Brockville Ontario - Built between 1854 and 1860, the Brockville Railway Tunnel is the oldest of its kind in Canada.
 
Want to see it for yourself?
 
You can find it beneath the downtown core of the small Eastern Ontario city of Brockville.
 
The tunnel was initially built to connect the Brockville and Ottawa Railway from Brockville's waterfront to the areas between the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.
 
The Brockville Tunnel is the tunnel that almost wasn't.
 
The chief engineer of the Board of Public Works of the United Provinces, Samuel Keefer, recommended a rail line that would run around the community and come down to the river from the west, thus avoiding the hill altogether.
 
While he may have had a point, the belief at that time was that no railway was complete without a tunnel, so council and the citizens of Brockville agreed to support building a tunnel under the city to allow for direct access north.
 
While the project struggled financially, it was finally completed on 31 Dec 1860.
 
On this day, a small wood burning locomotive with two coaches came through the Brockville Tunnel, and it was officially open.
 
The arch-shaped tunnel is 4.5 metres from the top of the arch to the ground, and 4.5 metres across.
 
The tunnel is 525 metres long, passing directly under the City Hall building.
 
The tunnel is no longer operational, but when it was, it contained a single track.
 
One unique feature is the enormous set of wooden doors on the south side, which are opened and closed each day.
 
The doors were initially installed to prevent animals from entering at night.
 
Today, the doors allow tourists to view the tunnel during the summer months.
 
With Canada's 150th birthday being celebrated in 2017, Brockville plans to restore the tunnel to its former glory, and develop nearby land into a park and visitors centre.
 
They want to celebrate Brockville's history as a railway town with some historical displays, including the possible acquisition of some antique rail cars.
 
The plans are not final, but the vision is certainly there.
 
In the meantime, you can still see the tunnel by visiting Downtown Brockville.
 
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