1880 — July 21, Tunnel construction failure (blowout), Hudson River, Jersey City, NJ– 20
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-11-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 21 National Railway Historical Society, Inc. Railroad Hist. Almanac 1860-1879. 2006, p.1.
— 21 New Brunswick Times, NJ. “An Appalling Accident…Hudson…Tunnel.” 7-22-1880, p2.
–20-21 Syracuse Morning Standard, NY. “A Shocking Accident,” July 22, 1880, p. 1.
— 20 Klein. “Long before PATH…tragedy struck inside Hudson River tunnel.” 4-24-2017.
— 20 New York Times. “The Hudson River Tunnel,” November 6, 1881, p. 4.
— 20 Weekly Advocate and Times, Rahway, NJ. “Caving in of…Hudson River Tunnel.” 7-24-1880, 3.
— 20 Warren. “The worst disaster in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.” NJ.com, 2-25-2019.
Narrative Information
Klein: “It was known as an engineering marvel when it was finished, but the train line we know of as PATH had a rocky start and became a watery grave for 20 workers after an accident in the early days of the tunnel’s construction.
….
“…on July 21, 1880, disaster struck. As workers dug their way 60 feet under the Hudson River, about 300 feet toward Manhattan, Assistant Superintendent Peter Woodland saw water gushing in through the brick wall being constructed and rushed as many men out as he could before closing the door.
“The blowout killed Woodland and 19 other sandhogs, but he saved the lives of eight men….”
(Klein. Daniel. “Long before PATH trains, tragedy struck inside Hudson River tunnel.” The Jersey Journal, 4-24-2017.)
National Railway Historical Society, Inc.: “July 21, 1880 A blowout occurs in the Hudson & Manhattan tunnel beneath the Hudson River… Compressed air escapes through the river bed, flooding the tunnel and drowning 21 workers.” (NRHS 2006, 1)
Warren. “The worst disaster in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.” NJ.com, 2-25-2019:
“Hudson River tunnel collapse – On July 21, 1880, disaster struck the tunnel that the PATH now runs through. A collapse of the tunnel during its construction killed 20 ‘sandhogs’ working 60 feet under the Hudson River.”
Newspapers
July 20: “Jersey City, July 20—At five o’clock this morning the caisson surrounding a deep well leading to the entrance of the Hudson River tunnel now in course of construction cave in, carrying an immense quantity of earth. Twenty one men were buried. Seven were soon taken out alive and fourteen remained. The water from the river flowed in rapidly, and steam fire engines were set to work to save those who might still be alive from drowning…
“Twenty lives are reported lost, while eight men had an almost miraculous escape. The night gang of thirty men, including Assistant Superintendent Woodland [killed] and two foremen, entered the shaft at midnight, the hours of work for this gang being from twelve to eight o’clock. The depth of the shaft is sixty-five feet. While most of the men were employed at the bottom of the shaft, about a third of the gang was engaged on the brick wall of the arch twenty-five feet higher. It was the other squad, who were all bricklayers, that escaped except two. The main arch of the tunnel runs out from the shaft thirty feet when it opens in to two distinct arches that are to form the tunnel…
“Through some negligence of the men it is supposed the air lock was not properly adjusted when the process of shifting commenced. The brick wall connecting the two arches gave way and water rushed into the cave. The superintendent thinks the air in the tunnel must have escaped through the slit…
“The following is the official report of the Hudson River Tunnel Company regarding the accident at Jersey City.
Tuesday morning at about 5:30 o’clock while the men were changing shafts that portion of the wall adjoining the shaft of the connecting members between the second tunnel and the sinking shaft fell in. Twenty eight men were in the tunnel at the time of whom eight escaped through the air lock. Twenty were killed.
“The incident occurred at the connection of the iron plates with the brick wall of the working shaft which during the changing of the shifts was probably not watched by the men as closely as it should have been and the compressed air was allowed to escape. The compressed air is relied upon to assist in supporting the roof, which was also sustained by a strong timber bracing, and the escape of air has always been prevented by stopping the leaks with waste silt.
“As the roof fell the plate closed the door of the air lock into the tunnel, and the water rising rapidly cut off the escape of the twenty men who were killed. The building of this connecting chamber, although a difficult piece of work has progressed safely until now. The roof was all in position and safely bolted. The connection of iron plates with the shaft was being made at the time of the accident….
“Work will be prosecuted night and day with all the men that can be advantageously employed, until the bodies are recovered, which will probably take three days. The accident will probably delay the work for three weeks…
“A man who escaped states that after the eight men escaped, one man trying to pass through the door leading from the air lock into the temporary chamber of the tunnel, was jammed in the doorway, and despite the efforts of those ahead could not be got out as the door closed upon him and held him fast.
“A Heroic Boss
“Peter Woodland, assistant superintendent, told the men to try to get out, and when the ninth man was fastened in the doorway, he called out to those who escaped, telling them to hurry and try to get assistance to help the rest and himself, who were left behind. He refused to leave himself, saying he would stay and make every effort to get the rest out, and if that were not possible, those who were escaping must try and get the rest and himself out alive.
“A Survivor’s Story.
James Hayes, one of the survivors of the Hudson River tunnel disaster at Jersey City, N.J., says:
Myself and a few others were excavating in the tunnel, a short distance inside the inner door. The two doors are about fourteen feet apart, and each is about four feet in diameter. In passing in or out, one door is closed before the other is opened. This is necessary to prevent a rush of air, which would happen if both doors should be opened at one time. We were startled by a noise that indicated a leak, and immediately afterward there was a loud noise as if something had suddenly broken or burst. I never experienced anything more sudden. The water poured in rapidly. We strove to stop the leak by shoving our clothes into it. Some of the men removed their trousers and even their shirts to fill up the terrible gap, but still the leak enlarged and the volume of water increased. The water was soon nearly up to our hips, and we saw it was useless to endeavor longer to stop the leak. Anderson, who was the last to come through the inside door got jammed by the door pressing against him. Some of the men strove to get through. Both doors opened inwardly. The pressure of the air from within the tunnel baffled all attempts to release him, and we were obliged to leave him. We had to get the door shut before we could open the other. By this time we were unable to open thou outer door, which is the entrance to the shaft. Inside the air lock we suffered by the pressure of air from the tunnel. At last one of the men went to work to break the dead lights on the side of the outer door. I stopped him. I was afraid if he broke the deadlights the air pressure from the tunnel would prevent us from opening the door. Right afterwards, as nothing else could be done, I seized a crowbar and used it to break the dead-lights. We then got through the openings we made. From the air lock we landed on a platform in the shaft thirty feet down from the surface, and then we were safe. By the time we reached the surface the thing was all over. The frightful noise we heard right after we were made aware of the leak was like the shot of a gun.
“Just in Time. The men who were rescued did not reach the surface a moment too soon, for the water rushed after them with amazing rapidity, till it reached within three feet of the top of the shaft….
“Engineers say it is impossible for any of the imprisoned workmen to be alive as the water within the whole length of the tunnel is up to the roof, and even above it. It is impossible to force any air into the tunnel, as all which has been forced in so far has escaped through the shaft in which it has made water leap up two or three feet above the surface.
“Only Seven Saved. It is stated this afternoon that only seven men instead of eight have been saved. Thomas Crimmins who was reported to have escaped is now said to be missing.” (Syracuse Morning Standard (NY). “A Shocking Accident,” July 22, 1880, p. 1.)
Nov 6, 1881, NYT: “The double tunnel under the Hudson River, which seemed to drop out of public sight and memory after the recovery of the bodies of the 20 workmen who, in July 1880, were buried by the caving in of a portion of the work, is being pushed steadily toward New-York through the mud of the river bottom…. When the end of the tunnel caved-in in Jersey City, owing to defective workmanship, it was feared by some engineers that that portion which had been extended some 200 feet under the river had also given way wand was in ruins….After a caisson had been sunk, the bodies of the workmen recovered, and an investigation made, it was found that the tunnel itself was…intact….
“Descending the shaft entrance to the caisson and so to the twin tunnels…[is] effected through the same air-lock which saved the lives of 8 of the 28 men who were in the tunnel when the accident occurred. Its inner door still bears the dents made by the timbers which fell against it like a tattering ram, and closing it cut off the lives of half a dozen poor fellows who had all but succeeded in reaching its friendly shelter….” (New York Times. “The Hudson River Tunnel,” November 6, 1881, p. 4.)
Sources
Klein. Daniel. “Long before PATH trains, tragedy struck inside Hudson River tunnel.” The Jersey Journal, 4-24-2017. Accessed 5-12-2025 at: https://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/long_before_path_trains_tragedy_struck_inside_huds.html
National Railway Historical Society, Inc. Railroad Historical Almanac 1860-1879. 9-2-2006, 23 pages. Accessed at: http://www.nrhs.com/almanac/rr-almanac-1860-1879.pdf
New Brunswick Times, NJ. “An Appalling Accident. A Portion of the Hudson River Tunnel Caves In. Twenty-one Men Swallowed Up.” 7-22-1880, p. 2. Accessed 5-12-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-brunswick-daily-times-jul-22-1880-p-2/
New York Times. “The Hudson River Tunnel,” November 6, 1881, p. 4. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D00E4D8103EE433A25755C0A9679D94609FD7CF
Syracuse Morning Standard, NY. “A Shocking Accident. A Score of Men Buried in the Hudson River Tunnel,” July 22, 1880, p. 1. Accessed 5-12-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-standard-jul-22-1880-p-1/
Weekly Advocate and Times, Rahway, NJ. “Caving in of the Hudson River Tunnel.” 7-24-1880, p. 3. Accessed 5-12-2025 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/rahway-weekly-advocate-and-times-jul-24-1880-p-3/
Warren, Michael Sol. “The worst disaster in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.” NJ.com, 2-25-2019. Accessed 5-12-2025 at:
https://www.nj.com/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/02/6c318b30e95860/the-worst-disaster-in-each-of-new-jerseys-21-counties-.html