11/05/2026
More than 130 years ago, Canadian engineers helped solve a major railway challenge beneath the St. Clair River.
Instead of moving trains and cargo across the river by ferry, the Grand Trunk Railway built a tunnel directly underneath it.
Construction ran from 1889 to 1891, creating a 1,837-metre railway connection between Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Michigan.
Parks Canada recognizes the St. Clair Tunnel as the first underwater railway tunnel in North America.
Canadian engineer Joseph Hobson helped make it possible using compressed air, cast-iron lining and tunnelling-shield technology to work through the soft riverbed.
For the 1890s, it was an extraordinary piece of Canadian engineering. 🇨🇦🚂
