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 Brock’s Gap, The North & South Railroad Cut/Historic Gateway to Birmingham - Hoover, AL
N 33° 20.331 W 086° 52.474
16S E 511672 N 3688859
Brock’s Gap, The North & South Railroad Cut/Historic Gateway to Birmingham Historical Marker, Hoover, AL
Waymark Code: WMDAWQ
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 12/16/2011
Views: 6
Historical marker telling the history of the coming of the railroad into Birmingham from the south. The marker is located on South Shades Crest Road across from Elvira Road. Parking is available on Elvira Road. Be very careful crossing South Shades Crest Road because of limited sight distance. The marker was placed by the
Birmingham – Jefferson Historical Society and the Linn – Henley Trust.
Marker Name: Brock’s Gap, The North & South Railroad Cut/Historic Gateway to Birmingham
Marker Type: Rural Roadside
Addtional Information::
Side A
In 1858, the State of Alabama, wanting to develop coal and iron industries in Jefferson County, had John T. Miller survey Shads Mountain for the most practical route for the North & South to cross. He selected Brock’s Gap, named for original land purchaser, Pinkney L. Brock. Work began immediately. The cut, now passing under South Shades Crest Road, was blasted by nitroglycerin through a bed of limestone 75 feet deep and was heralded as the deepest railroad cut in the world. Delayed by the Civil War, work on the line was finally completed by the firm of Bartley & Boyles of Helena under Supt. J. F. B. Jackson in 1871.
Side B
Birmingham, the first industrial city in Alabama, developed around the intersection of the North & South Railroad with the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad and was an important transportation center. It became a city of the New South following the ravages of the Civil War. Many destitute men rushed there to find work in the mines or on the railroads. The North & South Railroad became part of the L & N Railroad system. When the L & N built the tunnel now in use under South Shads Crest Road, the old route became obsolete. This old railroad bed can still be seen on the opposite side of the road. The ground around the cut is littered with large blocks of stone cut from the mountain.
Date Dedicated / Placed: Not listed
Marker Number: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Alabama history please include that in your log.
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