Steinbring Inc.

In Richmond, Virginia, they are currently looking at removing an engine and 10 flatcars that were buried in 1925 when the tunnel caved in on the train, killing three people.

The engine is buried under about 20 to 30 feet of dirt near the west end of the 4,000-foot passage.

The initial survey and possible recovery effort will be focused on a 150-foot stretch of land, Blankenship said. 

To bring up the train, workers will clear out a section of the tunnel in front of the vehicle and then pull the locomotive forward and out of the hill, Claussen said.

The current landscape of Jefferson Hill Park will remain intact, Blankenship said. If the locomotive is removed, workers will build a retaining wall around the site to maintain the hill’s slope.

Cost estimates for the project will be made once the study is completed, Claussen said. Some groups, including The History Channel, have already made donations toward the removal effort.