.gif)
Central Railroad of Pennsylvania (1893-1918)
Encyclopedia
The Central Railroad of Pennsylvania was a short railroad of 27.3 miles (43.9 km) built to connect Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
with the Beech Creek Railroad
(part of the New York Central) at Mill Hall, Pennsylvania. Sustained by shipments from the Bellefonte iron industry, the abandonment of the iron furnaces there led to its demise in 1918.
with Mill Hall, running by way of Bellefonte and the Nittany Valley
. On December 11, 1890, the Central Pennsylvania Railroad Eastern Extension was incorporated, to leave the main line of the first company at Lamar and follow Fishing Creek
, Sand Spring Run, and White Deer Creek
to White Deer on the Susquehanna. This would provide a connection to the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, in addition to that with the NYC at Mill Hall.
The two companies were merged on September 11, 1891. However, the original investors, all of them from Watsontown, Pennsylvania
, made little headway in construction. The president was Samuel H. Hicks, who was also general manager and superintendent of the Wilkes-Barre and Western Railway; this railroad terminated at Watsontown
, across the Susquehanna from White Deer, and represented a possible connection with the eastern extension. The next year, Philadelphia and New York
investors appeared among the directors, including Robert C. Bellville, secretary and treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre & Western, and Charles M. Clement, a prominent Sunbury
lawyer and the new general counsel for the railroad. Still, the company lacked the resources to do more than grade 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) of right-of-way
at Mill Hall in the summer of 1892.
The railroad was saved by the entrance of J. Wesley Gephart
, a prominent Bellefonte businessman and president of the Valentine Iron Company. At the time, the only railroad outlet for the iron company's Valentine Furnace was via the Pennsylvania Railroad
, whose rates Gephart found excessive. After lengthy and fruitless negotiations, Gephart convinced the financial backers of Valentine Iron that the company could not remain profitable without an independent railroad outlet to break the PRR's monopoly on freight traffic. They chose the Central Railroad as their instrument. Although contemporary reports indicate that local subscriptions of $75,000 towards construction were received, the principal financing for the railroad was arranged by the sale of $600,000 in fifteen-year bonds of the railroad to Drexel and Company.
In the spring of 1893, the Drexel interests came onto the railroad's board of directors. Walter L. Ross, a banker affiliated with Drexel & Co., became the new president of the railroad, Hicks being demoted to vice-president, and William J. McHugh secretary and treasurer. Besides Ross and McHugh, William M. McLaughlin and Charles O. Kruger were added to the board; Hicks, Clement, and James I. Higbee, of Watsontown, remained of the previous directors.
Gephart was appointed general superintendent and placed in charge of construction in June 1893. The eastern extension to White Deer was never built, but from 1892 to 1893, the route from Mill Hall to Bellefonte was constructed, and the line opened on December 2, 1893.
With the eastern extension out of the picture, the Central could have held little interest for the Watsontown group. Hicks and Higbee left the board in 1894; their replacements were Charles W. Wilhelm, of Reading, who succeeded Hicks as vice-president, Edward L. Welsh, of Philadelphia, and Robert Valentine, a director of Valentine Iron. McLaughlin did not appear on the board at the time, but apparently returned to replace Kruger later that year.
After passing through Bald Eagle Mountain
in the water gap
of Fishing Creek
, the railroad ran southwest along the open and relatively level Nittany Valley
towards Bellefonte. The main line crossed and connected with the Nittany Valley Railroad
about three miles east of Bellefonte. As it approached that town, it swung west-northwesterly and descended along a ravine through Armor Gap to Spring Creek, then turned south to follow the east bank of Spring Creek into the center of Bellefonte. The road's enginehouse was located north of Bellefonte near the creek; an interchange with the PRR, which had a spur to the American Lime and Stone Company's plants in Armor Gap, was also located in the vicinity.
Despite the loss of traffic that followed this decision, the Central Railroad continued operations and improvement of its right-of-way
. Besides the opening of Hecla Park, the railroad eliminated its last wooden trestle, over the present Pennsylvania Route 550
and adjacent ravine, and replaced it with a fill and iron bridge in November 1896.
Gephart, undaunted by the Valentine Iron fiasco, returned to the ironmaking scene in May 1899. Backed by "eastern capitalists", the Bellefonte Furnace Company was organized to put the Bellefonte Furnace at Coleville back into operation, supplied by iron mines at Mattern, Red Bank, and the former Carnegie
ore pits at Scotia
. The furnace lay a short distance to the west of Bellefonte, and was served by the Bellefonte Central Railroad
. However, Gephart soon built an extension of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, which crossed Spring Creek on a trestle to reach the furnace and an interchange with the BFC, and began supplying the furnace with limestone
from a quarry at Salona.
Gephart was also involved with the Bellefonte and Clearfield Railroad, incorporated on December 30, 1895 to build from Milesburg
to Clearfield
. It seems to have been intended to extend the Central RR of PA the short distance along Spring Creek through Bald Eagle Ridge to Milesburg to connect with this new line, which would have provided a PRR-independent route to the coal mines and coke
ovens of the Clearfield area. However, no construction was ever begun on the route.
Some additional business for the railroad was provided by local lumber operations. The McNitt brothers operated a gauge logging railroad from a sawmill at Hecla Park south to their timberlands from about 1899 to 1902. In the latter year, they entered a partnership with E. M. Huyett, closed the Hecla Park operation, and moved to Snydertown. A new gauge logging railroad was built northwest from Snydertown to Sand Ridge, where branches ran northeast and southwest along the ridge. This railroad operated from 1903 to 1909.
In 1903, all the Bellefonte Furnace traffic from or to the PRR was diverted from the Bellefonte Central to the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania. That year, the company's enginehouse burned down, and two engines were badly damaged. It was rebuilt in 1904.
As the 20th Century opened, iron ore deposits of the Mesabi Range
largely superseded local ore deposits, and local furnaces like those in Bellefonte became obsolete and uncompetitive. When Bellefonte Furnace shut down in 1910, followed by Nittany Furnace in 1911, the Central Railroad lost most of its traffic. The last passenger train ran on the line on November 28, 1918, and the tracks were removed in 1919 from Bellefonte to Salona. The line from Mill Hall to Salona was operated by the NYC as a siding until the 1950s to serve the limestone quarry there. The enginehouse and the line from there to the PRR interchange appear to have been re-used by American Lime and Stone.
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...
with 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...
(part of the New York Central) at Mill Hall, Pennsylvania. Sustained by shipments from the Bellefonte iron industry, the abandonment of the iron furnaces there led to its demise in 1918.
Origins
The Central Pennsylvania Railroad was incorporated on May 11, 1889 to connect UnionvilleUnionville, Centre County, Pennsylvania
Unionville is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
with Mill Hall, running by way of Bellefonte and the Nittany Valley
Nittany Valley
The Nittany Valley is an eroded anticlinal valley in the central portion of Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is separated from the Bald Eagle Valley by Bald Eagle Mountain and from Penns Valley by Mount Nittany. The valley is closed to the north by a high plateau that joins...
. On December 11, 1890, the Central Pennsylvania Railroad Eastern Extension was incorporated, to leave the main line of the first company at Lamar and follow Fishing Creek
Fishing Creek (Bald Eagle Creek)
Fishing Creek is a tributary of Bald Eagle Creek in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Fishing Creek passes through a water gap in Bald Eagle Mountain at Mill Hall, and joins Bald Eagle Creek near the borough of Flemington.-References:...
, Sand Spring Run, and White Deer Creek
White Deer Creek
White Deer Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania in the United States.White Deer Creek joins the West Branch Susquehanna River at White Deer.-References:...
to White Deer on the Susquehanna. This would provide a connection to the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, in addition to that with the NYC at Mill Hall.
The two companies were merged on September 11, 1891. However, the original investors, all of them from Watsontown, Pennsylvania
Watsontown, Pennsylvania
Watsontown is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,255 at the 2000 census. It was named for John Watson, a local landowner.-Geography:Watsontown is located at ....
, made little headway in construction. The president was Samuel H. Hicks, who was also general manager and superintendent of the Wilkes-Barre and Western Railway; this railroad terminated at Watsontown
Watsontown, Pennsylvania
Watsontown is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,255 at the 2000 census. It was named for John Watson, a local landowner.-Geography:Watsontown is located at ....
, across the Susquehanna from White Deer, and represented a possible connection with the eastern extension. The next year, Philadelphia and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
investors appeared among the directors, including Robert C. Bellville, secretary and treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre & Western, and Charles M. Clement, a prominent Sunbury
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...
lawyer and the new general counsel for the railroad. Still, the company lacked the resources to do more than grade 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) of right-of-way
Right-of-way
Right-of-way or right of way may refer to:*Right of way , legally granted access*Right-of-way , a strip of land granted for a transportation facility...
at Mill Hall in the summer of 1892.
The railroad was saved by the entrance of J. Wesley Gephart
J. Wesley Gephart
John Wesley Gephart was a Bellefonte, Pennsylvania lawyer and industrialist. Educated in Bellefonte and at Princeton University, Gephart's dilligence and intelligence were already marked when he was admitted to the bar at the end of 1876 and joined the Bellefonte law practice of James A. Beaver in...
, a prominent Bellefonte businessman and president of the Valentine Iron Company. At the time, the only railroad outlet for the iron company's Valentine Furnace was via 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....
, whose rates Gephart found excessive. After lengthy and fruitless negotiations, Gephart convinced the financial backers of Valentine Iron that the company could not remain profitable without an independent railroad outlet to break the PRR's monopoly on freight traffic. They chose the Central Railroad as their instrument. Although contemporary reports indicate that local subscriptions of $75,000 towards construction were received, the principal financing for the railroad was arranged by the sale of $600,000 in fifteen-year bonds of the railroad to Drexel and Company.
In the spring of 1893, the Drexel interests came onto the railroad's board of directors. Walter L. Ross, a banker affiliated with Drexel & Co., became the new president of the railroad, Hicks being demoted to vice-president, and William J. McHugh secretary and treasurer. Besides Ross and McHugh, William M. McLaughlin and Charles O. Kruger were added to the board; Hicks, Clement, and James I. Higbee, of Watsontown, remained of the previous directors.
Gephart was appointed general superintendent and placed in charge of construction in June 1893. The eastern extension to White Deer was never built, but from 1892 to 1893, the route from Mill Hall to Bellefonte was constructed, and the line opened on December 2, 1893.
With the eastern extension out of the picture, the Central could have held little interest for the Watsontown group. Hicks and Higbee left the board in 1894; their replacements were Charles W. Wilhelm, of Reading, who succeeded Hicks as vice-president, Edward L. Welsh, of Philadelphia, and Robert Valentine, a director of Valentine Iron. McLaughlin did not appear on the board at the time, but apparently returned to replace Kruger later that year.
Route
The following stations existed along the line:| Name | Mileage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mill Hall | 0.0 | Connection with Beech Creek Railroad |
| Salona | 2.1 | station intact today |
| Cedar Springs | 2.6 | |
| Mackeyville | 4.7 | |
| Kriders Siding | 7.0 | |
| Clintondale | 9.1 | |
| Lamar | 10.1 | |
| Huston | 11.3 | |
| Nittany | 12.1 | |
| Snydertown | 13.2 | station intact today, moved to Center Hall |
| Hublersburg | 15.2 | |
| Dunkles | 17.0 | |
| Hecla Park | 18.1 | opened 1894 by the railroad as an amusement park on the former Hecla Furnace grounds |
| Zion Zion, Pennsylvania Zion is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area... |
20.3 | |
| Nigh | 23.1 | |
| Bellefonte | 27.3 | just south of Lamb Street on the banks of Spring Creek |
After passing through Bald Eagle Mountain
Bald Eagle Mountain
Bald Eagle Mountain, once known locally as Muncy Mountain, is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, running east of the Allegheny Front and northwest of Mount Nittany. It lies along the southeast side of Bald Eagle Creek, and south of the West Branch Susquehanna River, and...
in the water gap
Water gap
A water gap is an opening or notch which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. Water gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross mountain ridges.- Geology :...
of Fishing Creek
Fishing Creek (Bald Eagle Creek)
Fishing Creek is a tributary of Bald Eagle Creek in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Fishing Creek passes through a water gap in Bald Eagle Mountain at Mill Hall, and joins Bald Eagle Creek near the borough of Flemington.-References:...
, the railroad ran southwest along the open and relatively level Nittany Valley
Nittany Valley
The Nittany Valley is an eroded anticlinal valley in the central portion of Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is separated from the Bald Eagle Valley by Bald Eagle Mountain and from Penns Valley by Mount Nittany. The valley is closed to the north by a high plateau that joins...
towards Bellefonte. The main line crossed and connected with the Nittany Valley Railroad
Nittany Valley Railroad
The Nittany Valley Railroad was a Pennsylvania shortline built to haul iron ore to blast furnaces near Bellefonte.The company was incorporated on March 15, 1887. It was controlled by B.K. Jamison, president of the Centre Iron Company...
about three miles east of Bellefonte. As it approached that town, it swung west-northwesterly and descended along a ravine through Armor Gap to Spring Creek, then turned south to follow the east bank of Spring Creek into the center of Bellefonte. The road's enginehouse was located north of Bellefonte near the creek; an interchange with the PRR, which had a spur to the American Lime and Stone Company's plants in Armor Gap, was also located in the vicinity.
Operations
An early setback for the railroad occurred in 1895. The Centre Iron Company had made an exclusive contract with the PRR and its local subsidiaries for shipment of its products. Gephart held that the sheriff's sale of the Centre Iron properties to Valentine Iron had nullified the contract, and Valentine Iron began sending most of its traffic over the Central Railroad. While Gephart was initially successful, the PRR won on appeal, and Gephart was forced to step down as president of Valentine Iron, although he continued to head the Central Railroad.Despite the loss of traffic that followed this decision, the Central Railroad continued operations and improvement of its right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
. Besides the opening of Hecla Park, the railroad eliminated its last wooden trestle, over the present Pennsylvania Route 550
Pennsylvania Route 550
Pennsylvania Route 550 is a 36 mile long state highway in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 45 Truck and Pennsylvania Route 453 east of Tyrone...
and adjacent ravine, and replaced it with a fill and iron bridge in November 1896.
Gephart, undaunted by the Valentine Iron fiasco, returned to the ironmaking scene in May 1899. Backed by "eastern capitalists", the Bellefonte Furnace Company was organized to put the Bellefonte Furnace at Coleville back into operation, supplied by iron mines at Mattern, Red Bank, and the former Carnegie
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
ore pits at Scotia
Scotia, Pennsylvania
Scotia was a village in Patton Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, at . Although the community was called Scotia, the name of the local post office was Benore ....
. The furnace lay a short distance to the west of Bellefonte, and was served by the Bellefonte Central Railroad
Bellefonte Central Railroad
The Bellefonte Central Railroad was a shortline connecting Bellefonte and State College, Pennsylvania. Constructed in the late 19th century to haul local iron ore to furnaces in the Bellefonte region, it later hauled freight traffic to Penn State and lime for steelmaking from local quarries...
. However, Gephart soon built an extension of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, which crossed Spring Creek on a trestle to reach the furnace and an interchange with the BFC, and began supplying the furnace with limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from a quarry at Salona.
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...
to Clearfield
Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Clearfield is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,631 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clearfield County.-Geography:Clearfield is located at ....
. It seems to have been intended to extend the Central RR of PA the short distance along Spring Creek through Bald Eagle Ridge to Milesburg to connect with this new line, which would have provided a PRR-independent route to the coal mines and coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
ovens of the Clearfield area. However, no construction was ever begun on the route.
Some additional business for the railroad was provided by local lumber operations. The McNitt brothers operated a gauge logging railroad from a sawmill at Hecla Park south to their timberlands from about 1899 to 1902. In the latter year, they entered a partnership with E. M. Huyett, closed the Hecla Park operation, and moved to Snydertown. A new gauge logging railroad was built northwest from Snydertown to Sand Ridge, where branches ran northeast and southwest along the ridge. This railroad operated from 1903 to 1909.
In 1903, all the Bellefonte Furnace traffic from or to the PRR was diverted from the Bellefonte Central to the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania. That year, the company's enginehouse burned down, and two engines were badly damaged. It was rebuilt in 1904.
As the 20th Century opened, iron ore deposits of the Mesabi Range
Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
largely superseded local ore deposits, and local furnaces like those in Bellefonte became obsolete and uncompetitive. When Bellefonte Furnace shut down in 1910, followed by Nittany Furnace in 1911, the Central Railroad lost most of its traffic. The last passenger train ran on the line on November 28, 1918, and the tracks were removed in 1919 from Bellefonte to Salona. The line from Mill Hall to Salona was operated by the NYC as a siding until the 1950s to serve the limestone quarry there. The enginehouse and the line from there to the PRR interchange appear to have been re-used by American Lime and Stone.