1953 - Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels- improved video
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Published 2008-09-11
This version has better color and detail than the one I uploaded a year ago. The music ought to sound familiar to most baby boomers. Originally shot on 16mm film. The tunnels appear much, much darker than they really were - the film was formulated for shooting in daylight and wasn't sensitive enough to pick up the dimmed light of the tunnels' interiors.
Some of these tunnels are no longer in service - portions of the turnpike were rerouted during the 1960s and their tunnels abandoned. Today they're enjoyed by hikers and bikers.
Notice that in 1953 all these tunnels had only one tube, through which ran traffic in both directions. Today every working tunnel has two tubes, one for each direction.
There's many more of Grandpa's movies on my channel - please visit! Also visit www.webnik.com/homemovies
All Comments (21)
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Little did my grandparents know when they made this little movie in 1953 that it would be receiving all this appreciation today! Somewhere up there, they must be smiling.
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I'm 64 and I remember these tunnels. We moved from Benton, Illinois to Salisbury Delaware around 1957. Every summer we would drive back to Il for a 2 week vacation. The tunnels were wonderful, always looked forward to them. I remember once we drove into a tunnel, the weathered was nice, bright and sunny. When we came out the other end, it was pouring rain. So cool! Thank-you so much for these films, I have enjoyed them so much!
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According to my dad, Grandpa was always a loyal Buick customer, and he changed cars every few years, so in all likelihood he and Grandma were driving a Buick model from the early 1950's. Thanks for enjoying the ride!
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You have done something very nice with Grandpa's films. it is historical footage of tunnels and roads now in most cases by passed. The older cars are fun to see again. and that is how it was.
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Gosh, the light 1953 traffic makes it look so easy to merge gracefully into one lane as you go into each tunnel. Not like ten years later! Thanks for posting this--this is a great perspective!
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They were actually better illuminated than it appears. The film that Grandpa used was formulated for use in either bright exterior sunlight or with interior flood lamps. The lighting inside the tunnels wasn't as strong as either, so it was barely exposed onto the film.
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I grew up going to NJ every summer and the highlight of the trip along the PA Turnpike was the tunnels. Sure brings back memories.
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Your Grandpa (and Grandma) did great! Loved the footage of the as-built tunnels with the bonus of all the vintage automobiles. Thanks for posting this wonderful peek into the ever-distancing past.
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After seeing videos of this road, tunnels now abandoned...it was great to see them when they were young, beautiful and being used!! Thanks to grandpa filming his historic adventures!!
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Our family vacation, in 1962, took us through all 7(?) tunnels in our '54 Chevy. My fathers name was Ray, & we though it was funny to go through "Ray's" Hill!
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What a marvelous contribution to fans of vintage travel videos. My great-grandparents lived in Wilmerding on State Street. I remember the Tuscarora Tunnel very well. What a spooky experience for me as a child. What a test of my Dad's driving skills through that dark tunnel.
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This video is a gift for fans of infrastructure history, highways included, and I believe your grandpa and grandma were and are very special persons. Thanks for posting this lovely memory for us.
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I was born in 1960. We lived near NY city, and used to travel the turnpike from Carlisle to Bedford quite often to see our relatives out in Windber / Johnstown, Pa. I loved the trip and the tunnels as a kid, and still remember that once we passed through Rays Hill before they bypassed it, we were about an hour to Windber. Nice memories. Thanks.
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David Rose -- perfect music for a 1950s turnpike film.
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Last Sunday, I was standing inside the Sideling Hill Tunnel. What a treat to see it in its heyday. Thank you, Robert and Grandpa!
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Absolutely loved that! It would have been the way that my parents first saw the Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels at about the same time in the early 50s. They talked about the tunnels like they were the Eighth Wonder. I remember being excited to go through them myself as a kid. Awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Last spring we rode our bikes on the abandoned section including the Ray's Hill and Sideling tunnels. We tried to envision what it all looked like back in the day. So glad I stumbled upon your video! It's fantastic!
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That drive is just as scenic today as it was back then!
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I love these "every day life" old movies. Really is like looking through a window in time. Thanks for sharing!
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This film interests me much more today than it did when you first posted this. In the past three years, I've driven through three of the tunnels many times, and I have also walked through Sideling Hill and Ray's Hill tunnels. I really like seeing the approach and departure from those two tunnels, after trying to figure out what they looked like in the past as I stood there in the present.
