Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad (later Railway), previously the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad, was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad
in central Pennsylvania
. Originally intended to connect the Susquehanna Valley with Tyrone
and the ore lands to its northeast, it was built in two discontinuous and never-connected pieces, one from Tyrone to Fairbrook and one from Lewisburg
to Lemont
. These served as lightly trafficked branches of the PRR into the early 20th Century. The line from Tyrone to Fairbrook passed into the hands of the short line Bellefonte Central Railroad
in 1927, but the PRR's manipulations ensured its abandonment in 1941. The line between Lewisburg and Lemont was severed in 1970 and was gradually cut further back towards Montandon. Regular service ended on the last remaining part of the line in 1997, and it was abandoned in 2008.
, on the west bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River
, through the southern valleys of Centre County, Pennsylvania
to Spruce Creek
, on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Its charter was amended on March 3, 1854, allowing it to reach the PRR at Tyrone, a town more industrially developed than Spruce Creek.
Funding was hard to come by, and construction slow in starting. During the mid-1860s, the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
considered building a line to Bellefonte
to reach the LC&SC, and then use the LC&SC to reach the Catawissa Railroad
. The plan fell through, but it drew the attention of the PRR to a potential competitor.
The railroad was leased to the PRR on July 23, 1869, and it was the PRR that would provide support for construction and operate the railroad. By the next year, the railroad had been opened from Montandon, on the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad
east of the Susquehanna, across the river into Lewisburg. In 1871, it was open as far west as Mifflinburg
, about 10 miles (16.1 km) up the Buffalo Valley. The company continued grading west towards Laurelton and did some work on the line east of Tyrone, but the Panic of 1873
slowed construction again. However, by 1877, the railroad had pushed its line through the narrow valley of Penns Creek
to Rising Springs (now Spring Mills
). The twisting line required two tunnels, through Paddy Mountain and Tunnel Mountain, cutting across loops in the winding course of Penns Creek through the mountains and extending its total length to 43.18 miles (69.5 km). On December 13, 1879, the company defaulted on its bonds, and on December 31, 1879, it was reorganized as the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad. The new company was leased to the PRR as well on January 1, 1880.
and the surrounding iron ore region held great potential, particularly when Andrew Carnegie
invested in the Scotia deposits. The new line left the PRR main line just east of Tyrone, in the Brush Mountain narrows of the Little Juniata River
, and followed Logan Spring Run north to Eyer. Ambling up the broad valley between Bald Eagle Mountain
and Tussey Mountain
, it turned southeast at Marengo to pierce Gatesburg Ridge by the gap of Halfmoon Creek, which it followed to Spruce Creek
below Pennsylvania Furnace. Running north along Spruce Creek and then the Beaver Branch, it ended in a station near Fairbrook by 1881, 19.9 miles (32 km) in all. No further construction in the direction of State College
and the eastern division was undertaken, but the Scotia Branch swung through another gap in Gatesburg Ridge and ran another 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to reach the vast ore pits of Scotia. In 1882, another short line of 2.03 miles (3.3 km), the Juniata Branch, was built off of the Scotia Branch just north of Gatesburg Ridge to reach ore pits of the Juniata Mining Company west of Scotia.
The PRR began to extend the Lewisburg and Tyrone again in 1884, laying rail west from Spring Mills along Sinking Creek
and then out across Penns Valley to Centre Hall
and Oak Hall, from which the new line followed Spring Creek to Lemont
. The new line, 14.52 miles (23.4 km) long, was opened in 1885. However, it was not now intended to reach the western division. Instead of connecting Lemont and Fairbrook, the PRR incorporated a new company, the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad, to build a line from Lemont to the PRR-owned Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
at Bellefonte
. The new line, from Montandon to Bellefonte (and on to Milesburg
via the Bald Eagle Valley) became the Bellefonte Branch of the PRR, while the disconnected western division was operated as the Fairbrook Branch.
Several tributary branches were also built from the Lewisburg and Tyrone where it cut through the mountains. In 1880, a short branch was laid along Poe Creek to reach a sawmill
at Poe Mills. After the area had been timbered and the sawmill burned, the branch was removed in 1904.
received permission to take over the Fairbrook Branch, building down from State College along the likely route of the unbuilt middle division of the L&T, but the PRR's manipulation of rate divisions ensured that the Bellefonte Central could not operate the branch except at a loss. It was embargoed in 1933, and rail was removed in 1941–1942, after a long series of unsuccessful legal proceedings by the Bellefonte Central.
Between 1923 and 1945, there was one significant addition to the former Lewisburg and Tyrone line: the Laurelton Branch was built north from Rutherton to serve Laurelton State Village, a state home for the mentally retarded
. In 1970, Penn Central abandoned the middle of the Bellefonte Branch from Mifflinburg to Coburn, a section by then bereft of traffic potential. It has since become a rail trail
. Further damage by Hurricane Agnes
in 1972 resulted in the abandonment of the line from Lemont to Coburn. The remaining segment, from Montandon to Mifflinburg, was operated by Conrail until 1981. In 1983, Conrail sold it to the West Shore Railroad. (It was not sold to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as some have stated.) In 1988, the West Shore bought part of the old Reading line across the river, including a bridge at Milton
and abandoned the now-redundant line from Lewisburg to Montandon. However, service ended on the line in 1997, and damage from Hurricane Floyd
in 1999 rendered it impassable. Its acquisition for a rail trail in 2008 marked the end of railroading on the Lewisburg and Tyrone. Construction on the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail began in March 2011 and is expected to be completed in November.
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 central Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Originally intended to connect the Susquehanna Valley with Tyrone
Tyrone, Pennsylvania
Tyrone is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Altoona, on the Little Juniata River. Tyrone was of considerable commercial importance in the twentieth century. It was an outlet for the Clearfield coal fields, and it was noted for the manufacture of paper products. There were...
and the ore lands to its northeast, it was built in two discontinuous and never-connected pieces, one from Tyrone to Fairbrook and one from Lewisburg
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...
to Lemont
Lemont, Pennsylvania
Lemont is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States and is the location of the only remaining granary in Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. These served as lightly trafficked branches of the PRR into the early 20th Century. The line from Tyrone to Fairbrook passed into the hands of the short line 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...
in 1927, but the PRR's manipulations ensured its abandonment in 1941. The line between Lewisburg and Lemont was severed in 1970 and was gradually cut further back towards Montandon. Regular service ended on the last remaining part of the line in 1997, and it was abandoned in 2008.
Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek
The Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad was chartered on April 1, 1853, to run westward from the vicinity of LewisburgLewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...
, on the west bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River
West Branch Susquehanna River
The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch...
, through the southern valleys of 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....
to Spruce Creek
Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania
Spruce Creek is a small unincorporated community in Spruce Creek Township of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was a stop on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line, lying along Spruce Creek at its confluence with the Little Juniata River...
, on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Its charter was amended on March 3, 1854, allowing it to reach the PRR at Tyrone, a town more industrially developed than Spruce Creek.
Funding was hard to come by, and construction slow in starting. During the mid-1860s, the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
The Atlantic and Great Western Railroad began as three separate railroads: the Erie and New York City Railroad based in Jamestown, New York; the Meadville Railroad based in Meadville, Pennsylvania ; and the Franklin and Warren Railroad based in Franklin Mills, Ohio...
considered building a line 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 reach the LC&SC, and then use the LC&SC to reach the Catawissa Railroad
Catawissa Railroad
The Catawissa Railroad was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania between 1860 and 1953. For most of its lifespan it was leased by the Reading Railroad, and was subsequently merged into the Reading.-History:...
. The plan fell through, but it drew the attention of the PRR to a potential competitor.
The railroad was leased to the PRR on July 23, 1869, and it was the PRR that would provide support for construction and operate the railroad. By the next year, the railroad had been opened from Montandon, on the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad
The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania between 1861 and 1907. It was subsequently merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad .-History:...
east of the Susquehanna, across the river into Lewisburg. In 1871, it was open as far west as Mifflinburg
Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania
-Education:There are no colleges or universities in Mifflinburg.The Mifflinburg Area School District has a number of its schools located in the borough. It has the high school , the middle school and the Mifflinburg Area Intermediate School which opened for the 2006 school year...
, about 10 miles (16.1 km) up the Buffalo Valley. The company continued grading west towards Laurelton and did some work on the line east of Tyrone, but the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
slowed construction again. However, by 1877, the railroad had pushed its line through the narrow valley of Penns Creek
Penns Creek
Penns Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally named "John Penn's Creek" after William Penn's younger brother, it was renamed Penns Creek in 1802 by an Act of Assembly...
to Rising Springs (now Spring Mills
Spring Mills, Pennsylvania
Spring Mills is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
). The twisting line required two tunnels, through Paddy Mountain and Tunnel Mountain, cutting across loops in the winding course of Penns Creek through the mountains and extending its total length to 43.18 miles (69.5 km). On December 13, 1879, the company defaulted on its bonds, and on December 31, 1879, it was reorganized as the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad. The new company was leased to the PRR as well on January 1, 1880.
Lewisburg and Tyrone
For the time being, the controlling PRR saw little prospect of traffic from completing the railroad. The projected western division of the Lewisburg and Tyrone, however, had considerable promise. A line east from Tyrone to ScotiaScotia, 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 ....
and the surrounding iron ore region held great potential, particularly when Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
invested in the Scotia deposits. The new line left the PRR main line just east of Tyrone, in the Brush Mountain narrows of the Little Juniata River
Little Juniata River
]The Little Juniata River, sometimes called the "Little J," is a river in central Pennsylvania. It is a tributary of the Juniata River in the Susquehanna River watershed. It is formed at Altoona by the confluence of several short streams...
, and followed Logan Spring Run north to Eyer. Ambling up the broad valley between 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...
and Tussey Mountain
Tussey Mountain
]Tussey Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending east of the Bald Eagle, Brush, Dunning and Evitts Mountain ridges...
, it turned southeast at Marengo to pierce Gatesburg Ridge by the gap of Halfmoon Creek, which it followed to Spruce Creek
Spruce Creek (Pennsylvania)
Spruce Creek is a tributary of the Little Juniata River in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Spruce Creek passes by Indian Caverns several miles before joining the Little Juniata River at the village of Spruce Creek. Located on Spruce Creek is the elite 100 member Spruce Creek...
below Pennsylvania Furnace. Running north along Spruce Creek and then the Beaver Branch, it ended in a station near Fairbrook by 1881, 19.9 miles (32 km) in all. No further construction in the direction of State College
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
and the eastern division was undertaken, but the Scotia Branch swung through another gap in Gatesburg Ridge and ran another 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to reach the vast ore pits of Scotia. In 1882, another short line of 2.03 miles (3.3 km), the Juniata Branch, was built off of the Scotia Branch just north of Gatesburg Ridge to reach ore pits of the Juniata Mining Company west of Scotia.
The PRR began to extend the Lewisburg and Tyrone again in 1884, laying rail west from Spring Mills along Sinking Creek
Sinking Creek
Sinking Creek may refer to:*Sinking Creek , a tributary of Penns Creek*Sinking Creek...
and then out across Penns Valley to Centre Hall
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania
Centre Hall is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Penns Valley and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Oak Hall, from which the new line followed Spring Creek to Lemont
Lemont, Pennsylvania
Lemont is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States and is the location of the only remaining granary in Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. The new line, 14.52 miles (23.4 km) long, was opened in 1885. However, it was not now intended to reach the western division. Instead of connecting Lemont and Fairbrook, the PRR incorporated a new company, the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad, to build a line from Lemont to the PRR-owned 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...
at 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...
. The new line, from Montandon to Bellefonte (and on 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...
via the Bald Eagle Valley) became the Bellefonte Branch of the PRR, while the disconnected western division was operated as the Fairbrook Branch.
Several tributary branches were also built from the Lewisburg and Tyrone where it cut through the mountains. In 1880, a short branch was laid along Poe Creek to reach a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
at Poe Mills. After the area had been timbered and the sawmill burned, the branch was removed in 1904.
Later years and abandonment
The Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad continued to operate as a PRR subsidiary. On June 16, 1913, it was again foreclosed on, and reorganized on December 30, 1915 as the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railway. However, in just over a year, on April 30, 1915, it was merged into the PRR. The two divisions continued to operate as the Fairbrook Branch and the Bellefonte Branch. The Juniata Branch was removed before 1920, and the Fairbrook and Scotia Branches were abandoned in 1927. The Bellefonte Central RailroadBellefonte 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...
received permission to take over the Fairbrook Branch, building down from State College along the likely route of the unbuilt middle division of the L&T, but the PRR's manipulation of rate divisions ensured that the Bellefonte Central could not operate the branch except at a loss. It was embargoed in 1933, and rail was removed in 1941–1942, after a long series of unsuccessful legal proceedings by the Bellefonte Central.
Between 1923 and 1945, there was one significant addition to the former Lewisburg and Tyrone line: the Laurelton Branch was built north from Rutherton to serve Laurelton State Village, a state home for the mentally retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
. In 1970, Penn Central abandoned the middle of the Bellefonte Branch from Mifflinburg to Coburn, a section by then bereft of traffic potential. It has since become a rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
. Further damage by Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
in 1972 resulted in the abandonment of the line from Lemont to Coburn. The remaining segment, from Montandon to Mifflinburg, was operated by Conrail until 1981. In 1983, Conrail sold it to the West Shore Railroad. (It was not sold to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as some have stated.) In 1988, the West Shore bought part of the old Reading line across the river, including a bridge at Milton
Milton, Pennsylvania
Milton is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, north of Harrisburg. Settled in 1770, it was incorporated in 1817, and is governed by a charter that was revised in 1890...
and abandoned the now-redundant line from Lewisburg to Montandon. However, service ended on the line in 1997, and damage from Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the third largest evacuation in US history when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as it approached...
in 1999 rendered it impassable. Its acquisition for a rail trail in 2008 marked the end of railroading on the Lewisburg and Tyrone. Construction on the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail began in March 2011 and is expected to be completed in November.