Transcontinental Railroad Tunnel #6 - Donner Summit
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 39° 18.957 W 120° 19.396
10S E 730765 N 4355255
The old Transcontinental Railroad Tunnel #6 at Donner Summit.
Waymark Code: WMW0AF
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/20/2017
Views: 3
The Transcontinental Railroad was a 1,912-mile railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Omaha, Nebraska with the Pacific coast at Oakland, California. The Sierra Nevada Mountains were a major construction obstacle resulting in numerous tunnels. In 1993, several of the original tunnels at Donner Summit were abandoned with the completion of newer tunnels.
It took 2 years of work to complete the 1659 foot long Tunnel #6 at Donner Summit. While the summit tunnel was being drilled, crews hauled material over the summit on wagons and continued construction and laying rail eastward. The tunnel was bored though on August 30 1867. The first train rolled through 2 months later. By December 13th, 1867 a train rolled through to Nevada and by May 4th, 1868, the tracks were connected through to Reno. On May 10, 1869 the first transcontinental eastward and westward building met at Promontory Point, Utah, completing the link across America.
Tunnel #6 is 1659 feet long, about 20 feet high, and about 16 feet wide plus another 140 feet of concrete snow shed. Waymark coordinates are at the east end of the tunnel and snow shed. The recommended parking area is at the China Wall turnout on the Donner Pass Road (
visit link) . There is also road access to west end, but no designated parking area.