History & local legend
Hell’s Tunnel is the Union Railroad crossing over Thompson Run Road in Wilkins Township. Stories about it describe a swinging rope at one end of the opening and a man calling for his son, who is said to have died there by hanging.
A separate tale moves from the tunnel to the nearby creek, where a mother is said to have drowned her baby. The two stories share the surrounding landscape but concern different events and figures.
In August 2004, Drew Schauble’s GHOST team visited and photographed the tunnel, railroad and a nearby ruined building. A member named Mary reported feeling a presence, and the group interpreted shapes in two photographs as a noose.
Sources
- Drew Schauble and the GHOST team, original investigation report, captioned photographs and location directions
- GHOST team, original view of the tunnel entrance, camera date August 23, 2004
- Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, Braddock quad grid 0601 4475, Union Railroad over Thompson Run Road and adjacent Thompson Run bridge
- OpenStreetMap, Thompson Run Road tunnel below the railroad
