West Barretts Tunnel

At Barretts, Missouri, the first railroad tunnels west of the Mississippi River were built between 1851 and 1853 by the Pacific Railroad of Missouri, later renamed the Missouri Pacific in 1876. They carried a single broad gauge track with 5 feet 6 inches between the rails and were designed by the line's chief engineer, James P. Kirkwood, for whom nearby Kirkwood, Missouri, is named. The tracks were changed to standard gauge, 4 feet 8 1/2 inches, in 1869. This tunnel was originally 450 feet long, but was shortened to 410 feet in 1929. As single-track tunnels on what became a double-track railroad, they created an operating bottleneck that became intolerable during World War II, and in 1944 they were bypassed by two main line tracks placed in a cut about 100 feet to the south. The land with the tunnels then became surplus to the railroad's needs, and the museum leased the property for $1 a year until it was later donated. The tunnels were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Missouri · United States