Monongahela Connecting Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Monongahela Connecting Railroad or Mon Conn was a small industrial railroad in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, now part of the Allegheny Valley Railroad
. It was a subsidiary of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company and a large portion of its work was for its parent company, though it also served other industries along the line. The railroad is possibly best known for its hot metal bridge, which was used to carry molten iron across the Monongahela River
from J&L's Eliza Furnaces to the Bessemer converters (later, open hearth furnaces) and rolling mills at J&L's South Side facility.
The railroad was also a dieselization pioneer, buying many early diesel locomotive
s from Alco, General Electric
and other manufacturers.
The railroad is still in existence, but in much reduced form. The Monongahela River bridge has been converted to a two-lane automobile bridge, with the adjacent hot metal bridge converted for bicycles. The bridges are collectively called the Hot Metal Bridge. The railroad serves a few small industrial customers along the north/east (right downstream) bank of the river.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, now part of the Allegheny Valley Railroad
Allegheny Valley Railroad
The Allegheny Valley Railroad is a class III railroad that operates in Western Pennsylvania, and is owned by Carload Express, Inc.AVR acts as a feeder line connecting its many and varied customers to Class I railroads such as CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway , and regional lines...
. It was a subsidiary of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company and a large portion of its work was for its parent company, though it also served other industries along the line. The railroad is possibly best known for its hot metal bridge, which was used to carry molten iron across the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
from J&L's Eliza Furnaces to the Bessemer converters (later, open hearth furnaces) and rolling mills at J&L's South Side facility.
The railroad was also a dieselization pioneer, buying many early diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s from Alco, General Electric
GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation, formerly known as GE Rail, is a division of General Electric. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation industries. It is based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Locomotives are assembled at the Erie plant, while engine...
and other manufacturers.
The railroad is still in existence, but in much reduced form. The Monongahela River bridge has been converted to a two-lane automobile bridge, with the adjacent hot metal bridge converted for bicycles. The bridges are collectively called the Hot Metal Bridge. The railroad serves a few small industrial customers along the north/east (right downstream) bank of the river.
See also
- Monongahela RailwayMonongahela RailwayThe Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC...
, not to be confused with the Monongahela Connecting Railroad.
External links
- George Elwood's Fallen Flags site MCRR pictures (about halfway down the page).
- Photos of the present-day Mon Conn.