The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels: History and Exploration

[@dylanstraub9612]

I'm a big fan of the PA turnpike. It's easily one of the best I've driven. Thanks for the content.

[@whatinthehistory5375]

You are welcome!!!

[@davidtrindle6473]

When I was a kid in the 50s we went thru all the tunnels and it was the most fun part of the trip.

[@whatinthehistory5375]

That is so cool! It seemed the tunnels were a big selling point of the turnpike back then.

[@william38022]

I remember those tunnels on vacation with my parents in the old station wagon. I also remember those little tiny buildings that looked really cool look like they’d be a really fun place to visit and they showed movies XXX I remember asking my mother and father if we could go and my mother had a meltdown and then she had another meltdown when I ask her what is XXX does that mean they’re really good movies. they were all over the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I also think that Pennsylvania has the world’s best tasting springwater there used to be places right on the turnpike you could pull over and they had a great big giant metal pipe coming all the way down the side of the mountain and people lined up to get a drink and fill jugs up The water was ice cold if you drink it too fast to give you a headache on a hot summer day,,,now it’s probably not safe.

[@whatinthehistory5375]

All the XXX places eventually moved to Perry County. Haha. It is interesting about the water. I never heard that! Thanks for sharing!

[@markdegraff1950]

Nice job!Keep up the good work!

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Mikell-h2c]

Is that we’re the film _the road _was filmed ?

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Yes it is.

[@cindyjofaithful4469]

The turnpike is in my backyard.....thanks for this video! Love it!

[@whatinthehistory5375]

I am glad you enjoyed it! That is awesome!!

[@rwp722]

Thanks for the informative tour. I enjoyed the format and learned by watching.

[@jameshiggins-thomas9617]

Would be nice to see it as an active (and preserved) trail.

[@whatinthehistory5375]

I hope one day it gets that privilege.

[@Jimbrag]

take a shot every time he says railroad

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Yeah, I even tried to cut how many times I had to say it, and it still came out as a lot. Lol

[@uncledave56]

Well done, intelligent. You did your research which gives you more credibility as a content creator.

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Thank you!!! I take pride in my research because it is the most important part of my content, in my opinion.

[@charlesshirk8699]

Interesting

[@thomasmiller5057]

The graffiti is both a blessing and a curse there I visit and bike usually twice a year

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Awesome! It is a nice place. And I agree, it is a blessing and a curse. Most of it is clutter and annoying, but some of it is entertaining. Haha

[@william38022]

Well I think we should get under a shade tree and kick back and I’ll have a bottle of birch beer soda and we can talk about it lol

[@william38022]

East broad top,,, we used to go there too it was a place where you could ride a real steam train or a trolley and they had a little town fixed up like it was 160 years ago in the past it was a lot of fun I don’t even know if it’s still around now. we used to love to go there

[@whatinthehistory5375]

East Broad Top did close for a while, but it has been reopened recently! It still offers train rides and trolley rides. I have not been up since it's reopened. I need to make a visit sometime.

[@SchardtCinematic]

Thank You Thank You Thank You for saying outright that you don't condone the Graffiti. I'm so sick of how bad it had gotton since my first visit in March 2013. If you watch my 2 videos of my 2013 trip it looks so much nicer and even back then I thought there was way to much graffiti. Love your video great research and video of the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Yes!! The graffiti is terrible and in just 1 year it increased a lot! I am an artist myself and appreciate good artwork, but most of it is trash, and none of it should be there in the first place. Thank you!! I am glad you enjoyed my video!!

[@SchardtCinematic]

@whatinthehistory5375 Yes you coveted the history very well. So many people get some things wrong when talking about the history. Yes some of the Graffiti is good. My wish would be for a restoration of the tunnels with lights back in the original light socket areas. But have the lighting powered by solor power. Also rebuild the Cove Valley Service Plaza as a gift shop/ bike repair and charge a small fee to go on to it and the funds help maintain it. Also have it monitored with cameras or someone patrolling it to stop those vandalizing it

[@nathanmeece9794]

Why did the designers of the Pennsylvania Turnpike think that two lane tunnels could handle a four lane highway?

[@whatinthehistory5375]

The tunnels already existed, so I imagine it was a cost savings for them. Also, traffic wasn't as abundant back then. It's kind of like the old streets of towns and cities built 200 years ago. They were designed for horse and buggy traffic, not for cars, trucks. And semi's so we have bottlenecks today in those areas and sometimes we bypassed these towns with highways or bypasses. Nobody anticipated the volume of traffic of the future.

[@Bobtowngarden]

Why were they abandoned?

[@ronsmith7739]

Why did they drop the turnpike tunnels in the first place ????

[@whatinthehistory5375]

I explained it in the video. The tunnels were chokepoints because they were too narrow. As traffic increased in the 1950's, bottlenecks occurred at the tunnels because it necked the road down to a 2 lane highway rather than a 4 lane highway.

[@bluegizmo1983]

😂 People think the appalachian "mountains" are high and or steep?? LOL that's cute, try coming out west to the Rock mountains or to the mountains of the pacific northwest!

[@whatinthehistory5375]

I once talked to some cross-country cyclists from out west. They started in Oregon, crossed the Sierra Navadas, and the Rockies. When they got to PA, they were complaining about the Appalachians. We asked why. They said that despite all the mountain ranges out west, these were the worst to cycle because out west, the roads had a smaller grade due to switchbacks. Over here, however, the roads were steep.

[@MatthewHineline]

Nothing on centrialia

[@whatinthehistory5375]

Not yet. I would like to, but gas isn't cheap and I would like to explore it while I film.

[@charlesj.peters]

This guy talks to much.