Reading westernfall's "source," it's wonderful that the two opposing tubes met under the Hudson with only a 16th of an inch variation. Here are two pictures from that "source."
1) The first vehicle through the tunnel. "this group of Pennsylvania Railroad and contractor officials boarded the first automobile ever driven under the Hudson River on June 21, 1909. Seated in the rear seat, from right to left, are PRR first vice president Samuel Rea, who was in overall charge of the project; North River Division chief engineer Charles M. Jacobs; and Albert J. County, assistant to the PRR's second vice president. Seated in the middle seat are tunneling contractor John E O'Rourke, on the left, and chief assistant engineer James Forgie. At the wheel is Frederick Gubelman, the owner of the Lozier automobile and vice president of the O'Rourke firm. Standing at the right is George B. Fry, O'Rourke's general tunnel superintendent. Smithsonian Institution (Neg. 84-11044)."
2) "The concrete "benches" on either side of the track were designed to confine a train to the center of the track in case of a derailment, and provided, at the right, a walkway for the placement of signals and a place for signal maintainers to work safely, and, at the left, a safe exit from the tunnel. The 675-volt DC third rail is at the left of the track. The photograph was taken in the westbound tunnel, facing towards the Weehawken shaft. Pennsylvania Railroad, Trains Collection."
The picture shows brackets in the roof. I wonder if they were a provision for the contact wire that was installed twenty years later.
A maintainer I was talking to told me that he had been on a bench wall under the river when he heard a train coming with a swinging door bouncing off it. He was scared out of his wits.
