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A walk through the Lofty tunnel. Catawissa, Williamsport, and Erie railroad. Schuylkill County PA.

Kevin Salsbury

1,698 views

Hello friends. Constructed in 1854, this is the Lofty tunnel in Lofty PA. Stretching 1,100 feet, this tunnel runs under two railroad grades and an interstate highway.
The Catawissa, Williamsport, and Erie is the railroad that built this tunnel. They would go bankrupt in 1859 and reorganize as the Catawissa railroad in 1860. The Philadelphia and Reading would lease this road in 1872 and operate on it till its bankruptcy in 1976. Conrail eventually abandoned the line completely as they deemed it to be redundant.
Let’s take a fascinating walk through history as we explore the Lofty tunnel. Thank you for watching. 3/22/26

20 Comments

@samuelt2072 6 months ago (edited)

You are definitely most adventurous. More than I am!

@StantonsJourneys 6 months ago

This is amazing the different levels of construction wow. Thanks for the walk through much appreciated

@keithwuchter624 6 months ago

Beautiful piece of railroad history. Great construction for how old it is. Thank you for sharing, Kevin. Great video.

@lostrailbeds8289 6 months ago

Another great Tunnel vid...awesome! The brick lining is incredibly stable looking. And those timber cribs! WOW! Drill marks too!! Wooden vertical posts, stacked stone, and that wooden timber ceiling!!! Kevin this Tunnel has it all. Thank You for bringing this one to us, incredible!

@peterdelestrez8880 5 months ago

Great video. This tunnel is huge too. The stonework is beautiful.

@MillersRailfan 6 months ago

Congratulations, Brother, you are AWESOME

@nationalparksprincess3216 6 months ago

Great tunnel explore!! That would make me nervous!!

@williammcgeehan3424 6 months ago

The Reading Company named one of their two Alco Century 430 diesels delivered in 1966 as Catawissa 2. It was named for this branch. Old Ironsides being the other Alco Century 430. Both had the names under the cab numbers on the sides and both ran for awhile in ex-Reading patched paint jobs with ConRail CR initials and new road numbers.

@FireLarryTrains 6 months ago

Awesome video Kevin 👍 Thanks for filming and sharing 👍

@mikemacheese7174 6 months ago

Great video. I believe this part of the Catawissa Branch was in service until 1981 to serve factories in Ringtown. Beyond Ringtown it was abandoned in 1976 when Conrail took over.

@bobjohnston8316 6 months ago

Kevin:

The Nicholson Bridge and Viaduct (AKA Tunkhannock Bridge and Viaduct) replaced an older line that ran down on the same grade level as Rt 11. There’s an abandoned tunnel on the old line. A friend grew up in that area and told me that it was always a high school hazing thing to go through the tunnel in the dark with just a flashlight.

@quietjohnoutandabout6578 6 months ago

1100 feet? 367 yards, three and three quarters football fields. Trying to imagine the length. Amazing.

@DellFargus 6 months ago

I haven't been there in a long time - like late 1990s. I don't remember the water being that deep, we used to be able to walk through on either side and stay dry.

@PlacesandPaths 6 months ago

Very cool, I give you a lot of credit for walking through those old tunnels. Love old railroad history. Thanks for sharing.

@stephenlineman 6 months ago

mighty impressive brave guy that wood ceiling could collapse at any moment

@trainnerd3029 6 months ago

Kevin represents the good side of YouTube! Thanks for another fun video!

@AndrewKalista-ki7ny 4 months ago

Drove a 98 Dodge quab cab through here in 2005

@BrianGulla-r9w 6 months ago

Used to be able to drive thru it to fish lofty reservoir until it started collapsing

@Tciman44 6 months ago

Nice walk through the tunnel. I’m amazed at the wooden timber supports that are still in there. Would those have been added at a later date than the original construction?

@debd.traveler1967 6 months ago (edited)

Wow you are brave venturing through all these water filled tunnels! Interesting use of bricks, wood and concrete construction. Must have been sloped slightly at one time for it to drain out before all the rock fall. Very Cool!