Schönhuter Tunnel
| Schönhuter Tunnel | |
|---|---|
Eastern portal of the tunnel before the partial opening-out of the hillside | |
Interactive map of Schönhuter Tunnel | |
| Overview | |
| Line | Wrocław Świebodzki–Zgorzelec railway |
| Location | Wałbrzych / Boguszów-Gorce, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Status | Demolished |
| Crosses | Brzezinka (Birkenberg), Wałbrzyskie Mountains |
| Start | Wałbrzych side |
| End | Boguszów-Gorce side |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1867[1] |
| Closed | 1930s[2][3] |
| Owner | Prussian State Railways (historically) |
| Traffic | Railway |
| Character | Double-track railway tunnel in a single bore |
| Technical | |
| Length | 324 m (1,063 ft) (original)[1] |
The Schönhuter Tunnel was a railway tunnel in Lower Silesia, now in south-western Poland, between present-day Wałbrzych Główny and Boguszów-Gorce Wschód. It formed part of the Wrocław Świebodzki–Zgorzelec railway, historically the Silesian Mountain Railway.[1]
Originally about 324 m (1,063 ft) long, the tunnel passed beneath the southern slope of Brzezinka (German: Birkenberg).[1] Because of mining-related ground movement and instability in the rock mass above the line, it was partly opened out in the early 1910s and ultimately removed in the 1930s, being replaced by a deep cutting.[2][3]
Description
The tunnel was located on the mountain section of the Silesian Mountain Railway between Dittersbach and Fellhammer, the historical names of today's Wałbrzych Główny and Boguszów-Gorce Wschód.[2] It ran under Brzezinka in the Wałbrzyskie Mountains, in an area heavily affected by coal mining.[2]
Przemysław Dominas lists the tunnel among the historic Lower Silesian railway tunnels and gives its original length as 324 m (1,063 ft).[1] After the first major stabilisation works in the early 20th century, about 60 m (200 ft) of the southern end was removed and replaced by an open cutting, reducing the enclosed tunnel length to about 274 m (899 ft).[2]
The tunnel was constructed as a broad single bore carrying two tracks, in keeping with the standards of the main line on which it stood.[1]
History
The tunnel was built during the construction of the Silesian Mountain Railway in the 1860s.[1] Contemporary engineering literature from the late 1860s records a tunnel through the Schönhuter hills near Waldenburg as one of the significant structures on the route.[4]
By the beginning of the 20th century, the tunnel had become endangered by rock movement associated with the mining district above it.[2] Around 1910, instability on the southern side led to extensive reconstruction. Part of the tunnel was opened to the sky, while the remaining covered section was strengthened with concrete.[2]
Renewed deformation occurred in the early 1930s. Der Wanderer im Riesengebirge described the tunnel in 1933 as a long-standing problem on the route, with roughly fifty trains a day using the line and with the surrounding rock mass considered dangerous.[2] During this period traffic was temporarily restricted and the damaged sections were secured with steel supports.[2]
A decision was then taken to eliminate the tunnel entirely. According to a 1936 notice in Die Bautechnik, works to remove the remaining 274 m (899 ft)-long tunnel were in progress and were expected to be completed within three years.[3] By 1937, German press reports described the hillside as largely opened out, with approximately 500,000 cubic metres of rock to be removed in order to create a permanent cutting in place of the tunnel.[5]
Legacy
The Schönhuter Tunnel no longer exists, and trains now pass through the deep rock cutting that replaced it.[5] It is one of the best-known examples in Lower Silesia of a historic railway tunnel abandoned and dismantled because geological and mining conditions made continued maintenance impractical.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dominas, Przemysław (2020). "Tunele kolejowe na Dolnym Śląsku". In Przerwa, Tomasz; Keller, Dawid; Kruk, Bartosz (eds.). A jednak kolej! Historyczne i współczesne uwarunkowania rozwoju transportu (PDF) (in Polish). Wrocław: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej. pp. 52–69. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Der Schönhuter Tunnel" (PDF). Der Wanderer im Riesengebirge (in German) (6): 98. 1933. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ a b c "Vermischtes" (PDF). Die Bautechnik (in German). 14 (4): 59. 1936. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ "Mitteilungen über die Ausführung von Eisenbahnbauten im Preußischen Staate" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Bauwesen (in German). 18. 1868. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Die größte Felsarbeit des Ostens. Der Schönhuter Tunnel im Herbst 1937 freigelegt" (PDF). Hundsfelder Stadtblatt (in German). 1937. Retrieved 9 March 2026.