1953 - Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels- improved video

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For all you tunnel fanatics out there!
This version has better color and detail than the one I uploaded a year ago. The music ought to sound familiar to most baby boomers. Originally shot on 16mm film. The tunnels appear much, much darker than they really were - the film was formulated for shooting in daylight and wasn't sensitive enough to pick up the dimmed light of the tunnels' interiors.
Some of these tunnels are no longer in service - portions of the turnpike were rerouted during the 1960s and their tunnels abandoned. Today they're enjoyed by hikers and bikers.
Notice that in 1953 all these tunnels had only one tube, through which ran traffic in both directions. Today every working tunnel has two tubes, one for each direction.
There's many more of Grandpa's movies on my channel - please visit! Also visit www.webnik.com/...

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15 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 349

@robertwmartens 15 лет назад

Little did my grandparents know when they made this little movie in 1953 that it would be receiving all this appreciation today! Somewhere up there, they must be smiling.

@user-bw3fl7fj9w Год назад

Agreed!! Thanks for letting us join it too!

@kimpruett820 4 года назад

I'm 64 and I remember these tunnels. We moved from Benton, Illinois to Salisbury Delaware around 1957. Every summer we would drive back to Il for a 2 week vacation. The tunnels were wonderful, always looked forward to them. I remember once we drove into a tunnel, the weathered was nice, bright and sunny. When we came out the other end, it was pouring rain. So cool! Thank-you so much for these films, I have enjoyed them so much!

@concorde2003 6 месяцев назад

This film interests me much more today than it did when you first posted this. In the past three years, I've driven through three of the tunnels many times, and I have also walked through Sideling Hill and Ray's Hill tunnels. I really like seeing the approach and departure from those two tunnels, after trying to figure out what they looked like in the past as I stood there in the present.

@robertwmartens 14 лет назад

According to my dad, Grandpa was always a loyal Buick customer, and he changed cars every few years, so in all likelihood he and Grandma were driving a Buick model from the early 1950's. Thanks for enjoying the ride!

@drallsnow3 8 лет назад

You have done something very nice with Grandpa's films. it is historical footage of tunnels and roads now in most cases by passed. The older cars are fun to see again. and that is how it was.

@cultonc 9 лет назад

I grew up going to NJ every summer and the highlight of the trip along the PA Turnpike was the tunnels. Sure brings back memories.

@michaela.chmieloski3196 4 года назад

Your Grandpa (and Grandma) did great! Loved the footage of the as-built tunnels with the bonus of all the vintage automobiles. Thanks for posting this wonderful peek into the ever-distancing past.

@robertwmartens 11 лет назад

They were actually better illuminated than it appears. The film that Grandpa used was formulated for use in either bright exterior sunlight or with interior flood lamps. The lighting inside the tunnels wasn't as strong as either, so it was barely exposed onto the film.

@robertwmartens 16 лет назад

Yes. Performed by that quintessential middlebrow orchestra, The Boston Pops. From my late Grandparents' record collection, appropriately enough!

@brianjames4169 2 года назад

May your Grandparents Rest In Peace. God bless their souls for all eternity.

@drtee51 12 лет назад

Gosh, the light 1953 traffic makes it look so easy to merge gracefully into one lane as you go into each tunnel. Not like ten years later! Thanks for posting this--this is a great perspective!

@rwboa22 2 года назад

I remembered as a kindergartener seeing the "horrible" traffic on the Northeast Extension at the Lehigh Tunnel before the Turnpike Commission bored the second (southbound) tube back in the late '80s/early '90s. After that, going to the mountains in Columbia County entailed going up PA 100 to PA 309 (formerly U.S. 309), then from PA 309 to I-81 north of Tamaqua, and then north on PA 93 from I-81 at Hazelton.

@beverlygamble4789 2 года назад

I remember those tunnels from my Michigan summer trips..

@EduarquiRJ 15 лет назад

This video is a gift for fans of infrastructure history, highways included, and I believe your grandpa and grandma were and are very special persons. Thanks for posting this lovely memory for us.

@suzieq1218 4 года назад

Last spring we rode our bikes on the abandoned section including the Ray's Hill and Sideling tunnels. We tried to envision what it all looked like back in the day. So glad I stumbled upon your video! It's fantastic!

@singlewhitegaboi 5 лет назад

Absolutely loved that! It would have been the way that my parents first saw the Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels at about the same time in the early 50s. They talked about the tunnels like they were the Eighth Wonder. I remember being excited to go through them myself as a kid. Awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

@JaxAunt 15 лет назад

Last Sunday, I was standing inside the Sideling Hill Tunnel. What a treat to see it in its heyday. Thank you, Robert and Grandpa!

@shaeet 8 лет назад

i'd just like to thank you for posting this. I visit the abandoned tunnels often and appreciate the history and nostalgia

@andrewpetik2034 3 года назад

I am sitting here crying as I have just finished watching this and I am not sure what is making me do so. Is it the beautiful old cars? Is it the beautiful rendition of 'Holiday for Strings' playing softly in the background? Is it that gorgeous scenery? It could be the picture quality of the film that stirs this longing for times now past? I guess it is a combination of all these things......

@brainiator 13 лет назад

I love these "every day life" old movies. Really is like looking through a window in time. Thanks for sharing!

@emilyannfrancesmay3919 Год назад

What a marvelous contribution to fans of vintage travel videos. My great-grandparents lived in Wilmerding on State Street. I remember the Tuscarora Tunnel very well. What a spooky experience for me as a child. What a test of my Dad's driving skills through that dark tunnel.

@BluezplayerAJ 2 года назад

I was born in 1960. We lived near NY city, and used to travel the turnpike from Carlisle to Bedford quite often to see our relatives out in Windber / Johnstown, Pa. I loved the trip and the tunnels as a kid, and still remember that once we passed through Rays Hill before they bypassed it, we were about an hour to Windber. Nice memories. Thanks.

@crazybobdj 11 лет назад

Our family vacation, in 1962, took us through all 7(?) tunnels in our '54 Chevy. My fathers name was Ray, & we though it was funny to go through "Ray's" Hill!

@8avexp Год назад

Yes, all seven tunnels were still in use in 1962. We drove through all of them that summer and I counted them. I could have sworn that the Laurel Hill tunnel had a sharp right hand turn just inside the west portal, but looking at maps, it was a straight bore.

@civicvandal 13 лет назад

Great film, your Grandparents were way ahead of their time! My girl and I are heading out to Pittsburgh this weekend and plan a stop at the abandoned section and this video helped put things into perspective.

@smeltedcheese 8 лет назад

David Rose -- perfect music for a 1950s turnpike film.

@quazar912 5 лет назад

I agree

@mattfoley6082 2 года назад

Driving while filming with no seatbelts. What could possibly go wrong? Just kidding. Love this video.

@gmaneis 7 лет назад

Rode through the tunnels in 1950, at age 3. Still remember doing it! Very exciting for a little kid. Thanks for posting such a great memory. Excellent quality film for the time, and perfect music, too.

@windhamcabin 10 лет назад

Awesome! We just hiked two of those tunnels on foot :)

@PennsylvaniaShane1 10 лет назад

Awesome! So cool to see them functional!

@EricOther 10 лет назад

Holy carp. That's surreal.

@thomasschwarting5108 2 года назад

I think I wouldn't mind doing that someday. I'm 63 now so someday sooner then later!!

@wakkanne 15 лет назад

That is just a great piece of film history you have there and it's wonderful that it survived all these years. It's great that your grandparents had the sense of mind to film it and to not miss any of the tunnel entrances or exits. It's especially nice that two of the three bypassed tunnels are shown here, so that one can see them as they once were. Good job with the new uploaded version.

@classic287 12 лет назад

Wow, this is really cool. I didn't know Pennsylvania Turnpike had tunnels back then. I do remember "Holiday for Strings" though.

@user-bw3fl7fj9w Год назад

After seeing videos of this road, tunnels now abandoned...it was great to see them when they were young, beautiful and being used!! Thanks to grandpa filming his historic adventures!!

@ClawBoss 5 лет назад

This is amazing. Can I have permission to use a clip from this video for an upcoming video on my other channel? I will give full credit to you. Thanks

@manpan4693 3 года назад

CLAWBOSS!!

@skater041930 2 года назад

Didn’t expect to see you here!

@400exNick 11 лет назад

Very cool to see these tunnels in their former glory! I've been on the turnpike and thru breezwood a bunch of times but just recently found out about the abandoned road and tunnels there. Very interesting

@ByGraceIGo 2 года назад

Thank you so much for posting this! I was looking exactly for something like this that was vintage so I could see the actual cars driving on the now abandoned turnpike and tunnels. Excellent! And great choice of music with this video.

@SchardtCinematic 4 года назад

I learned of the Abandoned Turnpike back in 2006. Long before thousands more have since learned of it. I myself studied up and researched videos if it on You tube and google searches for 5 years learning all I could and finally figured out from a webpage by Brian Troutman. As for you tube videos. Your video was one of the early ones I found and I still come back to watch it and enjoy it even 14 years later.

@MrEric0576 2 года назад

I love this! Amazing footage and the music compliments it so well. Thanks for sharing.

@CRQ5508 14 лет назад

It's eerie to watch this video, after watching other videos of these same locations today, most of which are left abandoned, slowly being reclaimed by the woods. These are just about as spooky as coming across an old abandoned railroad.

@kosmo2cat 13 лет назад

This video is GREAT! I was out to see the abandoned 13 mile section and the two abandoned tunnels (Rays Hill & Sideling Hill) twice. Each time I walked that old busted up road, I imagined in my mind a scene identical to what I see in your video....old cars whizzing by - - old music playing----on a carefree Sunday afternoon in the 1950s. Your grandparents were brilliant to have filmed this in '53!

@jumboJetPilot Год назад

That drive is just as scenic today as it was back then!

@jameshenry8779 10 лет назад

Thanks for posting. My parents and I made the trip from Phila. to Pittsburgh many times in the 50s and early 60s, in our 53 Chevy, 57 Chevy, and 60 Chevy.

@DirtRunnr 5 лет назад

Thanks for the great video! I just compared your footage to google maps street view and an abandoned pa turnpike video. Really cool to see the differences. It was filmed by your grandparents for one reason and watched by us for another. That's what makes it so amazing!

@JeffDeWitt 2 месяца назад

I come across this video again every few years, this is such a great snapshot of history... the fact there is a Studebaker in it makes it even better! As I recall from another clip the Studebaker was owned by the posters parents.

@BroadwayLTDProductions 9 лет назад

Just imagine if the tunnels had not been twinned. The PA Turnpike is already a pain during daylight hours in the summer as it is. LOL

@tommurphy4307 8 лет назад

a couple of the railroad-built tunnels were never twinned- it was cheaper to bypass them. so imagine what it was like when a vehicle died or caught fire in those single-lane tunnels. no where to go and nothing to do but wait. those tunnels can still be entered on bike paths, but they are about 125 years old and i say "keep out if you like breathing". what they should do is run a cell phone antenna system thru those tunnels to provide some measure of emergency security and communications. if a collapse traps people in there, they may not be able to get help with their phones. why hasn't this been done??

@rjmcallister1888 7 лет назад

Backups were reportedly five miles or more in the early '60's; that's what spurred the Turnpike Commission to drill the new tunnels they did and bypass the others. They're now looking to bypass the Allegheny Mountain dual tunnel because traffic's backing up. But it was still better than either US 22 or 30.

@skippydmb 14 лет назад

This is a real piece of history. Thanks for posting it.

@creamyfilling102 11 лет назад

so a couple of those tunnels have been abandoned since the 60's. i've watched a lot of footage about them here lately. they're so run down and shitty looking now...it's so AWESOME to see it back in the day with all the hussle and bussle of cars going through them.

@shvybzik 16 лет назад

Too, too cool. I have many memories of childhood Thanksgiving treks westward from the Philadelphia area to Uniontown via the PA Turnpike and a fascination with the 5 twin tunnels (dating myself). It's amazing to watch this footage and I hope to make my first trek to the abandoned portion this summer. Thanks for the thrill!

@tonto1234566 Год назад

Excellent preservation of Highway history! You are and your grandparents are / were true custodians of this time period. I’ve biked two of those bypassed tunnels (Rays Hill and Sideling) many decades later, Great to see it them when they were still active!

@davidbaldwin8390 3 года назад

Thanks for the opportunity to go back in time with you and your grandparents on a virtual ride through the original Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels.

@lynfl9814 3 года назад

This was a year after I was born. It was a gentler, happier and a more simple time. It felt better then, than now. We were always thinking there was a brighter and better future ahead. The music even makes me feel that way again. Today, I fear, our technology, our attitude toward others will do us in as a country; maybe even the world. I so miss that feeling of hope we had instead of this present feeling of doom on many levels.

@eyesareus3757 10 лет назад

A great video record of the turnpike in its original state. This is a fantastic trip down memory lane for those of us that traveled the pike prior to 1968. Too bad we don't have the complete original 160 miles on film. Thanks for the video!

@brianjames4169 7 лет назад

How do I get to these sections of the pike?

@chefjimmie1 7 лет назад

Where are you coming from?

@rwboa22 2 года назад

@@brianjames4169 the section of Turnpike that was filmed was between the Carlisle Interchange (U.S. 11 & I-81) and the Breezewood Interchange (I-70 East & U.S. 30). Bear in mind that both the Rays Hill and Sideling Hill Tunnels are now abandoned, both being bypassed in 1968, however a small portion of the old alignment still exists as the Breezewood Interchange. In addition to the above-mentioned tunnels, the Laurel Hill Tunnel near New Stanton (I-70 West) is also abandoned and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has plans of bypassing the Allegheny Mountain Tunnels within the next 10 years.

@brianjames4169 2 года назад

@@rwboa22 Wow. Are there any scenic areas there which will be lost to the driving public? I’d like to hike those abandoned areas on foot or on bike sometime if possible. Stokes my interest big time. Thank you for your response too btw. Much appreciated and very interesting if I may say. You ROCK!!!

@nancybolinski8460 Год назад

When I was a small child, we took an auto trip to see my father's family in Pittsburgh and those old tunnels were really dark!

@jacobgeist3141 3 месяца назад

This was really cool to see! Recently hiked the now Pike2Bike trail for the Rays Hill & Sideling Hill tunnels and wondered what they were like while in service. This really helps see what they were like!

@shawnpa 5 лет назад

I liked that. Your grandparents were pretty savvy. There's a lot of tunnels, and the light poles... Good idea. Thank you.

@wolfgangowar 11 лет назад

The Sideling Hill Tunnel is right up the road from me. Very cool stuff. The Film The Road had some scenes filmed there also.

@orange70383 10 лет назад

They used a darn good camera, most of that era were nearly always slightly out of focus.

@robertwmartens 10 лет назад

You bet! And would you believe that their camera was powered entirely by a wind-up spring? I should add that it wasn't just the camera they used, it was also the 16mm Kodachrome film inside - it had a twice the resolution of the 8mm and Super8 film that came later.

@rjmcallister1888 7 лет назад

And because of the lighting in the tunnels, the pictures would be so poor, the operator was best served not to waste the film by shooting in there; the stuff was rather expensive.

@journeywithjay 7 лет назад

that's amazing and very cool info thanks for sharing this

@mken23 8 лет назад

I just went to Sideling Hill Tunnel today and was wondering what it looked like in its prime. Thanks!!!

@leftylou6070 3 года назад

That's a right smart movin' picture show your Grand-Pap made. All my thumbs up for this one. Thanks!

@jrtej9575 2 года назад

I wish there were such a thing as time travel. I would love to be able to travel the turnpike during those days and see all the original tunnels.

@robertemanuel7664 8 лет назад

THANKS much for the great video! Just as I remember many trips east through the tunnels - the BIG event of vacation travel in our '53 Chevy Belair! Brings back many memories - almost like being in the car, looking over Dad's shoulder again as we approached each tunnel! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

@merks62 15 лет назад

As the now abandoned Ray's Hill and Sideling Hill tunnels - let alone the abandoned stretch of PA Turnpike between them - are among the world's most remarkable highway artifacts, I was truly thrilled to see this footage of them them taken roughly fifteen years before they were bypassed. Walk inside them today, and it's like hiking inside a bell, the echo is so overpowering!

@RebeccaJeffersonOAC 5 месяцев назад

He drove through the Sideling Hill tunnel which is now abandoned. Very cool to see it in use.

@old64goat 11 лет назад

I don't remember seeing that many tunnels, when I traveled the Penn Pike back in the 70's there were 4 tunnels the last one was the Wheeling tunnel, I did not see it in this video. Great memories, 20 years before I went there.

@rjmcallister1888 7 лет назад

The Wheeling Tunnel is in West Virginia, about 75 miles west of the Turnpike along I-70. 70 is part of the Turnpike from New Stanton, southeast of Pittsburgh, to Breezewood, where it goes south into Maryland and ends in Baltimore.

@400exNick 11 лет назад

Me and my freinds stayed in Breezwood last weekend and walked the abandoned turnpike from breezwood to the cove service plaza and back. Several times we watched this video while we were out there and tried to visualize how things used to look. We also walked through both Ray's and Sideling hill the whole way with no flashlights!

@yeksrub 12 лет назад

Perfect choice of music!

@pointingdog7235 3 года назад

Thank for posting this, I was amazed by the traffic volume compared with now. I also enjoyed seeing the F-8 Ford tractor-trailer exiting the eastbound portal of The Blue Mountain Tunnel much like the F-8 that my late Father drive when he started out driving trucks. My only disappointment was that Allegheny Mountain Tunnel wasn't in the video. I heard that Alleghany Mountain was close to an hour climb in those days.

@warrenwilson4818 6 лет назад

I love road construction. I'll never forget the first by-pass project. I didn't realize what had happened until the second or third time. I lived in New Jersey and we traveled the Turnpike a lot.

@autobug2 6 лет назад

I loved watching that blue `51 Studebaker in front of the car doing the filming! Those were the days! Thank you for uploading this!!

@ThatPAScratcherGuy 3 года назад

This is great. Thank you for sharing. One of the things that popped into my head was my dad was just a baby, not even a year old and my mom wasn't even born yet.

@sinistarxx 12 лет назад

The approach to the "Ray's Hill" tunnel that starts around 1:51 is the same abandoned portal seen in the movie "The Road".

@form109 13 лет назад

i love old highways!....its too bad this stretch is abandoned and forgotten today....EXCELENT vid.

@Wingman-yl3qq Месяц назад

The old Turnpike road can still be seen going through Sideling Hill on satellite images. IMAPs if you go to the Sidelinlng Hill travel plaza, follow the road east about 1/2 mile or so you will see a split in the road. That is the old turnpike road that leads directly to the tunnels. You can follow all the way to Breezewood and see where the old road joins the new road. I’m not sure why I find this so fascinating but I figured I’d share in the case someone else may be interested.

@jpolar394 5 лет назад

Thank you for your time and effort for posting this video. It sure brings back good memories.

@eyesareus3757 11 лет назад

Great video. A piece of America has been preserved. By the 1960's there was so much more traffic on the pike that they had to upgrade the tunnels. Glad that I got to ride through them as a kid.

@stevefromPA2 10 лет назад

Im a PA truck driver..so this video is outstanding....

@ConcertShutterbug 3 года назад

Cool to see a portion of the Abandoned Turnpike with the automobile traffic!

@FilipinaVanLifeAubry 5 лет назад

We been passing there. Seeing this old video so amazing.

@thomasschwarting5108 2 года назад

Cool film. I like the perspective of it being 1953!! And good music!!

@MooPotPie 13 лет назад

"Holiday For Strings" … perfect choice of music for this!!! Only 4 of the original 7 tunnels are in use today.

@edgoodwin4389 3 года назад

Jesus, your grandfather was pretty active with the camera. Thank god for his existence.

@veritasvg 15 лет назад

Yeah, I agree. You want to preserve it. Say, Mountain...my relatives live in Lewistown and that area has changed a lot just within the past ten years. I-99 and the new road through the Narrows east of town is gonna make a big difference especially in the winter. Take care.

@tebe449 7 лет назад

Love the video and especially the accompanying music! :-) Just biked on the abandoned stretch for the third time. It is quite an experience.

@1royalpalm 15 лет назад

As a young kid in the early 1950s, my grandparents took me to Ohio (from Maryland) via the Pa. Turnpike, almost every year to visit relatives. I recall some of those old tunnels, as well as the road signs saying "falling rocks," deer crossing." etc. Seeing your home movie of the tunnels and the cars of that time was great,

@sshiley 4 года назад

It’s a shame that grandpa didn’t drive through Allegheny Mountain and Laurel Hill as well! Great video, thanks!

@hep2jive Год назад

"...Never hear such lovely music 🎶 🎵 "

@jugg1492 13 лет назад

thank u for throwing this up on here.

@themidnightracer9937 7 лет назад

Cool video...and i see my father's car at 1:31. The tunnels back then were amazing. It's so sad to see what they look like today.

@mikeking1456 2 месяца назад

That's awesome Ty for the video.. Much appreciated..me an my wife went there few years back not knowing much about got late..we walked One tunnel it seems it never ended an turned back.. Didn't have lights or anything

@skulledmonte84 11 лет назад

Damn all them old hotrods :) What a difference, So many cars on the road now !!!

@kevingraham3317 6 лет назад

Wow amazing to see those old cars and some of them tunnels are no longer in service it's a bike trail now but very cool to see what seemed like a great time

@Longenecker1776 4 года назад

We do this drive at least twice a year. These videos are very interesting to say the least.

@79pretzel 11 лет назад

we had a '53 (w/6 volts) for a few years, and as long as the battery was charged, never any problems. There's actually a 6v alternator available to install for orignal 6v cars that keep the electrical system more reliable

@MrJayt0625 9 лет назад

The entrances to the tunnels were sketchy! Could you imagine them with today's traffic?

@fungustmaster 8 лет назад

+Jason Thompson forget the traffic, going directly into the dark is very dangerous when it's day

@butters5098 7 лет назад

Ya know today in 2017 you still have to drive signal lane only if there is maintenance work in the tunnels Very dangerous

@OrdinaryKy 7 лет назад

That is why they changed the tunnels and bypassed 3 in the 60s.

@butters5098 7 лет назад

This video should probably have a million views by now

@robertwmartens 7 лет назад

Actually 108,402 - but hey, a tenth of a million ain't bad!

@stuffyoucando2 6 лет назад

Pretty cool footage. I travel the turnpike and pass through the tunnels on a regular basis. It’s interesting to recognize the curves and tunnel faces, though I think the curve on the east side entrance of one of the tunnels was changed a few years back. I forget which one it was though.

@scottsmith31 5 лет назад

StuffYouCanDo2 how do you “travel the turnpike and the tunnels on a regular basis”? They’ve been abandoned and closed since 1968...

@BGoldtone 9 лет назад

Thanks for this video. This is one CLASS ACT video with the music and time frame video presentation. Love this!

@JPVideos81 7 лет назад

This is great footage, i was wondering if i can use about 30-45 seconds worth in a video im doing on the tunnels? I can credit the footage in the video.

@robertwmartens 6 лет назад

Yes, you may.

@nwilmoth5125 3 года назад

Wow! Too cool! I've seen so much of recent stuff with all the run down graffiti. Was absolutely amazing to see it as it was!

@petestephen4922 7 лет назад

Very Nice video. Thank you for the trip to you and your Grandparents!

@mikecrittenden464 9 лет назад

Awesome video thanks for that I love seeing all the old school cars and what not

@williestreety1106 9 лет назад

Wow! Very enjoyable!!!Thank you Walt!!! Jo

@GeorgeMillerSr 9 лет назад

neat posting willie , to see the cars from the late 40s and 50s was something and good music

@nannybooboo7380 9 лет назад

TY SIS. INTERRESTING. HUGS LATER 🐎🌷🌷🌷🌷🐎🐎🐎

@GeorgeMillerSr 9 лет назад

tunnel of love was missing

@nannybooboo7380 9 лет назад

george miller only u haaa

@GeorgeMillerSr 9 лет назад

yes lady nanny boo boo

@maliwahtallhei 11 лет назад

Whoa this is so cool! I love the authenticity and all the vintage cars (I'm a classic car fanatic!) It's like an interactive history lesson! Kudos to you!