Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Pennsylvania Canal" in English language version.
Work began on November 21, 1831 and often occurred during inclement conditions. The men were paid $13 per month plus room and board for 12 hour days 6 days per week. Workers chipped and blasted 901 feet of solid rock to make the tunnel. Finished in June 1833, the Staple Bend tunnel was advertised as the first railroad tunnel in the United States. It was the third tunnel of any kind built in the US, the first tunnels were for other canals in Pennsylvania.They were also converted into railway tunnels in 1854 when the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the Allegheny Portage Railway from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
