Franklin Tunnel

Franklin Tunnel
Overview
Line	Stockton Subdivision
Location	Contra Costa County, California
Coordinates	37°59′48.1″N 122°10′48.8″W / 37.996694°N 122.180222°W
Operation
Constructed	concrete-lined
Opened	1900
Rebuilt	1907
Owner	BNSF Railway
Character	freight
Technical
Design engineer	William Benson Storey
Length	5,680 feet (1.076 mi; 1.73 km)
No. of tracks	single
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Tunnel clearance	18 feet (5.5 m)
Width	13 feet (4.0 m)

Franklin Tunnel is a railway tunnel near Martinez, California. It carries the BNSF Railway Stockton Subdivision under the Briones Hills between Glen Frazer and the railroad's approach to the San Francisco Bay. It was built by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad just prior to the company's acquisition by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It opened for service in 1900 as the company's longest tunnel.^[2]

The tunnel is 5,680 feet (1.076 mi; 1.73 km) in length,^[3] with a maximum depth of 300 feet (91 m) below the summit.^[4] Its cross section is 18 feet (5.5 m) tall and 13 feet (4.0 m) wide,^[5] carrying a single track.

The tunnel was closed for several weeks in early 1907 as a persistent fire ate away at the supporting timbers, causing a cave-in.^[6]

References

^ Frailey, Fred W.; Bryant Jr., Keith L. (2020). History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. U of Nebraska Press. p. 162. ISBN 9781496222718.
^ Glischinski, Steve (1997). Santa Fe Railway. Voyageur Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780760303801.
^ Bennett, Herbert I. (July 15, 1905). "Extending the Santa Fe Railroad into San Francisco". Scientific American Supplement. Vol. 60, no. 1541.
^ By The Way (PDF). Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. May 1928. p. 67.
^ Dur-Ite Co. v. Industrial Com, 394 Ill. (September 18, 1946).
^ "Franklin Tunnel Still Ablaze". San Francisco Call. January 29, 1907. p. 4.