Palmyra Railroad Tunnel

Palmyra is a very small town southwest of Clarksville, TN. I believe the tunnel to be about 800-1000 ft. long.

The old Train Tracks cross the Cumberland River in Clarksville and as it heads east is parallels the river for a while. However, near Palmyra, there is a large bluff overlooking the river and a tunnel needed to be blasted through it. There is even a cemetery above this tunnel.

Today, the tracks are used by RJ Corman. They were origanny built by the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad (M.C. & L.) which eventually became part of L&N.

The tracks probably flooded in the 2010 flood. in the Great Flood of 1937, the tracks were 5 feet underwater.

When looking up how old the tunnel is, I found a news article from 1859 where a railroad employee died working on the tunnel. In 1928, a boulder landed on the tracks and L&N employees blasted it, which caused a large rock to fall from 25 feet above onto them.

To get to this spot, take highway 149 to Jarman Hollow Rd. and go towards the river. You will pass down a short residential street and then the road makes a couple of sharp turns until it gets to the tracks. Years ago, there must have been a ferry to cross the river at this street, but it looks like you shouldn't drive any further past the tracks. I had to U-turn on the tracks, which meant it was a good thing a train didn't come while I was here.