Bellefonte and Snowshoe Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Bellefonte and Snowshoe Railroad was a coal
-hauling railroad in Centre County, Pennsylvania
. Begun in 1859, it came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad
in 1881. Closing of mines in the 1930s resulted in the decline of traffic on the railroad, which was abandoned in 1959.
to Bald Eagle Creek
. For many years, however, it showed no organized activity, although the Pennsylvania General Assembly
periodically renewed its charter. On May 2, 1855, a charter supplement allowed it to extend to Bellefonte
, to connect with the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation
canal
. In 1857, a survey of the line was finally completed. Construction began in 1858, and it was completed in 1859, from the coal
mines at Snow Shoe
to Snow Shoe Intersection (now Wingate) in the Bald Eagle Valley
. There it connected with the west end of the newly-constructed Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, which ran up the valley to Milesburg
and then south to Bellefonte, and over which it had trackage rights
.
The name of the company was changed to the Bellefonte and Snowshoe Railroad Company on March 24, 1859, shortly before a ceremonial opening on 21 June 1859, featuring a special train from Bellefonte to Clarks, then the terminus of the line. It would be extended to Snow Shoe later in the year, and regular passenger service begun in December.
, and, at the forks of Wallace Run, climbed the side of a mountain by a series of switchback
s. The line continued climbing through Rhoads following the edges of the Jonathan Run and South Fork Beech Creek gorges, crossing the latter and winding through Fountain to reach Snow Shoe. The total length of the line, from Wingate to Snow Shoe, was 20.26 miles (32.6 km) long.
As new mines opened up in the region, extensions to the railroad began to be built. A line built in 1861 from Snow Shoe north, then west to Gillintown and Moshannon (also known as Per Se) was incorporated on April 11, 1863 as the Moshannon Railroad, and appears to have been operated as part of the Bellefonte and Snow Shoe, adding an additional 2 miles (3.2 km) to that road.
In the meantime, the Pennsylvania Railroad
had taken control of the Tyrone and Lock Haven, reorganized in 1861 as the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
, and begun to extend it up and down the valley. In 1863, it was completed south from Wingate to Vail, where it reached the PRR-controlled Tyrone and Clearfield Railroad, and in 1865, the line was finished from Milesburg to Lock Haven
.
The Bellefonte & Snow Shoe continued to improve its physical plant, stringing a telegraph line from Snow Shoe to Wingate in 1869. In 1871, the directors resolved to construct a branch from Bellefonte to the vicinity of Oak Hall to connect with the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad when it reached that point. However, the financial difficulties of the latter long delayed its construction, and while the link would be built (as the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad), it would not be the Bellefonte & Snow Shoe that would construct it.
A serious wreck occurred on the railroad on June 11, 1878, when the Miller's Spring Trestle collapsed under the southbound mixed train from Snow Shoe to Bellefonte and it fell 55 feet (16.8 m) into a ravine. One passenger was killed, and two passengers and four crewmen were injured.
Several new branches were built off the line under Bald Eagle Valley management to reach nearby coal mines. Two were constructed in 1890. The Sugar Camp Branch diverged 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of Snow Shoe and ran north, then turned west and rounded a horseshoe curve to cross the Beech Creek Railroad
and descend to Clarence
, along the North Fork Beech Creek, ending near Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #9 Mine with a length of 4.75 miles (7.6 km). The Grauer Branch left the Sugar Camp Branch just north of the Beech Creek crossing and ran 2.04 miles (3.3 km) north up Cherry Run, reaching Sugar Camp and the Clarence Colliery #1. The Fountain Branch was built in 1903, 1.32 miles (2.1 km) in length, crossing the Beech Creek Railroad to serve Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #14 Mine.
On March 31, 1908, the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was at last merged into the PRR, including the Snow-Shoe and other branches. The PRR would construct a few more mine branches, extending the Sugar Camp Branch 3.87 miles (6.2 km) in 1914 and 1915. The extension continued east out of Clarence, then climbed steeply north to Poorman Side, then descended along Contrary Run and (Big) Sandy Run to Cherry Run #4 Mine of the Big Sandy Coal Company near Shettleston. The Big Sandy Branch, built in 1915, left the Sugar Camp Branch along Big Sandy Run and climbed out of its valley and along that of an unnamed tributary, extending 2.41 miles (3.9 km) to Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #25 Mine.
However, the railroad was soon to pass into a decline. The Fountain branch had already been removed by 1923. The Great Depression
caused the closure of most of the coal mines in the area, and the Big Sandy Branch was abandoned in 1935. A fire brick
manufacturer near Clarence and the remaining coal mines still provided some business to the line, but the mine branches continued to be pruned back. On March 6, 1959, the entire line from Wingate north was abandoned.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-hauling railroad in Centre County, Pennsylvania
Centre County, Pennsylvania
Centre County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 153,990....
. Begun in 1859, it came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
in 1881. Closing of mines in the 1930s resulted in the decline of traffic on the railroad, which was abandoned in 1959.
Origins and construction
The line was originally chartered as the Allegheny and Bald Eagle Railroad, Coal and Iron Company on June 12, 1839. It was to extend from the western side of the Allegheny MountainsAllegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
to Bald Eagle Creek
Bald Eagle Creek
Bald Eagle Creek is a tributary of the Little Juniata River in Blair County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It runs southwest through the Bald Eagle Valley at the foot of the Bald Eagle Mountain ridge to Tyrone....
. For many years, however, it showed no organized activity, although the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
periodically renewed its charter. On May 2, 1855, a charter supplement allowed it to extend to Bellefonte
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, to connect with the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation
Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation
The Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Company was a canal company in central Pennsylvania intended to link the iron industry of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, with the Pennsylvania canal system. Opened for half its length in 1837, the remainder of the canal was not completed until 1848...
canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
. In 1857, a survey of the line was finally completed. Construction began in 1858, and it was completed in 1859, from the coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mines at Snow Shoe
Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania
Snow Shoe is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
to Snow Shoe Intersection (now Wingate) in the Bald Eagle Valley
Bald Eagle Valley
The Bald Eagle Valley of central Pennsylvania, United States is the low lying area draining into the Bald Eagle Creek between the Allegheny Front and the Bald Eagle Mountain ridge, south of the West Branch Susquehanna River, in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians...
. There it connected with the west end of the newly-constructed Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, which ran up the valley to Milesburg
Milesburg, Pennsylvania
Milesburg is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,187 at the 2000 census...
and then south to Bellefonte, and over which it had trackage rights
Trackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
.
The name of the company was changed to the Bellefonte and Snowshoe Railroad Company on March 24, 1859, shortly before a ceremonial opening on 21 June 1859, featuring a special train from Bellefonte to Clarks, then the terminus of the line. It would be extended to Snow Shoe later in the year, and regular passenger service begun in December.
Independent operation
The railroad's operations began at Bellefonte, site of coal-hungry iron furnaces and the head of navigation on the Bald Eagle & Spring Creek canal. Using the tracks of the Tyrone and Lock Haven, it passed north through the narrow valley of Spring Creek to reach the Bald Eagle Valley at Milesburg. The Tyrone and Lock Haven was intended to stretch north up the valley to Lock Haven and south to Tyrone, but only a little grading had been accomplished north of Milesburg or south of Wingate, where the Bellefonte & Snow Shoe turned onto its own tracks. It followed the valley of Wallace Run through Gum StumpGum Stump, Pennsylvania
Forrest Gump Stump is an inhabited place in Boggs Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.It is located at latitude 40.98°N, longitude 77.85°W, about northwest of Bellefonte, the seat of Centre County. Its elevation is approximately ....
, and, at the forks of Wallace Run, climbed the side of a mountain by a series of switchback
Zig Zag (railway)
A railway zig zag, also called a switchback, is a way of climbing hills in difficult country with a minimal need for tunnels and heavy earthworks. For a short distance , the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed.A location on railways constructed e.g...
s. The line continued climbing through Rhoads following the edges of the Jonathan Run and South Fork Beech Creek gorges, crossing the latter and winding through Fountain to reach Snow Shoe. The total length of the line, from Wingate to Snow Shoe, was 20.26 miles (32.6 km) long.
As new mines opened up in the region, extensions to the railroad began to be built. A line built in 1861 from Snow Shoe north, then west to Gillintown and Moshannon (also known as Per Se) was incorporated on April 11, 1863 as the Moshannon Railroad, and appears to have been operated as part of the Bellefonte and Snow Shoe, adding an additional 2 miles (3.2 km) to that road.
In the meantime, the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
had taken control of the Tyrone and Lock Haven, reorganized in 1861 as the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad which owned several rail lines in central Pennsylvania. It had its genesis in the Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, a financially-troubled railroad chartered in 1857, which was unable to complete more than a small portion of...
, and begun to extend it up and down the valley. In 1863, it was completed south from Wingate to Vail, where it reached the PRR-controlled Tyrone and Clearfield Railroad, and in 1865, the line was finished from Milesburg to Lock Haven
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
The city of Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, micropolitan statistical area, itself part of the...
.
The Bellefonte & Snow Shoe continued to improve its physical plant, stringing a telegraph line from Snow Shoe to Wingate in 1869. In 1871, the directors resolved to construct a branch from Bellefonte to the vicinity of Oak Hall to connect with the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad when it reached that point. However, the financial difficulties of the latter long delayed its construction, and while the link would be built (as the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad), it would not be the Bellefonte & Snow Shoe that would construct it.
A serious wreck occurred on the railroad on June 11, 1878, when the Miller's Spring Trestle collapsed under the southbound mixed train from Snow Shoe to Bellefonte and it fell 55 feet (16.8 m) into a ravine. One passenger was killed, and two passengers and four crewmen were injured.
Snow-Shoe Branch
The Bellefonte & Snow Shoe ended its independent operation in January 1881, when it was sold to the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad, long a subsidiary of the PRR. The Bellefonte & Snow Shoe and the Moshannon Railroads were merged into the Bald Eagle Valley on April 7, 1881 to become the Snow-Shoe Branch.Several new branches were built off the line under Bald Eagle Valley management to reach nearby coal mines. Two were constructed in 1890. The Sugar Camp Branch diverged 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of Snow Shoe and ran north, then turned west and rounded a horseshoe curve to cross the Beech Creek Railroad
Beech Creek Railroad
Beech Creek RailroadIn 1890 the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad took out a long term lease of the Beech Creek Railroad yet the Beech Creek maintained independent operations until July 1899...
and descend to Clarence
Clarence, Pennsylvania
Clarence ,is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 577 at the 2000 census. Most Clarence citizens can be found at the Clarence Moose...
, along the North Fork Beech Creek, ending near Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #9 Mine with a length of 4.75 miles (7.6 km). The Grauer Branch left the Sugar Camp Branch just north of the Beech Creek crossing and ran 2.04 miles (3.3 km) north up Cherry Run, reaching Sugar Camp and the Clarence Colliery #1. The Fountain Branch was built in 1903, 1.32 miles (2.1 km) in length, crossing the Beech Creek Railroad to serve Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #14 Mine.
On March 31, 1908, the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was at last merged into the PRR, including the Snow-Shoe and other branches. The PRR would construct a few more mine branches, extending the Sugar Camp Branch 3.87 miles (6.2 km) in 1914 and 1915. The extension continued east out of Clarence, then climbed steeply north to Poorman Side, then descended along Contrary Run and (Big) Sandy Run to Cherry Run #4 Mine of the Big Sandy Coal Company near Shettleston. The Big Sandy Branch, built in 1915, left the Sugar Camp Branch along Big Sandy Run and climbed out of its valley and along that of an unnamed tributary, extending 2.41 miles (3.9 km) to Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #25 Mine.
However, the railroad was soon to pass into a decline. The Fountain branch had already been removed by 1923. The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
caused the closure of most of the coal mines in the area, and the Big Sandy Branch was abandoned in 1935. A fire brick
Fire brick
A fire brick, firebrick, or refractory brick is a block of refractory ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high temperature, but will also usually have a low thermal conductivity for greater energy efficiency...
manufacturer near Clarence and the remaining coal mines still provided some business to the line, but the mine branches continued to be pruned back. On March 6, 1959, the entire line from Wingate north was abandoned.