Reporter, Chasing News, Fox
In early 2016 I was contacted by Sibile from Chasing News to provide an interview for a story that she was reporting on for a segment to be aired on Fox News. Here is a transcript of the interview along with the original story that i did concerning the tunnel.
The abandoned railroad tunnels, Fairview/Edgewater
Chris Chaos: Yes, I do consider myself an explorer and I document, through video, photo and the written word, the histories, legends and status of various mysterious, legendary and historical locations in the area.
I do believe in certain aspects of the supernatural, but not in the capacity depicted on modern popular TV shows concerning the paranormal. I always approach the subject from a logical and scientific perspective and point of view.
The tunnel had an interesting back story that was a mixture of legend, lore and historical fact. The fact is this tunnel does runs under the Fairview Cemetery, the legends states that some of the caskets collapsed into the tunnel and there are secret rooms that you can go into and grab yourself a souvenir such as a bone or anything that may have been in the casket. Also tall tales of wild dogs from the pits of hell roam the ruins of this abandoned tunnel, which is not all that hard to believe, well wild dogs, not hell hounds.
I do these adventures and exploration for my own personal enjoyment with the intent to document what we see and encounter. But keep in mind, we do not encourage trespassing, seek permission where you can!
The long dark view
Sibile Marcellus: What day/year were the video & pics taken?
Chris Chaos: I believe that we went to the tunnel location in the 4th quarter of 2013.
Sibile Marcellus: When was this tunnel built?
Chris Chaos: It was originally opened in 1894
Sibile Marcellus: What was the purpose of this tunnel when it was built? Was it for trains to carry goods/merchandise?
Chris Chaos: According to Wikipedia:
A pipeline now runs through the tunnel between Hess facilities in Bogota and Edgewater. A power cable, part of the Hudson Project, runs from a Bergen Generating Station substation through the tunnel and under the Hudson to Midtown Manhattan was completed in 2013."
One of the pipelines
Sibile Marcellus: How long is the tunnel? 1.5 miles long? Did you walk the whole distance, is that even possible w/ debris, etc.?
Chris Chaos: On a website it states that the tunnel is approx 1 mile long, but using Google Maps it appears to be closer to 1.5 miles long from the entrance in Fairview to the exit in Edgewater.
Yes, we did walk the entire length of the tunnel, there was not that much debris within the tunnel when we went, save for the end of the tunnel that was flooded with about 4 feet of water on the Edgewater side. The Fairview side started out very muddy with approx 2 inches of water. In the tunnel there was some trash that visitors left, but nothing that impeded our path.
Sibile Marcellus: What is the entry point for the tunnel on the Fairview cemetery side? Is it easy to find? What's the exact address? Does it start at a particular street intersection?
Google Map view of the vent
Chris Chaos: It is somewhat easy to find but slightly confusing. I am not sure of the current logistics, but when we went it was located across the street from the Fairview Cemetery located on Broad ave (Route 9). There is a private road for a storage unit facility that you have to walk down and around to get to the tracks. There is a little gully that is hidden by trees that cuts into the cemetery for a few hundred feet and then you come to the tunnel entrance. At the time it was very muddy and rocky so the proper hiking boot choice has to be made.
The length of the tunnel proceeds under the cemetery and then under the streets with residential houses above it. The tunnel is about 200 feet under the surface. At approx the midway point there is a vent that used to let out the steam and gases that release into a persons backyard. If you check Google Maps it is between McKinley Street and Kennedy Drive.
Looking up at the vent
Sibile Marcellus: What is the entry point on the other side of the tunnel? What's the exact location or street intersection?
Chris Chaos: It dumps out in between Old River Road and River Road near the parking lot of a strip mall with the stores Michael's, Starbucks and an Acme in it. We could not exit this side for exploration due to the fact it was very flooded. Hopefully in the future we can go back and give an update.
Some of the railroad ties that were left behind
Sibile Marcellus: Does the tunnel go from the Fairview cemetery to Edgewater? What's on this side? Just woods or does it come out onto private property?
Chris Chaos: Correct, you enter on the Fairview side which crosses the storage facility's property and the cemetery and then on the Edgewater side you exit into some sort of construction area, both of which appear to be private property.
Sibile Marcellus: Does this tunnel connect to the Hudson river? Or is it close to it?
Chris Chaos: At one time it may have, but with all the mini malls and new construction in the area the tunnel ends a few hundred yards short of the River.
Sibile Marcellus: Could this tunnel possibly have been used as a passageway to nyc?
Chris Chaos: Yes, as far as getting to the river and the tunnel was at one time the railway for the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad Company around 1892, and was used to get coal from Pennsylvania to the Hudson River waterfront coal docks.
Sibile Marcellus: What are some of the legends associated with this tunnel? Did anything supernatural happen there?
Chris Chaos: There are amazing tales of hell hounds patrolling the tunnels, Satanic cults stalking weary explorers, caskets falling in from the collapsing bricks from the cemetery above exposing the dead. When we visited the tunnel nothing supernatural occurred, but we did get very dusty and muddy.
The entrance to the tunnel
Sibile Marcellus: Why and in what year was the tunnel shut down? Why has it been abandoned?
Chris Chaos: It appears that it was permanently closed as the last train rode through in 1991. From what I can tell, it was taken out of use due to newer lines in the area being built to relieve congestion.
Sibile Marcellus: Does the fact that it was built under a cemetery impact it's history?
Chris Chaos: I think it does in the manner of making even more mysterious stories surrounding the location. I mean who wouldn't like to explore this spot with the thought of caskets cracked open and exposed waiting for visitors??
Cemetery gates
Sibile Marcellus: Is there truth to the legend that the tunnel was closed after a young girl was hit by a train?
Chris Chaos: I see that in legend, but I cannot find anything firm stating or confirming that a girl was hit by a train causing the tunnel to be closed in the 1960's.
Here is the video that aired on Fox:
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Original video we did for the location
THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
THE FAIRVIEW/EDGEWATER ABANDONED TRAIN TUNNEL
Fairview and Edgewater, New Jersey
This investigation was of an old railroad tunnel that has been closed since the 1960's. (Reports do vary as some people have wrote into us and stated that they think the line was open until the late 70's/early 80's) This tunnel travels under homes and the Fairview Cemetery (south of MT MORIAH CEMETERY), but the oddest thing about the tunnel is that there is a cemetery built on top of a cemetery and legend states that supposedly there are rooms that have collapsed in the tunnel in which the caskets have fallen into. People have related stories that you can venture into the rooms and take souvenirs of whomever and whatever is in the caskets. Also there have been reports of wild dogs that roam through the tunnels. So with this information in hand we ventured off to these tunnels to find the truth. I had no hope for the validity of the tall tales but I could always use a new addition to the skull/bone collection and I am always up for an adventure.
Upon arrival we had difficulty in finding where to enter the tunnel, so we split up into two groups in an attempt to find the opening. It took a few tries to find the entrance, walking across heavy traffic on Route 9/Broad Ave and on some private property, but we finally found it after traversing through some mud and a flooded area. The path does begin along the cemetery which was a little tricky to find since we had to trespass (not advisable) and go on the private property of a storage facility to find the old railroad path. It was dark, muddy and a little chilly, so we called the other half of the team and met up and then walked to the mouth of the tunnel. Luckily the fence that was to seal off the entrance was open and no obstructions were blocking the entrance. The path was very dark leading to the entrance and it was a very imposing opening to the tunnel. A lot of mud and about 3-5 inches of water for about 20 feet slowed us down until we got to the service walkway. We used planks that were found in the tunnel to get to this point. The tunnel was pitch black, but we had 4 flashlights, one for each of us.
The tunnel was about 1.5 miles long from the Fairview to Edgewater side and the tracks (rails) were pulled up but the ties were still there. Approximately in the center of the tunnel there is a vent that was to allow all the steam escape the tunnel when it was up and running, it actually exits into someone’s backyard. If you check Google Maps it is between McKinley Street and Kennedy Drive. Trying to look up and see out the vent was challenging due to all the water dripping down from it. Walking through the tunnels we found common trash and a basketball in the tunnel...and a lot of water.
About halfway through we did turn off the flashlights and took out an audio recorder in an attempt to see if we could capture any type of voice (EVP) or other sounds. We also noted that there were no openings, doors or hidden rooms within the tunnel like others before us have reported. We walked the whole tunnel, from Fairview to Edgewater, but it was flooded by up to at least 4 feet of water at the Edgewater side, so we had to return in the direction that we came from. We wanted to exit but couldn’t due to the deep water on this side, so we turned around and walked back the other way. Upon exiting the tunnels we realized how black and dirty we were due to all the soot in the tunnel, filthy!
So in summary the end results, as expected, were we found NOTHING supernatural, no doors, no chambers, no bones, no skeletons, nor any caskets or hounds of hell. We did some sample audio recordings but didn’t catch anything strange or any EVPs. The biggest threats you may have to worry about if you visit this location would be: bums, crack heads, getting muddy/wet in the tunnel or the police if they decide that you are trespassing.
Many people have commented on some of the photos that we have taken at this location concerning what they feel are orbs, but in reality this place was extremely dusty and was NOT orbs.
(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)
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