CHURCH HILL
TRAINWRECK
Group “The Choo-Choo$ “
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
Historic District of Richmond VA
Union Hill
Chimborazo
Fairmont
Peter Paul
Woodville
Location of St. John’s Episcopal Church
The site where Patrick Henry
gave his speech “Give me
Liberty or give me Death”
 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
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
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.
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
Church Hill Tunnel
 The tunnel collapsed in 1925
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.
Pictures of Current status of
Church Hill Train Tunnel
East side of tunnel
West side of tunnel
Pictures of Current status of Church
Hill Train Tunnel
Pop Quiz
 What year was Church Hill Tunnel built?
1. 1887
2. 1825
3. 1925
4. 1873
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
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
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
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
Richmond Urban legends
 The most famous of
these urban legends is
the one about the
Richmond Vampire
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
The end….
Class is over
You guys are
free to go