Borden Tunnel

The Bordon Tunnel was built in 1911 by the Western Maryland Railway through the Allegheny Mountains as part of its expansion from Cumberland to Connellsville. The 957-foot-long tunnel features a semicircular arch design with rectangular cement portals and corbeled edges.

The Western Maryland Railway began laying tracks in 1857. It was primarily an agricultural hauler that connected Baltimore, Hagerstown, and Williamsport to the C&O Canal. During the 1880’s and 1890’s, the railway acquired additional spurs in Pennsylvania. They built the Cumberland to Connellsville expansion from 1910 to 1912 in an effort to build a transcontinental route competitive with the B&O Railroad. This expansion connected with a branch of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad in Connellsville, placing it at the strategic center of the region’s coal and lumber industries.

By the 1950’s, the Western Maryland Railway’s coal business was in decline, and the lumber shipments had stopped. Additionally, automobile transportation had reduced the demand for passenger rail services. In 1968, the C&O and the B&O jointly acquired control of the Western Maryland Railway. In 1973, the Chessie System took control of the railroad, and the track from Hagerstown and Connellsville (including this tunnel) was abandoned in 1975.

In 1978, the dead for 26.75 miles of the Western Maryland Railway’s abandoned corridor was given to the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, and the first section of what would become the Great Allegheny Passage was built. Over the next 35 years, volunteers along the former railroad began constructing similar segments of trail for neighbors to enjoy. The Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy eventually took over coordinating the renovation and conversion of the former railroad and completed the missing links. The Great Allegheny Passage was completed in 2013.

The Borden Tunnel lighting project was completed in 2020. This project installed a system of 10 motion activated LED high-bay lighting fixtures throughout the tunnel. These lights are on timers and are powered by a solar array at the north end of the tunnel.

In April of 2026, the Allegany County Department of Public Works solicited bids to renovate the tunnel. This project will resurface the exterior portal walls and line the interior of the tunnel. The tunnel portals and wingwalls will be resurfaced with mortar. The interior of the tunnel will be lined with a corrugated structural steel plate arch liner system, and the space between the original tunnel and new liner will be filled with grout. The project also includes repairs to the existing tunnel, foundation system, drainage system and existing LED lighting fixtures.