Tunnels: Sand Cut

In the late spring of 1871, construction along the Southern Pacific Railroad's Watsonville Branch was progressing at a feverish pace between Gilroy and Watsonville. The grade was relatively flat and there were few technical obstacles. A brief debate over whether the railroad would continue along the north or south side of the Pajaro River ended when the citizens of Watsonville failed to fund a $50,000 "subsidy" for the railroad. As a result, the Big Four chose a southerly route, which crossed the river at the western end of Pajaro Gap and continued west until reaching the tiny hamlet of Pajaro in Monterey County. This petty jab at Santa Cruz County proved to be an expensive misstep for the railroad barons, however, since it meant that the right-of-way now had to pass through the northernmost leg of the Gabilan Range.

Survey photograph showing storm damage at Sand Cut between Aromas and Vega stations on the Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Division mainline, 1909. [Neil Vodden – colorized using MyHeritage]

The width of the hill was wider in 1871 than it is today. Over 150 years of farming in the adjacent fields have slowly eroded it away where it is now about 1,600 feet across in the area where the railroad passes. When grading crews first encountered the hill, it was probably over 4,000 feet across and presented an imposing roadblock to progress. Southern Pacific decided that the best course of action was to build a tunnel through the impediment. The Alta California reported that the “great tunnel…will, we believe, be when finished, the second largest in the State,” although it neglected to mention its actual anticipated length. Around 300 Chinese laborers were brought in to perform the task under the watchful eye of Superintendent Strowbridge. Construction began in September 1871. In the meantime, a bypass was built that likely followed the contour of the river further to the north until reconnecting with the mainline near San Juan Road west of the hill.

It seems that, while still under construction, the tunnel completely collapsed in mid-December. What was left was a deep, sandy sink that the San Francisco Examiner described as a sand cut. The name stuck, and from that point forward, regardless of the nature of the right-of-way between the former Mexican land grants of Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente and Rancho Vega del Río del Pájaro, the Coast Division mainline through the hill has been known as Sand Cut. Indeed, the name was so popular that the train station for the rural hamlet and workers’ village to the east of the tunnel became known officially as Sand Cut, a name that stuck until 1894 when it was renamed Aromas, after the rancho.

Map of Samuel Rea's subdivision of the Bardue Ranch, showing the Southern Pacific Railroad's right-of-way and the railroad west (geographic east) portal of the Sand Cut Tunnel, 1893. [Stanford University]

According to the records of J. W. Snyder, an early resident of Watsonville, it took two around two years for workers using pick, shovel, and dump cart, to clear the cut and reduce the grade sufficiently for a train to pass through it. Southern Pacific attempted to keep the cut open as a thoroughfare, but this proved a costly endeavor that set back the railroad many times what it would have saved had the track remained on the northern bank of the Pajaro River. Later accounts suggest that every vibration caused sand to fall back onto the railroad tracks, forcing crews to clear the right-of-way constantly. Within a few years, the railroad had enough and rebuilt the tunnel. Rather than bore a hole through the sand, though, the cut was cleaned and a shed was installed over the tracks. This was then backfilled with sand. This tunnel was open no later than December 1875.

For the years that it existed, the Sand Cut tunnel marked an important transition point on the Coast Division’s mainline. To the east of the tunnel was the curvy, narrow, and mountainous Pajaro Gap. To the west was the open plains of the Pajaro Valley blending seamlessly into the Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Yet the tunnel was always troubled by cave-ins and sandy tracks. For example, in November 1900, a dry summer and fall led to a catastrophic collapse of the Sand Cut tunnel when a heavy rain saturated the foothills. It took several days for the cave-in to be repaired and service through the tunnel to be restored.

Aromas Station with boxcars being loaded with apricot pits. The Sand Cut is visible in the distance behind the depot, 1920s. [Monterey County Libraries – colorized using MyHeritage]

The tunnel was not a complete financial drain, though. Sand from around the tunnel was essential in the expansion of the freight yard at Pajaro in 1901. As the Coast Division neared its long-awaited connection with Los Angeles, Southern Pacific expected a huge uptick in freight passing through the Pajaro Valley and heading south. As a result, it upgraded and realigned much of the trackage at Pajaro, and all of this required tons of ballast and fill. According to the Pajaronian, more than 300 carloads of sand were hauled from Sand Cut and taken to the yard to fill holes and provide a bed for the crossties.

United States Geological Survey map of Aromas, with the Sand Cut at left, 1914.

Tunnel or cut, Sand Cut was destined to be a problem. When the San Francisco Earthquake struck on April 18, 1906, the tunnel was a mostly unremarked casualty. A simple report in the Santa Cruz Surf stated that “the sand cut between Watsonville and Gilroy is said to have been filled in by the temblor.” Considering the tunnel suffered cave-ins from even moderate storms, an earthquake with its main fault less than a mile away would certainly make in impression. In June 1906, Southern Pacific announced that the tunnel would be daylighted. Section Foreman Donahue with two work trains, a steam shovel, and about twenty men tore down the structure and leveled the cut. Sixty flatcars of sand were hauled out daily during the operation, and the final cut was about 60 feet wide when it was completed around mid-August. Southern Pacific hoped that the wider cut would “prevent any possible chance of a slide damaging the track.” However, turning the Sand Cut Tunnel into just Sand Cut was easier said than done.

In early March 1907, reports reached the Evening Sentinel that “all of the workmen within a long distance of Pajaro have been rushed to the [Aromas sand cut]. It was stated Monday evening that the sand was sliding into the cut almost as fast as it was taken out.” The slide was a result of a recent rainstorm. In an attempt to remedy it, Southern Pacific installed a retaining wall along the north side of the track. The problem never stopped, though, and every storm caused more sand to fall into the cut. On New Years’ Day 1910, the cut washed out again prompting “a big force of men” to drop what they were doing to help reopen the line. A second storm later in the month repeated the problem. The Evening News noted that “the sand is washing onto the tracks during rains, requiring constant work to keep it clear.” This is still the case even today.

View of the Sand Cut from the curve on Aromas Road, 2011. [Google Street View]

Over the past century, the gradient through the Sand Cut has been gradually lowered and the width of the cut increased until today it supports two parallel tracks. But sand remains a constant problem. The high, steep walls at the center of the cut are now supported by trees and anchor plants, yet sand still seeps through the roots, especially during winter storms. While no remnant of the old tunnel survives at Sand Cut, passage through the cut is still a claustrophobic journey along an otherwise pleasant stretch of railroad.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:

East (Railroad West) portal: Approx. 36.8911N, 121.6512W
West (Railroad East) portal: Approx. 36.8928N, 121.6646W

The Sand Cut is located to the west of Aromas Community Park along the trackage of the Union Pacific Railroad. This stretch of right-of-way remains in daily use. No trespassing is allowed and doing so can be highly dangerous.

Citations & Credits:

• Alta California
• Evening News
• Evening Pajaronian
• Evening Sentinel
• Salinas Morning Post
• San Francisco Examiner
• San Jose Herald
• San Jose Weekly Mercury
• Santa Cruz Sentinel
• Santa Cruz Surf
• Southern Pacific Railroad, various timetables.

Tunnels: Hogsback (Tunnel 7)

Contrary to popular belief, there were actually two tunnels originally located in San Lorenzo Gorge. The first and better known was the Coon Gulch Tunnel under Inspiration Point. But the oldest railroad tunnel in all of Santa Cruz County was actually located 1.3 miles to the south, located beneath the solid granite promontory known as the Hogsback.

The only known image of Tunnel #7 under the Hogsback from a newspaper lithograph, May 1880.

The San Lorenzo River carves a relatively straight south-south-eastward path from its origin in Castle Rock State Park to the Monterey Bay twenty-one miles to the south. But that straight route gets interrupted by the Hogsback, which forces the river to twist awkwardly to the north before wrapping around the rocky outcropping to continue its inevitable journey to the sea. The granite block was named after its appearance, rising above the river like a giant hairy hog's back raised to the sky. And just like the river, the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad could not get around this obstacle except by going through it.

Indeed, the San Lorenzo Valley Railroad planned to bore a 900-foot-long tunnel through the base of the Hogsback to bypass the obstacle and maintain its even grade up the river, but since the project failed, the tunnel was never bored. The California Powder Works, however, drilled an equally-long tunnel  through the Hogsback to reach its gravity-fed reservoir located on the north side. When the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad came along, its route was built much higher on the ridge, almost at a level that could simply build over the Hogsback, but the grade was already steep and the promontory was its highest point. To decrease the grade enough so a standard consist could reach the summit, the company decided that a tunnel was the most logical solution.

Construction on the Hogsback tunnel began in early 1875 by Elliot & Muir, and it only took a few months to bore. The result was a 127-foot-long tunnel through a relatively low point in the rock. For four years, the tunnel functioned adequately for the small locomotives and narrow-gauge trains that used it. But when the South Pacific Coast Railroad leased the line in 1879, surveyors concluded that the tunnel was too narrow and low to support its larger trains.

In July 1879, crews completely rebuilt the tunnel inside and out. They shifted the bore slightly to reduce the curve and lowered the bottom of the tunnel sufficiently to allow trains of appropriate heights to pass through. The end result was a tunnel over twice as long—282 feet—and troublingly spacious in the middle. It opened to through traffic in November 1879 as Tunnel 7.

The cut through the Hogsback, 2012. [Derek R. Whaley]

The fate of the tunnel, however, was sealed from almost the beginning. The ceiling was never far from the top of the Hogsback and the extra space inside added by the South Pacific Coast Railroad made it prone to debris frequently falling from the roof. This made it abundantly clear to the railroad that the solid granite had lost much of its initial integrity. In 1898, a work crew was preparing the tunnel for further widening in anticipation of the standard-gauging of the now-Southern Pacific line. Their probing prompted a complete collapse of the top of the tunnel. The only solution was to daylight the tunnel—the first of two tunnels to be daylighted along the route between San José and Santa Cruz. It was dismantled and the sides cut back enough to protect the tracks from further rockfalls and allow for standard-gauge trains to pass. Soon, all evidence of the tunnel was erased.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
Western Portal: Approx. 37.0112N, 122.0497W
Eastern Portal: Approx. 37.0105N, 122.0493W

Today, there is little to differentiate the location of this tunnel from the surrounding right-of-way except a substantial cut through the Hogsback. Trespassing is not advised as the route is owned by Roaring Camp Railroads and remains an active line, especially during summer months. It is also a narrow-cut so there is no place to easily escape an approaching train. The location serves as the boundary between Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and Paradise Park Masonic Resort.

Citations & Credits:

• Hamman, Rick. California Central Coast Railways. Second edition. Santa Cruz, CA: Otter B Books, 2007.
• MacGregor, Bruce. The Birth of California Narrow-Gauge. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Tunnels: Coon Gulch (Tunnel 6)

At one time, San Lorenzo Gorge hosted two railroad tunnels. The first was the more southernly tunnel through the Hogsback. But further north, beneath Inspiration Point, a second tunnel was situated at the top of a perilous ledge known as Coon Gulch. When the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad first constructed its line down the gorge in 1875, it did not have the funds nor engineering prowess to surmount the short rock outcropping at the northern end of the gulch. Instead, the pioneering narrow-gauge built a tightly-curving track around the rock, nicknamed by crews "Cape Horn," calculating that its small trains and short consists could handle the turn without significant difficulty. While they were correct in their assessment, they had not anticipated their purchase by the South Pacific Coast Railroad in 1879.

The original Tunnel 6 with a recognizable remnant of the old right-of-way around the rock outcropping, c. 1890. Note the sheer hillside above the eastern portal. [UC Santa Cruz Special Collections]

When the first surveyors were sent by the South Pacific Coast in mid-1878, it was abundantly clear to them that the curve north of Coon Gulch would not work with their somewhat bulkier trains and longer consists. The two passenger cars that operated along the eight-mile Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad route already had encountered difficulties, with their stairs being shorn off multiple times due to the close proximity of the outcropping as the train turned around it. Southbound locomotives also occasionally stalled around this turn. The South Pacific Coast's solution was to construct their eighth and final railroad tunnel in the Santa Cruz Mountains through the outcropping, thereby surmounting the problem entirely.

A photograph from inside Tunnel 6 looking south down Coon Gulch, c. 1890s.
Photograph by Oscar V. Lange. [Unknown provenance]

In the Fall of 1879, a team of engineers led by Ed Mix began boring through the solid granite rock. An early winter storm delayed the project when rockfalls from above almost completely sealed the incomplete passage. But crews worked on, eventually creating a 338-foot-long tunnel that was completed in December. More rockslides from storms in March and April delayed the opening of the route by a month and the tunnel may have been extended slightly at this time in an attempt to divert debris in the future. Little more was done to improve the tunnel over the next twenty years as the South Pacific Coast and, later, the Southern Pacific Railroad used it regularly on their runs between Santa Cruz and San José. During this time, the tunnel was designated Tunnel 6.

Rocks did not always fall when trains were off the tracks, as this 1901 photograph reveals. A boulder struck this train as it approached Tunnel 6, derailing the locomotive and possibly some of the cars behind it and stopping the train in its tracks. The longer cross-ties used at this time reveal that the standard-gauging of the route was in progress, although it would be several more years before this section was actually upgraded. [Public Domain]

The upgrading of the line to standard gauge at the turn of the century gave Southern Pacific a chance to finally address the annual nuisance of rockfalls on the tracks outside the eastern (south-facing) portal of the tunnel. In 1903, the tunnel was renumbered Tunnel 5 due to the daylighting of the Los Gatos Creek Tunnel. At the same time, the old track around the outcropping was temporarily reopened and widened while the tunnel itself was widened to support standard-gauge trains. This upgrading proved useful as it could be used in future years to bypass the tunnel when slides closed it temporarily. The interior of the tunnel was expanded significantly and reinforced with new redwood timber posts, while large concrete portals with slide barriers were installed outside both portals. A guard rail was installed outside the tunnel, as well, to further protect trains from derailing due to excess debris on the tracks. The new tunnel was opened in September 1905, although the standard-gauging of this section would not be complete until 1908.

The rockslide shed extending out from the eastern portal of Tunnel 5, c. 1940s.
[Unknown provenance]

In the years afterwards, one more significant improvement was made: the addition of a rockfall shed outside the eastern portal. This thick redwood shed, probably installed in the 1920s, allowed debris to fall from the hillside above directly onto the right-of-way without imperilling the trains passing below. The integrity of the shed probably began to suffer at some point and it was removed, and efforts to control and maintain the hillside more regularly since then has been ongoing, with mixed results.

A Southern Pacific locomotive roaring out of the eastern portal of Tunnel 6 on its way to Santa Cruz, c. 1930s.
[Unknown provenance]

Tunnel 5 continued to be used even after Roaring Camp Railroads purchased the branch line in 1985. It served as a key feature of the Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway's Beach Train for several years until a fire inside the tunnel in January 1993 led to a catastrophic landslide that collapsed the tunnel almost completely. It was the only railroad tunnel in the Santa Cruz Mountains to be destroyed by fire and the most recent tunnel to be abandoned (the only operating tunnel left is beneath Mission Hill). Roaring Camp decided to once more reactivate the shoofly track around the rock outcropping, widening the so-called Butte Cut in such a way that trains could safely run around it without too much difficulty. However, it remains the sharpest turn on the route and locomotive crew must take the turn with the outmost caution to avoid derailment.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
Western Portal: 37.0245˚N, 122.0588˚W; Eastern Portal: 37.0236˚N, 122.0599˚W

The location of the former Tunnel 5 is approximately 0.2 miles south of Felton Junction, where the Garden of Eden path from the Toll House Resort meets the railroad tracks. Very little of the tunnel is visible today except for the retaining walls on both sides of the rock outcropping. Trespassing is not allowed as this is an active rail line and the Butte Cut is a blind curve, so especially dangerous for explorers not paying attention.

Citations & Credits:

• Hamman, Rick. California Central Coast Railways. Second edition. Santa Cruz, CA: Otter B Books, 2007.
• MacGregor, Bruce. The Birth of California Narrow-Gauge. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Tunnels: Zayante (Tunnel 5)

Among the tunnels found along the South Pacific Coast Railroad's route through the Santa Cruz Mountains, tunnel #5 in Zayante is by far the easiest to view, although it hardly appears as it did during the age of steam. In 1879, the railroad grading crews of McKoy & Company encountered a granite promontory on the east bank of Zayante Creek. For whatever reason, the railroad decided to bore through the rock rather than dynamite it. The density and stability of the rock was such that no interior scaffolding was required inside, although it initially had wooden portals on either side. The total length of the tunnel was 250 feet, the second shortest tunnel along the right-of-way.

Zayante Tunnel proved to be an entirely unremarkable tunnel throughout its time as a railroad tunnel. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which took over the line in 1887, upgraded the tunnel to standard gauge in 1907, in the process widening the tunnel and replacing the wood portals with concrete. Owing to the daylighting of Tunnels #1 (Cats Canyon) and #7 (Hogsback), the tunnel was renumbered Tunnel 4, a designation it retained for the next thirty years. At the time the route was abandoned in November 1940, the Zayante Tunnel remained entirely intact. Unlike the three tunnels further to the north, Southern Pacific decided against dynamiting this structure, perhaps because it was far more stable internally or an explosion could have destabilized the entire hillside above it.

For the next fifteen years, the tunnel entered its second life as a local thoroughfare. Photographic and written evidence attest to the fact that locals used the tunnel and right-of-way between Woodland Road (Western States Drive  from 1953) and Madrone Way, called Redwood Road on US Geological Survey maps, as an unpaved access way. Southern Pacific probably still owned both the tunnel and right-of-way during this period, but they did not stop locals from using the tunnel and railbed.

Western States Atomic Vault facility in Zayante, February 1, 1957. [Derek R. Whaley]

The Zayante Tunnel's third life began in 1952, when the Western States Atomic Vault Company, Inc., purchased the tunnel, right-of-way, and Woodland Road for their own uses. Cold War fears prompted nuclear shelters to be built across the United States and Santa Cruz County was no different. Capitalizing on these fears, Western States purchased the old tunnel in order to convert it into just such a shelter, albeit one where companies and the government could store vital documents. The remoteness of the location and its situation under a granite hillside sealed the deal.

A peak inside the atomic vault, 1983. [Santa Cruz Sentinel]

By the end of 1953, the tunnel was sealed on either end except for limited-access entry doors. Both sides were gated and fenced and a 24/7 guard was stationed in a gatehouse on the south side. Inside, the ballast floor was covered with concrete and overhead, an intricate climate control system was installed to maintain a constant temperature and humidity. The facility officially opened on May 2, 1954, and has remained in continuous use ever since. Most of the contents of the vault are microfilm and microfiche records, but other trinkets include early Walt Disney Company film reels, government marriage certificates, and a massive miniatures collection.

The sealing of the tunnel ended most local use of the tunnel as a thoroughfare. At some point later, possibly during the floods of 1955 or 1982, a major sink appeared about 0.1 miles north of the tunnel along the right-of-way, effectively ending all use of Redwood Road by locals or vault crews. Western States Atomic Vault Company was purchased by FileSafe in 1989 which subsequently sold the facility to Iron Mountain in 2003. Iron Mountain closed the facility in June 2017 and it is currently being prepared for sale.

The heavily-graffitied north side of the
Western States Atomic Vault in Zayante,
once the western portal of Tunnel 4 of the
Southern Pacific Railroad.
[Derek R. Whaley]

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:

West Portal: 37.087˚N, 122.045˚W
East Portal: 37.086˚N, 122.046˚W

The western (north) portal of the Zayante Tunnel can be accessed via Western States Drive by heading south along the right-of-way. There is a significant washout along this route so some light climbing is required to get around it. The portal can also be viewed at a distance from East Zayante Road just north of Madrone Way on the opposite side of the rocky promontory. The portal has a chainlink fence around it and has been sealed in concrete, except for an emergency escape door. The eastern (south) portal can be directly accessed from the top of Madrone Way, although the entrance is obscured and access is restricted. The entire front façade of the tunnel has been sealed and two large fan vents have been added to the portal. The original date of the tunnel is now covered. A guardhouse and office sit immediately in front of the portal with a chainlink fence surrounding the facility's parking lot. A guard is always on duty but tours of the facility have not been allowed since Iron Mountain took over the facility.

Citations & Credits:

• De Leuw, Cather & Company, "Santa Cruz-Los Gatos Rail Corridor Feasibility Study: Final Draft Report," prepared for the Joint Policy Board (December 1994).
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Tunnels: Mountain Charlie (Tunnel 4)

Eastern portal of the Mountain Charlie
Tunnel, c. 2010. [Brian Liddicoat]

Just west of Clems along the former railroad route between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz, the South Pacific Coast Railroad bored a short tunnel beneath Mountain Charlie Road, the former main highway between Lexington and Scotts Valley. At 913-feet-long, Tunnel 4 was unremarkable to the people who built it in 1878. The tunnel was constructed by Osborn & Company at the same time that the Glenwood and Summit tunnels were under construction. It opened to through traffic on Christmas Day, 1878, although it would be another year before tracks were installed by Muer & Redfield.

The tunnel walls were composed largely of sandstone, which meant that the chance of cave-in was high. Closely-placed redwood bents and beams were installed along its entire length, with strong redwood portals on either side. About 300 feet of the western portal, above Bean Creek, Clem & Company eventually had a stop installed. About the same distance from the eastern portal, above Mountain Charlie Gulch, the Virginia Timber & Milling Company installed a stop. Both stops supported a siding that allowed trains to wait outside the tunnel, although more standardized systems were in place to avoid such problems. Unfortunately, no photographs of the original tunnel seem to exist.

Southern Pacific survey photo of the western portal of the Mountain Charlie Tunnel, March 1, 1940. [Bruce MacGregor]

The tunnel did not sustain significant damage during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake but it was nonetheless standard-gauged two years later by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The interior of the tunnel was widened to support larger trains, with all the support structure being replaced with more evenly-spaced redwood bents and beams. The sandstone walls and ceiling proved incredibly stable, so less support was required inside the bore. On either side, new concrete portals were installed, both of identical design with tall concrete buttresses angled toward the right-of-way on either side of the entrance itself. Because of the remoteness of the tunnel and how far below Mountain Charlie Road it was situated, no railings or other protective devices were installed. However, a guard rail was installed along the track throughout the tunnel to mitigate damage caused by derailments. The railroad renumbered it Tunnel 3, since the tunnel on Los Gatos Creek (Tunnel 1) was daylighted during the upgrading of the track. Photographs taken from 1940 show that the tunnel repair car was stationed outside the western portal beside a small supply shack. 

As with the Summit and Glenwood tunnels, Tunnel 4 was abandoned in November 1940, after disastrous storms in February of that year disabled the route. After Southern Pacific crews went through to pull the rail in mid-1941, H.A. Christie & Sons was hired to remove the timber from the tunnel and seal the portals. Charges were placed and the portals closed in April 1942 with assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers. Due to the nature of the concrete portals, the explosives were detonated about 15 feet within the portal, just beyond the reach of the concrete and brick ceiling.

A photo of the interior of the Mountain Charlie Tunnel, c. 2005. [Ross McLenahan]

Unlike all the other demolished tunnels along the line, the Mountain Charlie Tunnel defied its closure. The demolition of 1942 collapsed the ceiling completely just inside the eastern portal, but this inadvertently caused the sandstone ceiling to weaken within the tunnel itself. By at least the 1970s and probably earlier, a hole had appeared above a portion of the tunnel, accessible to people climbing over the eastern portal. Over the years, this hole enlarged until the entire right-of-way within the tunnel was accessible to daring explorers. People who have explored the interior have found that much of it remains intact, with human-sized piles of sandstone scattered throughout but the walls and ceiling otherwise still holding firm to their original dimensions. Access to the interior was finally cut off in February 2011, after runoff from a powerful winter storm caused a small landslide that filled this hole.

The western portal of the Mountain Charlie Tunnel, 2012. [Derek R. Whaley]

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:

Eastern portal: 37.101˚N, 121.999˚W

Western portal: 37.098˚N, 121.997˚W

Although neither portal of the Mountain Charlie Tunnel can be accessed legally, the eastern portal can be approached with relative safety since it is located on Santa Cruz Water District land and rarely patrolled. The easiest way to reach it is via the fire road located at the point where East Zayante Road becomes Upper Zayante Road. The switchback fire road ends at the right-of-way, at which point explorers should turn east and follow the former railroad grade. Warning: there are three gates that must be hopped to reach this portal. Just after the third gate, there will be a private driveway that crosses the grade, walk across the driveway (do not follow it) and the path will quickly become overgrown. Just when you think you have somehow missed the turn, you will encounter the portal in all its glory. The western portal is now on private property protected by a security gate. Trespassing without permission is not advised. Unlike any other portal along the line, this one is almost freestanding since the sandstone hillside behind it has eroded substantially over the years. A number of small trees are now growing just outside the portal.

Citations & Credits:

• Ausbuchon, Vaughn. "Santa Cruz, CA Railroad Tunnels." California Nostalgia: History Summaries.
• Liddicoat, Brian. Personal correspondence.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Tunnels: Glenwood (Tunnel 3)

The South Pacific Coast Railroad wore its audacity on its sleeve. When they first began surveying potential routes to connect San José and Santa Cruz, one of their last choices was to bring it into the San Lorenzo Valley. Initial plans had drawn the route down Soquel Creek from a location near Laurel. But surprisingly, it was Frederick A. Hihn, the owner of much of the Soquel watershed, that proposed cutting through to the San Lorenzo Valley. This, in effect, meant that the railroad would have to pass through not one but two mile-long tunnels before it could make its way to Santa Cruz. While the history of the Summit Tunnel (Tunnel 2) is well known, much less is known about the construction of Tunnel 3, which would connect the Soquel headwaters with the hamlet of Glenwood. Although the tunnel never had an official name other than Tunnel 3 (Tunnel 2 after standard-gauging was completed in 1909), it picked up the local name "Glenwood Tunnel" because it passed under the Glenwood Highway, which was completed in 1920.

Looking out the Glenwood Tunnel toward Laurel, c. 1905. [Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History]

Construction began on the wood-timbered narrow-gauge tunnel in May 1879, after grading crews had already built the right-of-way between the eastern portal of the Summit Tunnel and the hamlet of Highland above Soquel Creek. Since the tunnel did not pass through any major fault line and did not include natural gas deposits, it experienced none of the problems of the Summit Tunnel. Two crews worked on the tunnel, one from either side. Those working in the Bean Creek area were able to camp in Glenwood, probably in the large meadow beside Charles C. Martin's property, while those working at the Highland end probably shared a camp with the Summit Tunnel workers. The firm Martin, Ballard & Ferguson was responsible for both tunnels. The material encountered by the boring crews was almost solid granite, which required major explosives but also meant that cave-ins were rarely a threat. Indeed, much of the interior of the tunnel did not require timberwork because the interior walls were so solid. Wood portals were installed on both sides of the tunnel.

The town of Laurel with the Glenwood Tunnel visible in the background, c. 1905. [Whole Mountain Source Book]

Once completed in December 1879, the Glenwood Tunnel measured 5,793-feet (1.1 miles) and was the second longest tunnel after the Summit Tunnel. Railroad operations began officially in May 1880, at which point the tunnel saw regular use by South Pacific Coast trains. There is not much that can be said about the tunnel for the next thirty years. It survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with minimal damage due to its solid granite interior and the tunnel experienced no known upgrades until 1907, when the line was standard-gauged. Indeed, through service to Laurel from Glenwood continued until mid-1907, when the tunnel was closed for these upgrades.

Colorized postcard of the western portal of the Glenwood Tunnel with a train passing through, c. 1910. [Ken Lorenzen]

Upgrading of the tunnel was relatively straight-forward, but it did entail one detail that the previous tunnel had not: a road above the eastern portal. Although the Glenwood Highway was not completed for over another decade, traffic down what would become that highway arrived earlier. Before 1907, traffic crossed Bean Creek just to the north, but the new tunnel was designed so the road could go directly over the tunnel. On both sides, the wooden portals were replaced with solid concrete faces. At Laurel, the portal only extended about 20 feet into the hillside before the concrete was replaced with redwood timber. Because a natural spring emptied into the tunnel at this end, the railroad installed a pipe that led to a water cistern which was kept above the portal. A small dirt road was built to access this cistern, and it may have continued further behind the tunnel since the hillside was not overly steep here. 

Looking through the Glenwood Tunnel toward Glenwood, c. 1920. [George Pepper]

On the Glenwood side, the concrete portal also only extended about 20 feet so that it could support the road that ran immediately above it. At this time, the road was still gravel, but it would later be paved and repurposed for automobile traffic. On both sides, a metal railing was placed roughly three feet high above the portals to keep pedestrians and vehicles from falling onto the tracks. Within the tunnel, the granite was dynamited further to expand tunnel to support standard-gauge trains. The construction work was completed in March 1909, after which the line reopened to through traffic between Santa Cruz and Los Gatos.

A parade over the Glenwood Tunnel's east portal, c. 1915. Note the road is not yet paved and the lack of automobiles.

As before, the Glenwood Tunnel lived on for another thirty-five years without any issues. As automobile traffic increased, the trains that passed through the tunnel decreased. Glenwood ceased its life as a tourist destination in 1924 and the F.A. Hihn Company left Laurel around 1914. When the winter storm of February 26, 1940 damaged large portions of the right-of-way, Southern Pacific Railroad decided to shut down operations along the line. Throughout 1941, tracks and ties were removed from the right-of-way. A short-lived campaign in January 1941 led by community members suggested converting the tunnel into a one-way road for local traffic to allow people to travel between Laurel and Glenwood, but the project was deemed expensive and unfeasible. In April 1942, the demolition firm H. A. Christie & Sons dynamited the portals on either side, protecting them for future use while sealing them for insurance purposes. On the Laurel side, the railroad ensured that access to the natural spring was maintained, while at Glenwood, heavy steel girders were installed under Glenwood Highway to insure it did not collapse the road in the explosion. Access to the spring was eventually blocked by movements caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Southern Pacific photograph of Glenwood Tunnel's west portal after the February winter storm, 1940. [Bruce MacGregor]

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
West Portal: 37.117˚N, 121.968˚W
East Portal: 37.110˚N, 121.986˚W

The west portal of the Glenwood Tunnel is still easily accessed. Explorers can venture down to the Laurel townsite off State Route 17. The portal is located directly opposite the beginning of Redwood Lodge Road down a dirt driveway that parallels a home on the south side. It should be visible from the Laurel Road/Schulties Road intersection. The top of the concrete portal is fully exposed and can be walked upon, while the interior is mostly collapsed now. The old piping for the water, in use until 1989, remains in place beside the tunnel. The former road that once ran over the portal is no longer intact and run-off has now eroded the hillside behind the tunnel significantly, exposing much of the concrete ceiling, which can be viewed atop the portal.

Western portal of the Glenwood Tunnel at Laurel, showing the extended face and the remains of the water system. [Derek R. Whaley]

The east portal of the Glenwood Tunnel is easier to find but more difficult to practically access. Driving on Glenwood Road from Scotts Valley, stop at the wagon wheel plaque that tells the history of Glenwood. Walk down the road until it turns sharply to the west. The portal is directly beneath the road at this point (look for the metal railing). Accessing the tunnel requires climbing down into a steep gully (the former right-of-way) that is filled with poison oak. It is impossible to obtain a good photograph of the tunnel due to the abundance of vegetation which blocks the view. The tunnel is collapsed almost immediately at the entrance and there is very little to investigate here.

The eastern portal of the Glenwood Tunnel, as viewed from Glenwood Road. [Derek R. Whaley]

Citations & Credits:

• De Leuw, Cather & Company, "Santa Cruz-Los Gatos Rail Corridor Feasibility Study: Draft Final Report." Santa Cruz, CA, 1994.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Tunnels: Summit (Tunnel 2)

Legends whisper about it. Ghosts haunt it. Gas leaks from it. And rumor plagues it. Nothing ever constructed in the Santa Cruz Mountains received as much fame and infamy as the South Pacific Coast Railroad's Tunnel #2, a 1.2-mile-long pitch maw that humans arrogantly carved directly through the San Andreas Fault to connect Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. Mother Nature was displeased with the railroad in 1880 and fights even today to erase all trace of this presumptious hole bored directly through the heart of the mountains.

South portal of Summit Tunnel, crossing Burns Creek,
c. 1882. [Bruce MacGregor]

When the South Pacific Coast first drafted its plans to build a railroad between Alameda Point and Santa Cruz, management knew that they would have to go through the mountains somehow, but they waited and delayed and hesitated until mid-1878, when grading crews demanded a final alignment. Initially intended to pass into Soquel Canyon via a smaller tunnel to be located further up Los Gatos Creek so as to descend to the city of Santa Cruz via Soquel, railroad superintendent Alfred "Hog" Davis negotiated a deal with Santa Cruz entrepreneur Frederick A. Hihn and lumber magnate William P. Dougherty in September 1878 to divert the railroad to the San Lorenzo Valley first via a longer route through the Upper Soquel, Bean, and Zayante Creek watersheds. Rather than requiring a single tunnel through the mountains, the new route required four including two monstrously long ones, the longer of which would briefly hold the record for longest railroad tunnel in California. That Goliath of engineering was the Summit Tunnel.

Clearing out mud from the western (Wright) portal of the Summit Tunnel after a heavy rain, c. 1890. [Bruce MacGregor]

Construction began in October 1878 under the direction of Edward H. Mix. Around 100 Chinese workers were brought in to mine the tunnel from both sides of the bore and small camps developed at both sites. On the northern end, the worker camp developed into Wright, especially once freight and passenger service began coming to the location around spring 1879. On the other side, above Burns and Laurel Creeks, the town of Highland developed, where workers for both the Summit and the Glenwood Tunnel lived, as well as lumbermen who harvested and cut lumber on behalf of the railroad and Hihn. A steep switch-back road was built above the northern portal (today's Wrights Station Road) and over the ridge to Highland along what became Schulthies Road. Additional roads were extended off the San Jose-Santa Cruz Turnpike to Wright and off Mt. Charlie Road to Highland. Meanwhile, grading crews worked to install track to Wright and prepare the ground for track in the Highland area. All was proceeding as planned.

Reconstruction of the western portal of the Summit Tunnel, spring 1893. [Bruce MacGregor]

Throughout its existence, the Summit Tunnel had three significant problems—flooding, natural gas, and the San Andreas Fault—each of which will be addressed in turn. Ed Mix anticipated the first problem and designed the entire tunnel to slope gently downward from either side. It was an intelligent move that protected the tunnel interior from ever suffering heavy condensation or erosion. What Mix did not anticipate, though, was the intensity of water flowing down the gully above the tunnel at Wright. For whatever reason, surveyors had chosen to place the tunnel directly at the base of a steep gully that seasonally had significant amounts of water flow down it. Every winter for the first fifteen years of its existence, water poured off the top of the tunnel portal, silting the tracks and often throwing heavy debris below.

Work crews putting finishing touches on the new concrete western portal of the Summit Tunnel, 1893. [Bruce MacGregor]

The winter storm in 1893 was unusually bad and the entire portal at Wright collapsed. Early that spring, crews moved in and cleared the tunnel but the decided against rebuilding the wood-frame portal, opting instead for a complete overhaul. They widened the portal to standard-gauge, anticipating the line's upgrade a decade later, and used concrete rather than wood to reinforce the entrance. Furthermore, they installed a large spillway beside the portal to redirect the flow of water away from the mouth of the tunnel. This worked extremely well and the portal survived the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906 and remained in use until the closure of the line in 1940. Unfortunately, when the Army Corps of Engineers dynamited the tunnel in April 1942 on behalf of Southern Pacific, the structural integrity of this older portal did not hold. The entire concrete face fell forward and has been sinking deeper in to the mud ever since. The only part that remained was some of the concrete frame inside the tunnel and half of the adjacent spillway. It remains the only one of the eight railroad portals in the mountains to be lost. Adding insult to injury, Mother Nature has reclaimed the tunnel since the portal's structural collapse and the seasonal gully now runs freely over the top of the tunnel remains and onto its debris pile below. Nature destroyed the tunnel once and humans vainly attempted to holder her back, but she has once again reclaimed it.

The remains of the western portal of Summit Tunnel, 2000s. [Brian Liddicot]

The other two problems that plagued the Summit Tunnel were unexpected. On November 16, 1878, after only a month of drilling, work crews discovered methane gas in the western end of the tunnel. Even as more workers passed out from overexposure, others began discovering coal deposits and oil spots on the ground. Workers began carrying lit candles and torches into the tunnel to burn off the natural gas, but a number of accidents occurred when workers returned after holidays, work stoppages, and Sundays. By January 1879, crews worked in utter darkness and no further effort was put to discovering the specific source of the gas leak. This was a tragic mistake. On Valentine's Day, an explosion shook the mountain and people began fleeing the tunnel, some aflame. Fourteen Chinese workers died and many other workers were severely burned. Work on the tunnel stopped for three months to search for solutions. Eventually, a new Chinese work crew was brought in (the old refused to return to the tunnel) and pipes were installed to pipe fresh air into the tunnel in the hope that the methane would be pushed out the front. Nonetheless, another incident occurred in June when a creosote-treated redwood beam caught fire and burned for two months. The fire spread to other beams and caused a cave-in, leading to another two-month delay.

Chinese worker standing outside the worker barracks near the Summit Tunnel's western portal, c. 1880. [Bancroft Library]

The most notorious incident, however, was that of November 17, 1879. On that date, crews were working in the tunnel when an explosion shot out of the portal like a cannon. Off-shift workers ran into the tunnel to pull out their friends, but another explosion erupted shortly afterwards. According to sources at the time, thirty-two Chinese laborers died that day. Tunnel construction came to a stand-still on both ends and Cornish workers from the New Almaden Quicksilver mines were eventually brought in to finish the job on the Wright side. By this point, the source of the methane leak was discovered and a pipe was hammered into the leak and a lantern installed to keep the gas burning. Electric lighting was also installed overhead to avoid other open flames. No further incidences occurred and the tunnel was finally finished on May 10, 1880. The boring through of the tunnel inevitably aided in air circulation, providing further protection from an explosion. Regardless, when the western portal was rebuilt in 1893, the methane leak, which was not actually that far into the tunnel, was completely cemented over, thereby resolving the issue permanently. Nothing else has ever been said of the leak, but a persistent rumor exists that a seismology group attempted to inspect the tunnel for internal damage after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake but quickly closed the small hole they had made at Wright when high quantities of methane gas was detected on their instruments. The tunnel may well be a ticking time bomb hiding deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Work crews widening and re-boring portions of the Summit Tunnel, 1906-7. [Bruce MacGregor]

Damage to the Summit Tunnel after the 1906 earthquake.
Western portal visible in distance. [Bancroft Library]

One thing that is certainly true is that the San Andreas Fault had no respect whatsoever for the tunnel. When the earth trembled in April 1906, it shifted by five feet within the tunnel. Like the gas deposit, the damage was largely localized to the western side of the tunnel, since the fault was only about 200 feet inside. Due to poor economic conditions after the earthquake, it took over a year to reopen the tunnel. The new structure was standard-gauge, completely re-timbered, and sported a brand-new concrete portal on the eastern (Laurel) side. A brick ceiling was also installed for roughly 300 feet on that side since the soil was primarily weak sedimentary rocks and required additional support. Because of that brick ceiling and the threat of collapse, US Army engineers decided to only blast the tunnel beyond this point, so the first 300 feet of the eastern portal remains even today as one of the most intact Southern Pacific tunnels in the county (the other being the Zayante Tunnel, which remains in use by FileSafe). That being said, it cannot be doubted that the western portal, located much closer to the fault, probably sustained further damage inside. Due to the destroyed entrance and the probable presence of methane, the current condition of the interior cannot be known.

A velocipede in the western portal of the Summit Tunnel, c. 1910s. [Bruce MacGregor]

The eastern portal of the Summit Tunnel,

c. 1930. [Bruce MacGregor]

In the end, the story of the Summit Tunnel is one of tragedy upon tragedy, disaster after disaster. But what people do not discuss is the fact that, from 1907 until 1942, the tunnel did its job without incident. At 6,157 feet, it was the longest tunnel in the county and remained one of the longest in the United States throughout its existence. It began life as a narrow-gauge tunnel on a relatively short-line railroad and ended as a standard-gauge tunnel on a major branch line of the Southern Pacific octopus. Each disaster strengthened it until it became impervious to most threats. Its solid redwood interior—completely replaced and upgraded in 1907—ensured its durability. Its ultimate closure and inglorious destruction in 1942 were not due to the tunnel, but due to short-sighted business decisions by an over-extended railway company. Most of the tunnel probably survives beyond its collapsed entrances, and the eastern end certainly has plenty to offer visitors even if the line never reopens. But rest assured: if the line over the Santa Cruz Mountains is reopened, the old Summit Tunnel will rise to the occasion once again and Mother Nature will inevitably fight against its survival every step of the way.

The brick ceiling of the eastern portal of the Summit
Tunnel showing few signs of aging, 2012. [Derek Whaley]

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:

Western Portal: 37.138˚N, 121.948˚W

Eastern Portal: 37.123˚N, 121.964˚W

The site of the western portal of the Summit Tunnel is easily accessed from the bottom of Wrights Station Road, which is off Morrell Road on Summit Road. Just before crossing the bridge over Los Gatos Creek, the path to the portal can be found. Look for mailboxes and follow the short trail up the gully. The portal cannot be missed. Visiting this tunnel, however, is considered trespassing by the San Jose Water Company and they will ticket any vehicles it finds parked within their area. You have been warned!

The site of the eastern portal is currently unavailable to the public by special request of the owner. In any case, the tunnel was partially flooded in the January-February 2017 storms and the primary two trails to the tunnel have both suffered heavy damage and must be repaired before they should be used. The new property owners hope to allow access to the site at some point in the future. Check back on this page for future information.

Citations & Credits:

• MacGregor, Bruce A., and Richard Truesdale. A Centennial: South Pacific Coast. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing, 1980.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Tunnels: Cats Canyon (Tunnel 1)

As the South Pacific Coast Railroad began its journey up Los Gatos Creek toward Santa Cruz in early February 1878, it encountered two areas in Cats Canyon that could not be overcome except through tunnels. The first obstacle was just south of Los Gatos: a sharp granite outcropping that jutted so far into the canyon that a tunnel seemed the only possible solution. Crews hired by railroad contractor Ed Mix and managed by a civil engineering contractor named Osborne immediately began boring into the rock to create what they expected to be a 185-foot tunnel, but they found quickly that the rock walls were weaker than anticipated. The tunnel was soon completed but it was never very stable, leading to the collapse of the original SPC Tunnel #1 in June, taking a large portion of the adjacent toll road (the future CA State Route 17) with it. Management was forced to reevaluate their options. Crews dynamited the tunnel, creating a deep cut, and the name "Tunnel #1" moved further south.

Stereograph of SPC #13 heading around the bend toward Tunnel #1 in Cats Canyon, 1882. [Bancroft Library]

The new Tunnel #1 had a bit longer of a life. Approximately 0.3 miles south of Los Gatos Station, Los Gatos Creek was bridged and a menacing rock outcropping was encountered. There was no road above these rocks, but there was the San Jose Water Company's box flume, which provided much-needed water to the growing city of San Jose. More annoyingly for Osborne, another tunnel was required here and no amount of dynamite would clear the right-of-way without damaging the flume. South Pacific Coast management determined that another tunnel should be built in the steepest portion of Cats Canyon here and Chinese workers were lowered from above on swing chairs to place explosives so that the right-of-way to the tunnel face could be accessed.

Exposed interior of the Cats Canyon tunnel during standard-gauging, late 1902. Note the intricate timberwork inside the tunnel. The dual-gauge shoe-fly track is at left. [Ken Lorenzen]

By late February 1878, crews were inside, slowly boring through broken granite until the other side was breached 191 feet and about a month later. It was a short, less painful operation than the earlier tunnel had been and met with comparatively more success. To support this tunnel, the railroad installed heavy redwood beams throughout to provide adequate reinforcement from falling rocks and an unstable hillside. The fact that the tunnel survived as long as it did is a testament to South Pacific Coast engineering.

South Pacific Coast Tunnel #1 during its final years. Photo by Perkins. [Ken Lorenzen]

The tunnel's inevitable end did not come through natural disaster or a freak accident, but rather through the widening of the railroad to support standard-gauge tracks in 1902. The former South Pacific Coast mainline track to Los Gatos had been broad-gauged in 1895, but the route over the mountain involved so many obstacles that Southern Pacific demurred for years before finally deciding to finish the job.

A close-up view of the shoe-fly track around SPC Tunnel #1 during its upgrading, late 1902. Note the dual-gauge tracks that could support trains of either gauge all the way to Wright. A construction train is visible at right. [Ken Lorenzen]

A shoe-fly track was installed precariously around the tunnel as it was upgraded, but the railroad encountered problems almost immediately. Cave-ins became a constant occurrence, and with the cave-ins went the flume atop the tunnel. Power, which was generated by an electric plant upstream, was also interrupted multiple times. The people of San José and Los Gatos complained and began sending bills to Southern Pacific to pay for auxiliary power and importing water from other sources.

A double-headed excursion train heading through the gap that was once Tunnel #1 two years earlier. Note the San Jose Water Company box flume hanging precariously overhead and the pile of debris to the left, c. 1910. [William Wulf]

The railroad finally gave up and allowed the tunnel to collapse in on itself in spring 1903. Crews quickly completed the daylighting of Tunnel #1 before the start of the summer season, when regular excursion trains from San Francisco would pass through Cats Canyon on the way to the Santa Cruz Beach. After the great earthquake in 1906, the remainder of the route was broad-gauged and the Summit Tunnel further to the south became the new Tunnel #1. Cats Canyon no longer had or needed a tunnel.

The right-of-way through Cats Canyon showing the site of the former tunnel, c. 1910. Photo by Perkins. [Ken Lorenzen]

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
37.203˚N, 121.990˚W

Nothing remains of the former tunnels. The cut where the original tunnel was located outside Los Gatos was completely flattened when the Glenwood Highway was built in the 1910s. Any lingering remnants were removed when Highway 17 was built atop the older road. The cut for the second tunnel survived until the James J. Lenihan Dam was built in 1952, at which point it was buried beneath the earthen dam. The location was just to the east of the current Lexington Reservoir repair facility beside the spillway. Portions of the right-of-way to the north can still be viewed along the Los Gatos Creek trail, but the cut where the tunnel once sat is now buried.

Citations & Credits:

• Hamman, Rick. California Central Coast Railways. Second Edition. Santa Cruz, CA: Otter B Books, 2002.
• MacGregor, Bruce A. The Birth of California Narrow Gauge: A Regional Study of the Technology of Thomas and Martin Carter. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Felton, CA: 2015.