All aboard! The Point Rock Tunnel Railroad Ghost

A popular stop along the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail north of Columbia is the 180-foot-long Point Rock Tunnel. Built between 1850 and 1851, the tunnel was part of the original Pennsylvania Railroad Columbia Branch and ran parallel to the Pennsylvania Canal’s Eastern Division—one of the final links in the Main Line of Public Works connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The railroad clung to a narrow shelf along the Susquehanna River’s east bank between Columbia and Chickies Rock. At a sharp river bend known as the Spinning Wheel—the most abrupt turn on the canal—the railroad had little choice but to blast through the hill at Rock Point. As noted by Gerald Smeltzer in Canal Along the Lower Susquehanna, “Going north from Columbia meant rounding the ‘Spinning Wheel.’ It was known as the sharpest turn on the canal. The railroad, which paralleled the canal at this point, eased the radius of the turn by employing a short tunnel.” That tunnel—curved and carved directly from the cliffside’s solid rock—required no masonry lining, giving it its raw and rugged appearance.

The Pennsylvania Canal, completed in 1833, had helped transform the area into a hub of transportation and commerce. But by 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad had taken over operations and began converting canal corridors into rails. As canal use declined, parts were filled in, especially during 1906, when the railroad built its “low grade” bypass. This realignment sliced across the Susquehanna River on a massive fill between Point Rock and Chickies Rock, forming Kerbaugh Lake and eliminating the need for the Point Rock Tunnel. After a devastating flood in 1936 destroyed part of the low grade, the PRR briefly returned to the old alignment. But by the end of World War II, the tracks were removed entirely, and the tunnel abandoned.

Today, the Point Rock Tunnel is a passage through both history and mystery. It has found new life as part of the River Trail, inviting hikers, bikers, and—some say—ghosts.

One enduring tale involves the spirit of a man who was struck and killed by a train long ago. Witnesses report seeing a bearded old man with a staff and glowing red lantern drifting through the tunnel between midnight and 1 a.m. One railroad worker in 1875 claimed to have seen the figure on three separate nights—on one occasion, the ghost even raised a hand in greeting before vanishing into the darkness.

Other apparitions are said to walk the path of the old canal and railroad—silent travelers from a bygone era, forever circling the Spinning Wheel.

When & Where To Find It

The ghost is said to appear inside Point Rock Tunnel between midnight and 1 am and is rumored to carry a red lantern or handkerchief.

The Point Rock Tunnel is located about 1.3 miles north of Columbia from the Northwest River Trail parking lot on the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. Click here for the exact location.

Read More

Read this story and more in my first full-length book, Uncharted Lancaster’s Ghosts, Monsters, and Tales of Adventure. This 283-page book is packed with 64 unforgettable stories, all set right here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

More Haunted Lancaster

If you have a ghost story you want to share as part of Haunted Lancaster, comment below or email me.

Resources

• Chickie’s Rock
• Chickies Rock & the Supernatural
• Chickies Rock tour offers a creepy glimpse of the past
• Ghosthunting Pennsylvania (America’s Haunted Road Trip)
• Haunted Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Ghosts and Other Strange Occurrences