Church hill trainwreck

1. Group “The Choo-Choo$ “ Church hill trainwreck

2. History • Church hill is considered the oldest neighborhood in Richmond which overlooks downtown Richmond, and Shockoe Bottom • Richmond was chartered and considered a town in 1742 • Richmond was deemed capital of Virginia in 1781 • Under command of Benedict Arnold the city of Richmond was burned by British troops • The first steam locomotive service to the city began with the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1836 • In 1838 the Medical College of Virginia was created in Richmond

3. Historic District of Richmond VA • Union Hill • Chimborazo • Fairmont • Peter Paul • Woodville

4. Location of St. John’s Episcopal Church The site where Patrick Henry gave his speech “Give me Liberty or give me Death”

5. Speech was given on March 23, 1775 he presented Virginia’s resolutions • “"into a posture of defense, embodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of men may be sufficient for that purpose." • After these Resolutions were stated votes were taken and passed by a small margin joining Virginia into the American Revolution

6. Pop Quiz • Where did Patrick Henry have his famous speech? 1.Monroe Park 2.Maymont park 3.St. John’s Episcopal Church 4.St. Paul’s Baptist Church

7. Church Hill Tunnel • Built in 1873 • Built by the City of Richmond, VA and the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway Co. to connect the central city to the riverfront.

8. Church Hill Tunnel • In 1925 the tunnel needed to be widened to accommodate larger trains • The C&O hired about 200 day laborers to clean and widen the tunnel on October 2, 1925

9. Church Hill Tunnel • The tunnel collapsed in 1925

10. Current status of Church Hill Train Tunnel • Today the Tunnel is owned by CSX Transportation and still considered dangerous. • Although this tunnel is sealed and it is still said to be unsafe • The soil where the tunnel was located would expand when it was wet and contract when it was dry and was the cause of Cave-ins in the tunnel • Due to this factor it caused this water issues with the ground and tunnel creating safety issues, even after the collapse in 1925.

11. Pictures of Current status of Church Hill Train Tunnel East side of tunnel West side of tunnel

12. Pictures of Current status of Church Hill Train Tunnel

13. Pop Quiz • What year was Church Hill Tunnel built? 1.1887 2.1825 3.1925 4.1873

14. Pop Quiz • True or False • Church Hill Tunnel was built by the City of Richmond, VA and the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway Co. to connect the central city to the riverfront. TRUE / FALSE

15. Pop Quiz • How many workers died from this accident? 1.3 or 4 workers 2.30-40 workers 3.7 or 8 workers 4.Couple hundreds

16. Trying to excavate locomotive 231 • Pete Clausman, chairman and CEO of Gulf and Ohio railway, announced his intention to excavate the train buried in the Church Hill tunnel • Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., our president and CEO of Virginia Historical Society, hopes and wants the train to be dug up from the ground and to become part of the collections

17. Richmond Urban legends • The collapse of the Church hill tunnel in 1925 is the cause of several city legends • This tunnel collapse has created stories that the train was carrying many passengers who are still buried below Jefferson Park

18. Richmond Urban legends • The most famous of these urban legends is the one about the Richmond Vampire

19. Richmond Urban legends Richmond Vampire • The legend describes the Richmond Vampire to be bloody with jagged fangs and skin falling from his bones. • It was said that when he arose from the tunnel, a mob of men noticed he was a vampire and proceeded to chase him all the way to the James River • The vampire then ran into the Hollywood Cemetery and hid inside the tomb of W.W. Poole, who had died in 1913

20. The end….

21. Class is over You guys are free to go