Clarity Tunnel

The geography of Texas has historically resulted in the need for very few railroad tunnels. The vast amount of land with relatively few natural obstacles meant that construction could usually go around a potential tunnel, even in central and west Texas where most of the hills are located. But this was not always true; by all accounts, there have been six railroad tunnels constructed in Texas, none of which are still in use for rail traffic. [And I'm talking "real" tunnels, not "urban" tunnels or subways (e.g. the DART tunnel in Dallas) where tracks have been placed below ground.] Two of the tunnels were along the Ft. Worth & Denver South Plains Railway, a branch line of the Ft. Worth & Denver Railway. The line was constructed from Estelline to Dimmitt, a distance of 131 miles, in 1927-28, primarily to serve the cotton business near Lubbock and Plainview. The longer of the two tunnels was Clarity Tunnel, a curved tunnel 742 feet in length named for F. E. Clarity, a member of the railroad's Board of Directors. I do not know the name of the other tunnel, but it was much smaller and located a short distance west of Clarity Tunnel. The story goes that a train derailed in the smaller tunnel, and in the process of cleaning up the mess, the railroad decided to eliminate the tunnel by "daylighting" it, i.e. excavating it so that the tunnel no longer existed. Clarity Tunnel remained in use until the rail line was abandoned in 1989. In the early 90's, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department converted the abandoned right-of-way into the Caprock Canyons Trail between Estelline and South Plains which includes the section encompassing Clarity Tunnel. It's a great bike ride (or on horseback, if you prefer).

Vicinity of Clarity Tunnel [34 14 22N, 101 07 30W]