feet inside. The entrances to all the other tunnels have parallel walls, but this first entrance on the line is barrel shaped. It is even more barrel-shaped than it appears here, since there is about 4 to 5 feet of dirt and rocks covering the bottom. My car can faintly be seen, parked exactly where the general store was located - now just a wide spot in the road.
.	. .	.

.	. Photos below are Portal # 2 - Burns Creek	.
Ghosts	Wright's Tunnel - Burns Creek Portal My flash revealed strange images in the frame. My first shot used a flash which caught a few ghosts of long ago. Somehow, I seem to have captured the steam and smoke from the last train. .
No Ghosts	My second shot in natural light, and the "ghost steam" was gone. Look very carefully at the very top, and you can see "1908". The tunnel had been in operation since 1880, but the concrete portal was added in 1908, two years after the big quake of April 1906. The tunnel was closed for 2 years, due to a 6-foot lateral shift where the San Andreas fault ran under the tunnel. The west side of the fault (the above portal) is headed for Alaska, at the rate of about 3/4 inch per year. . .
The Keeper of the Memories - Corwin H. Lakin We traversed the length of the tunnel with no flashlights. I think it was a test for me. I think I passed. Slowly and carefully, with verbal clues from Corky. A couple of geologists had refused to enter the tunnel. I figured my odds were pretty good, since it had not collapsed in 128 years. Safe enough for me. Although some wall facing had fallen in the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, the entire brick ceiling is (mostly) intact. . .
End of the Line - about 200 yards in It was pointed out to me that, if you looked carefully at the top, you can see where timber replaces brick, which seems to be the criteria which determined the placement of the dynamite. I am always drawn to the face at the top right - a guy with glasses, grey hair and white teeth, staring down at me. But like the face on Mars, he disappears at higher resolution - just stains on the wood. . .
.	. The Eternal Redwoods Redwood forest in the mist. . .	.

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Ray Hosler's Tunnel Page - Excellent! A cyclist's perspective

Southern Pacific Railroad Tunnels PDF

Santa Cruz Railroad Tunnels - Google search

Castle Rock Ridge	Los Gatos (Wright's Tunnel)	Santa Teresa
Felton (Zayante Tunnel, Felton Tunnel)	Laurel (Glenwood Tunnel, Mt. Charlie Tunnel)	Loma Prieta
Santa Cruz (Rincon Tunnel, Mission Hill Tunnel)	Soquel	Watsonville West

This Vaughn's Early Santa Cruz Railroad Tunnels webpage was last updated on 2008-02-26.