Stewart Tunnel Still Echoes with History

© by Marian K. Viney

As one walks into the north end entrance, you can almost smell the coal burning from a cold, black steam engine and you can almost hear the thundering whistle as trains once chugged their way through Stewart Tunnel, south of Belleville.

With the weather mild, the sun shining, and the boys wanting outdoor activity, we headed to the tunnel with flashlights in hand.

Soon, times will change at the tunnel. Its presence and history unknown to many, the tunnel will become a highlight of the bike trail when it opens later this year.

It only takes a few minutes to walk to the entrance of the tunnel once you park on Tunnel Road, which is a right off of Highway CC.

Within 50 feet of the tunnel you can feel the temperature drop a few degrees as the tunnel beckons you to come inside.

Once inside the eyes adjust, the whistle blows, and it’s 1886 . . .

Work started on the tunnel on December 13. Small construction crews worked on both the north and south ends. Each worker was paid $1.25 per day.

The contractors and engineers built their headquarters, which served as an office and sleeping quarters, on the summit almost directly over the tunnel.

The 120 or so workers also had company-provided, shanty-type lodging near the tunnel. Room and board was $3.50 per week.

The summit of the hill through which the tunnel was to run was 235 feet above the Sugar River Valley. The tunnel, built by the Chicago, Madison, and Northern Central Railroad (CM&N) for the Freeport-to-Madison project, went through 100 feet below the summit. It was to be one-quarter of a mile long and when completed, it would be 21 feet high and 14 feet wide. The tunnel was to go through the hill on a curve and then down grade for 1.5 miles before leveling off to Belleville at an elevation of 40 feet above Monticello.

Some say that Stewart Tunnel, which is named for James Stewart of Lancashire, Pennsylvania, was the most ambitious undertaking of the entire 173.93-mile route of the CM&N Railroad. Stewart, who was the contractor for the project, was thrown from a buggy and killed while he was following the proposed route of the new railroad. The tunnel was named in his memory.

When the work started on the portals of the tunnel, hand drills were used to make holes in the limestone for explosives. Powder sometimes moved 100-pound rocks up to 25 rods (413 feet).

A hoisting apparatus was built at the north entrance to lift the rock out of the cut. Later, two steam shovels were added, the larger one weighted 48 tons. It was owned by Vulcan Iron Works of Toledo, Ohio, who shipped it here disassembled because of the weight. It was used on the north end of the tunnel.

A smaller 20-ton steam shovel, owned by Drake and Stratton, the contractors on the CM&N between Monroe and Madison, was used at the south end.

At the north end of the tunnel, excavated material was hauled on horse drawn carts north about one-half mile. The material excavated at the south end, at a capacity of 1000 cubic yards per day, was dumped into cars holding two cubic yards each. Six of these cars made a trainload for the little locomotive that the men called “Stella,” which pushed the cars out to the Lynn Hollow dump.

Original plans called for the use of steam operated drills to make holes for the explosive charges, but plans changed and compressed air was used. It took until July to get the equipment in place for the compressed air drills. In August, a 10-ton, 120-horsepower Mongul boiler arrived for the compressed air machinery. It took 12 men and 12 horses to move the boiler the five miles from Monticello.

The tunnel was a popular spot for sightseers to gather. Weekend visitors often journeyed a considerable distance to view the progress and picnic on the hills.

Some of the workers were local farmers who joined the construction crews to supplement their earnings during the severe drought of 1887. In September, the workers struck for higher wages and many ended up leaving for other jobs. New workers were brought in and wages were increased to $1.75 per day.

By October 24, the north end of the tunnel had advanced 391 feet and the south had advanced 321 feet. Now, there was a rivalry between the crews to see which could advance the furthest in a week.

During the first week of November, the crew from the south advanced 70 feet and the crew from the north advanced 65 feet. The workers claimed that 70 feet of progress shadowed any record of single-track tunnel in the USA or any other country.

Both crews and officials were pleased with the progress. In mid November, however, both of the crews were forced to abandon the drilling for several days because they hit a large stream of underground water and because the roof had become unsafe and needed support.

On Thursday, December 1, 1887, at 6:50 a.m., the two ends met. One side of the tunnel was off by about one inch and the other side was off by less than three-quarters of an inch. Almost perfection!

Another whistle seems to blow as we leave the south end of the tunnel. The boys enjoy the sunlight of the afternoon and the still lingering snow piles.

As we headed back through, we reminisced of other trips through the tunnel and thought of the history held within.

Walking down the path, we met a group of girls with flashlights in hand, headed to the tunnel, to smell the coal burning from a cold, black steam engine and to hear the thundering whistle of trains chugging their way through Stewart Tunnel . . .

Note: Information for this article was collected from numerous newspapers, including the Belleville Recorder, found at the Belleville and Monroe Public Libraries. Time travel to the tunnel!

Additional Note: The tunnel has added historical meaning to the boys knowing that their great, great grandfather, Julian Colney, worked on the railroad and it is thought that he may have worked on the tunnel.

 

The author of this article enjoys writing about local history and the people that made it. Enjoy!

 

 

On-Line

Clouds of steam puffed from the engine to challenge the cold February sky. It was 1888 and the railroad was “on-line” in the old sense of the words. The railroad ran south from Madison , thru Belleville all the way to Freeport , IL . Temperatures said to be 36 to 50 degrees below zero and snow drifts up to 15 feet had held the iron horse at bay until this very day.

"The first train from Madison on the C. M. & N arrived in Monticello about 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 28th,” reported the Monroe Sentinel, Wednesday, February 1, 18 88 . “It brought the boarding cars down with it, and sidetracked them here, and returned to Madison about one hour later. From Monticello to the tunnel the track has not been touched since first laid. It will now be straightened, leveled, and surfaced, so that as soon as the blockade from the south is raised, there will be nothing to prevent the running of trains through from Freeport to Madison ."

The first train to run the entire distance between Freeport and Madison passed through the tunnel on February 1, 18 88 . It was headed by Engine number 99 with Engineer Palmer at the throttle and Conductor Van Vliet in charge.

Also reported in that issue of the Monroe Sentinel “The telegraph office at the Tunnel has been discontinued. The instruments were removed to Belleville on Saturday and placed in position in the C. M. & N. depot at that place. Mr. McAfee, the former operator at the Tunnel, received the appointment of station agent at Belleville , and will enter upon his duties at once.”

Other news on that day in the Monroe Sentinel: "Whooping cough still lingers," "The thank you ma'ams in the roads are too numerous for comfort," and “The sleighing is pretty good in the track, but outside, oh my!”

In an article on the Cheese Interest of Green County, the writer said that the quality of the cheese in Green County continues to improve. In 1873, a critic from a wholesale cheese house in Milwaukee had said “the quality of Green County Swiss cheese made us smile with contempt, and we most gave it away; the Limburg at that time smelled so loud that only persons with strong nerves could get near a box. All this has changed during the last ten years. The improvement made in the manufacture of all kinds of cheese during this time, has been so wonderful, that Green County can boldly enter into competition with any other section of the United States , and come out victorious by a good majority.”

Also in reporting the latest eclipse "The man in the moon became suddenly quite bashful, on Saturday evening, and hid his face in his hands, so to speak. It was indeed a fine eclipse, and a splendid time for observation.”

All this and ads for Kirk's White Cloud Floating Soap; Steketee's Neuralgia Drops; Ely's Cream Balm, which cures catarrh, hay-fever, cold in head, deafness, headache, nose cold; Hood’s Sarsaparilla, 100 doses for $1.00; or “If you wish a good revolver, buy Smith & Wesson.”

The Sugar River Recorder reported on Saturday, December 24, 18 87 that "Work on the C. M. & N. depots at Fitchburg and Paoli Station (Basco) has commenced; they will each be wooden buildings without cellars, 20 x 50 feet, 1½ stories high."

Other tidbits about the railroad that appeared in the same issue include: "Brick work on the depot was to have been finished Tuesday but owing to the storm, about two hours work was left undone. The carpenters will now put on the roof as fast as the weather will permit. The platforms are completed and if the weather is favorable, by the time that it is possible to put on through trains it will be ready for occupancy."

"Chief Engineer Randolph and Division Engineer Kinsman, made an inspection of the new R.R. as far as the Tunnel, Tuesday."

"The telegraph gang strung the wires through this place Tuesday morning and Madison and Freeport are now in direct communication."

"It is expected that the tunnel will be completed, or very nearly so, this week. The Lynn Valley will take about one week more to fill and the Moore 's they have a good solid months work; so that it will be the first of February 1888 before the trains will be able to pass entirely over the new line.”

Also reported in the Sugar River Recorder were actions taken by President Grover Cleveland, the House and the Senate reports, and an article on “A Frightful Flood. It sweeps 11 Chinese Cities from the Face of the Earth. Probably a million people lost their lives in the great disaster.”

Closer to home, ads for W.S. Wheelright, Physician and Surgeon; H.E. Hanan, Dentist; D.L. Lawrence, Harness Maker; Oliver & Kane, Buyers and sellers of Farm Machinery; Ed. C. Story, Dealer in Cigars, tobacco, candy & confectionary, nuts, apples and fruit of all kinds, Graham Fancy Goods, oysters, Ice cream when in season, and artists’ tube colors; Harmon & Talmage City Meat Market; the Belleville Hotel, Edward Gaffony, proprietor; E.A. Oliver’s New Blacksmithing, Horse-shoeing Shop; E.E, Hilton, Tonsorial Artist; Story & Hoskens, General Dealers in Dry Goods; C.W. Derrickson, Dealer in Hardware; W.T. Williams, dealer in drugs, paints, oil, and varnish, choice wines & liquors; Miss Kate Sullivan, Dress & Cloak maker; or M.F. Welch, mason.

An ad for Caldwell ’s listed Vermont Maple Syrup for $1.00 a gallon, French prunes at 20 pounds for $1.00, or fine dried grapes for 10 cents a pound.

While in Basco you could purchase “Pure Homemade Candy for Sale , Cocoa-nut, Almond and Chocolate Creams, etc., 40 cts per lb., Plain Creams 25 cts per lb., Sent postpaid on receipt of price, Address Mrs. Nellie Saunders, Dane Co., Basco , Wis. ”

Or if you had any aches or pains, many of the advertised remedies might cure such as “Smith’s Bile Beans: Act on the liver and bile; clear the complexion; cure billousness, sick headache, costiveness, malaria, and all liver and stomach disorders;” “Kidders Digestylin, A sure cure for indigestion and dyspepsia, for cholera infantum. It will cure the most aggravated cases, it will stop vomiting in pregnanon, and it will relieve constipation, W.M. Kidders & Co., Fifth Street, New York;” “St. Jacobs Oil. The great remedy for pain. It conquers pain, rheumatism, neuralgia, Sciatica, Lumbago, headache, toothache, sprains, bruises, burns or scalds;” Mexican Mustang Liniment, for Man and Beast! It penetrates muscles to the very bones. Try it!;”or “White Beaver’s Cough Cream: Heals Diseased Lungs and cures coughs and colds.”

Time Table

(as published in the Sugar River Recorder, 1889)

Ill. Cent. R.R. Wis. Div.

Going South

Passenger Freight

7:15 a.m. Madison 2:30 p.m.

7:38 “ Fitchburg 3:12 “

7:48 “ Paoli Station 3:31 “

7:58 “ Belleville 3:48 “

8:20 “ Monticello 4:25 “

8:45 “ Monroe 5:30 “

9:45 “ Freeport 7:50 “

1:00 p.m. Chicago 5:45 a.m.

Going North

1:00 a.m. Chicago 6:45 p.m.

4:25 p.m. Freeport 2:30 a.m.

5:28 “ Monroe 4:15 “

5:47 “ Monticello 5:05 “

6:05 “ Belleville 5:40 “

6:15 “ Paoli Station 6:00 “

6:24 “ Fitchburg 6:20 “

6:45 “ Madison 7:00 “

 

Through tickets sold, and baggage checked to any point in the United States , Canada on short notice.

C.E. Stevens, Agt.