Blue Ghost Tunnel- Merritton

Blue ghost Tunnel 

The Great Western Railway Company had concerns about how trains would pass through the Welland Canal and the efficiency of a swing bridge. The solution turned out to be a 665-foot limestone and timber tunnel that was 16 feet wide by 18 feet tall that went underneath the canal.

Construction on the canal began in 1875 and involved approximately one thousand Irish immigrants working the land by hand, while several others worked on cutting the stones. Currently, there is a constant dripping in the tunnels, with a muddy path for most of the year and dark empty cave walls that echoes throughout the tunnel.   

Hazardous accidents that occurred in the tunnel

The construction was not without tragedies. Three people were killed during the construction of the tunnel. In 1875, a 14-year-old Irish immigrant was killed when a large boulder fell upon him. Then in 1903, two trains collided in a head-on collision at approximately 7:03 AM. Charles Harning from Engine Number 4 and Abraham Desult from Engine Number 975, died.

Charles Horning, the fireman on the express train was pinned between the flaming hot boiler and the coal car. It's said that during the rescue attempt that his arms and legs became severed from his body. In all, 107 men were killed during the construction of the tunnel

The tunnel was almost destined to be short-lived as the Grand Trunk Railway was taking over as there was a preference for dual rails (in order to avoid collisions like the one that occurred here).  

Blue ghost of the tunnel and its tale

Similarly many ask questions like why is it called blue ghost tunnel? Is blue ghost even real? While there are rumors of the tunnel being haunted one cant say for sure, but some say that a candle lit in the tunnel will be extinguished, others say that if one explores the place deep enough a mysterious blue light will appear in a silhouette of a man, certain individuals have gone and clicked pictures of the same thus earning the name.