Brockville Ontario - A lot of new light was shed on Brockville's historic railway tunnel on Tuesday.
 
The city and members of the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee hosted about two dozen guests attending the Tunnelling Association of Canada conference being held in Kingston.
 
Some, like Queen's University guide Dr. Mark Diederichs, were more familiar with the 520 metre structure, built between 1854 and 1860, than other members seeing the inside of the tunnel for the first time.
 
The Geological Engineering Department professor has been involved with the engineering work and evaluations on the tunnel for several years.
 
Diederichs said he had been by and seen the entrance to the tunnel numerous times before actually entering the south end.
 
"I didn't really know what I expected to see," he told the group shortly before heading into the bowels of the tunnel.
 
"I fell in love with this tunnel."
 
Diederichs gave tour guests a teaser of what they would see during their walk through the entire length of the tunnel with a short power-point presentation which included technology appropriate for Canada's first railway tunnel.
 
Brockville's tunnel was the first in Canada to employ LIDAR, a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light. LIDAR creates a precise, three-dimensional image of the surface of the tunnel.
 
"There are some beautiful formations inside here," he said.
 
The varied formations inside the tunnel are part of the challenge the city and the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee face as they move toward opening the tunnel as a tourism attraction.
 
"How do you preserve it without destroying it?" said Diederichs.
 
City councillor David LeSueur, who led the tour for the city with operations director Conal Cosgrove, said several engineering reports completed actually state the tunnel is in remarkably good condition considering its age.
 
It could make a difference when it comes to actual restoration work that will need to be done.
 
"It appears there might be some good news there," he said.
 
"The rough estimates on the masonry work might be lower."
 
The railway tunnel project received a boost recently with a $275,000 grant from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, and the city's commitment of $300,000 is also in place.
 
LeSueur also said the fundraising efforts will be reaching out to Heritage Canada and other foundations across Canada.
 
"We're gearing up to start work on the tunnel next year," said Cosgrove.
 
Darcy Cheek.