The tunnel is collapsed about 100 yards in. The Cannonball was an electric line. There are "endangered" bats inside the tunnel. Hence the gate. The Sugar Notch side was imploded purposely many years ago. Your pic shows a dry floor. Last time I was there it was about 10 inches of water. I've seen some old pictures of the mouth of the tunnel and there was a decorative face on it. But I don't know about how that got destroyed. My Grandmother grew up in Nuangola. She related some old stories about riding the train to go to Wilkes Barre. Alot of history in the area when Lake Nuangola was a popular place.

I didnt think that tunnel was large enough for trolleys until i saw you get close to it. Looks Awesome. Those darn bat gates...

(8:45) The PGC wasn't "destroying history" by installing a gate and the backfill. They are bat conservation measures. Obviously, the gate was installed to keep people out. The backfill in front of the tunnel opening is designed to lower the interior temperatures of the tunnel by allowing warmer air to escape and make it more suitable for bat hibernation (approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit).

Thanks again

A tunnel in Pa. I visited many times since the 1960s has bat gayes on it now, one side is closed anyway through a highway fill!

Thanks Cliff.

Many of these tunnels were blocked off to prevent vehicular use post abandonment. Once the rails were removed you could drive a Model Ts or Model As on those old rail routes. Local Governmrnt would even pave them in the 1930s through the 1950s but given they were never designed for automobiles were dangerous. Many local Government were sued for faulty upgrades. I knew a lawyer who told me one of his first cases involved such a rail line in the 1950s. If the local Government had done nothing on the line, they were not liable, but if they did anything, and paving was cheap so many local government paved these abandoned rail beds so that people with cars could use them. Once sued, most were blocked off. I suspect this tunnel was involved in such an "Improvement" and after the local Government lost a lawsuit they decided to make the tunnel unusable by putting that huge mound of dirt at the entrance, some time in the 1940s or 1950s. The Game Commission put the gate up around 2008 to keep hikers out so the bats would not be disturbed. Bats survive the winter in "Caves" like this one, but only if they are left alone, thus the gate To check up on my speculation as to the mound of dirt you have to look through the old court records and see who sued the local township or maybe even the county to confirm my speculation but I do not have the time to do so.

Probably a interurban line like septa Norristown high speed line rt 100

Thanks for the 'glimpse'! Couldn't see it any other way. Beautiful walk up to that place. ;]

Wikipedia states: The name Nuangola probably derives from an Algonquian language, which was spoken by the indigenous Native Americans of the area (most likely the Delaware, the region's largest tribe, although some Nanticoke and Shawnee also lived there at the time). According to legend, a Native American maiden named Nuangola is believed to have drowned in the lake. Another story states that Nuangola is the Native American word for "Three-Cornered Lake" or "Triangular Lake," the latter of which was another name for the area prior to it being officially named Nuangola. It has also been proposed that Nuangola means "people of the north."[

Have you discovered the drainage tunnel on the other side of 81?

I live down the road on Prospect! You were in Rice Township. I never been back there. I have a copy pages of a book written by Cdr. E.J. Quinby Wilkes- Berre & Hazleton Railway.

Interesting. There’s so much railroad history here in Pennsylvania.

Thank you again this was wonderful. Love Pennsylvania.

Bummer, looked like it would have been fun to explore, but also those rocks looked like a collapse waiting to happen so probably for the best. Thanks for taking us along!

Nice hike, Glad for pics. inside the tunnel.

My neck of the woods, haven't been there in years though, use to snowmobile use to run along the mountain, under the interstate, and on up to the towers at Mountaintop.

Next time you're up this way you should check out Route 309 south(which heads out of Wilkes-Barre and into Mountaintop). There's some old train and/or mine tunnels in the hills along there. Although I think JPVideos did a video of one of them already.

Hey, this place is about 2 miles from my house, I rode almost the whole rail line last summer, it was called the laurel line. It was electric trolley car that ran from Wilkes Barre to Hazelton. The buildings you saw was a power house/ maintenance house. There also use to be a small round house there at one time before the tunnel. And I was wondering did you happen to check the Ashley planes while you were in mountaintop / Wilkes Barre area?

Good video thanks for taking us along.

The railroad is the old Wilkes-barre and Hazelton railroad which operates from 1903-1933

Northeast Pa is my home. I didn't know that many of these tunnels existed.

Very inviting and interesting...

'Extirpated' was indeed the term you were looking for. There were once fishers here in NC, mainly in the Black Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. But they were also exterminated here and remain absent from the ecosystem. I don't think that there has been any effort at all to reintroduce them into any of their former range here in either NC or TN.

Really loved that thanks, you got a few great pics

Unless the gate was placed for simple safety reasons, my guess is that bats inhabit the remainder of the tunnel and the gate was placed to preserve them and help prevent White Noise Syndrome. Most of our old mines and caves here in the Shawnee are gated off for that reason. By the looks of it, it would make a wonderful spot for bats to populate.

Great video bud!!! That's the way I pronounced the town.

Beautiful and scenic

It doesn't seem big enough for a train esp a locomotive

Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad Electric interurban railroad, utilizing the 'third rail' to power the cars and locomotives that operated over it. A contact shoe from the trucks of their electric locomotives and interurban cars made contact with the rail and slid along as the train moved. This line pioneered the protected third rail, using a board to cover the rail from weather. I hiked to this tunnel in 2014-2015. There was no fill. The gate was already in place. Supposedly, there are great quantities of quartz crystals deep within...

Good job, well explained !

Interesting tunnel, but it didn't look too stable. Thanks for the adventure.

Hey your about 10 miles from me . nice place there .

Scramble over top of ridge on north side of Penobscot you’ll run into the old rail bed of the Lehigh Valley!

Why is it called Penobscot Mountain, isn't that a Tribe of Indians ?

Do you have a list of gear you use on your vlog trips? Cool! I have never seen a fisher here in PA.

I will assume that the game commission had good reason to block the entrance. (By the way, that is one very stoutly constructed fence!!!) That tunnel does look rather fragile. I wouldn't want to go into it. Also, that must have been an extremely small vehicle that made the transit of that tunnel. Some kind of specialized train? It must have been really narrow to run through that tunnel.

Another interesting video!

I have a good friend that lives near there. I would love to explore that area

AWESOME!...Subscribed..

you have a really cool and interesting hobby

If it wasn't for the bats, I'd say a little drone flight in to look around would be good.

They blocked the opening to protect The eastern small-footed bat (Myotis leibii) which is a species of vesper bat. They supposedly live in the tunnel.

Ya, no... You're pretty good ! U could tell it was a male toad without flippin him over ☺

I'd love to go on an adventure with you

Great videos! How is your girlfriend doing? Don't hear from her much anymore in your vids.

Hi, what a shame they gated it. That would have made for a cool explore with people like Jay. Thank you, it was a pretty hike anyway ;). x

good vid

The game commission does destroy history i agree 100%!!! They could just throw there chain up over the mound and yank it out. Nice one bro!!

I really enjoy almost everything you show us. The areas that show collapsing are the exceptions. I hear that you get disappointed when you can't explore inside of such a place, but I can't help feeling relieved that some of those places are inaccessible to you. Your personality seems to indicate that you're a person who would make a rather good friend, and if I was there with you (as a friend), I'd suggest that you risk less. Please continue to entertain us with your adventures...safely... ...and watch out for those bears !

I wouldn't mind if the gate was ripped off,then we could take a peek :)

👍👏