The Commonwealth of Virginia incorporated the Blue Ridge Railroad on March 5, 1849 to build 17 miles across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The route required four tunnels, the shortest of which was Little Rock tunnel. It is the only one of the four original tunnels still in active use today.
Claudius Crozet, chief engineer of the Blue Ridge Railroad, was born in France and served in the French military under Napoleon. After Napoleon's defeat, Crozet immigrated to the United States and served on the faculty of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point before appointment as principal engineer for the Virginia Board of Public Works. Under Crozet's direction, Irish labourers and African American slaves built the tracks and drilled the four tunnels through the rock.
The state-financed Blue Ridge Railroad became part of the Virginia Central Railroad upon completion. Shortly after the Civil War, the Virginia Central was merged into the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway in 1869.
- This cache is NOT RECOMMENDED AT NIGHT. Please take this seriously, do not go in the dark, or in low light conditions.
- The cache is placed on top of Little Rock tunnel. The are many feet of solid rock (and some air) between the cache and the train tracks.
- The cache is placed well away from the top edge of the tunnel. It is possible to climb on the slope and the little ledge between the cache and the tunnel edge, but it is not recommended, and not necessary to reach the cache. Approach the cache from the cut across the center of the tunnel ceiling.
- Part of the challenge is figuring out an approach that does not trespass on private property!
- As always when you go into the woods in Virginia during hunting season, it is a good idea to wear bright orange.