Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad
Encyclopedia
Huntington & Broad Top Mountain Railroad (H&BTM) is a former short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in south central Pennsylvania
.
Operational headquarters were in Huntingdon
, and Saxton
, with financial and business offices located in Philadelphia
. The primary shop facilities were located in Saxton; auxiliary car shop facilities were at Huntington. Turntable
s were located at Huntington, Saxton, and Mount Dallas, Pennsylvania
.
, and to provide a competitive alternate route to local coal producers to break the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
's monopoly on coal that was being shipped from the Cumberland, Maryland
, area. The existence of high quality semi-bituminous coal in the Broad Top Mountain region was known since colonial times. Before the railroad, wagon or pole barge was the only practical method of bringing the coal from the remote region to market.
The 31 mile portion of the main line from Huntington to Hopewell, via Saxton and Riddlesburg
, was completed in 1855. On February 3, 1859, the Bedford Railroad Company was chartered to provide a railroad connection for Bedford, and was incorporated February 19, 1859. This company, with financial assistance from the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR), built a line from Mount Dallas to Hopewell in July 1863, connecting with the H&BTM. It was merged into the H&BTM on August 17, 1864. Total track mileage at the company's height was just over 72 miles.
The H&BTM also supported some minor industrial lines, mostly logging railroads and iron ore, as well as the coal-hauling Juniata and Southern Railway
, which connected at Marklesburg
. Glendale, the terminus of the Sandy Run Branch, originally was an interchange with the narrow gauge Reichley Brothers logging railroad, which operated near Wells Tannery in Fulton County
. When the branch was extended from Glendale up Broad Top Mountain in the early 1920s to access the Garlick Mine, the Reichleys abandoned their right of way on the western slope of the mountain and moved their interchange point to the community of Reichley, the location of the brothers' sawmill.
Though similar in name, there was no formal interchange connection or business relationship between the H&BTM and the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad
. Through the Juniata and Southern Railroad, a physical connection existed at Jacobs, but its doubtful that any cargo was exchanged between the two railroads.
The Everett Railroad
took over the southernmost four miles of H&BTM trackage, between Tatesville and Mount Dallas on April 1, 1954. They operated until 1982, when they closed due to Conrail's abandonment of the remainder of the Bedford Division, by then known as the Conrail's Bedford and Mount Dallas Branches. The trackage was removed in 1985.
The railroad's trackage in Huntington, Pennsylvania was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The PRR and its successors Penn Central (PC) and Conrail (CR) operated the track as a means of accessing an industrial park in the Smithfield portion of Huntington. Though the northern portion of the trackage remains, it has not been used since the late 1990s.
is number 38, a 1929 Baldwin Locomotive Works
2-8-0
. After the H&BTM closed, this locomotive was sold to the Rail City Historical Museum in Sandy Creek, New York. Railway Post Office
car 5436, coach 27, caboose
17, and various pieces of tools and other hardware were also acquired and preserved by the museum. Locomotive 38 would later be sold to the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad
, which restored it to service, and finally, Sloan Cornell of the Gettysburg Railroad
. The locomotive was transferred to Cornell's Knox and Kane Railroad
at Marienville, Pennsylvania
in the 1980s. After it was removed from tourist service in the 1990s, 38 was stored at the Marienville enginehouse, where it received a new tender and H&BT lettering. After the K&K ceased tourist operations, it was moved to Kane, Pennsylvania
and stored inside the railroad's expanded enginehouse. However, that structure was burnt in an arson-related fire on March 16, 2008, damaging 38 in the process. The locomotive was sold at auction to the owner of the Everett Railroad
on October 10, 2008.
The last surviving piece of revenue freight equipment was G-22 gondola 3807, which had been sold to the Bellefonte Central Railroad
in the late 1930s. Converted to a work car, it was scrapped in the 1980s.
Caboose 15 is at the Williams Grove Historical Steam Association's park in Williams Grove, Pennsylvania
. Caboose 16 is now at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
. Caboose 17 survived after Rail City's closure; its current whereabouts are unknown, although it is believed to be in New England. RPO 5436 was scrapped on the grounds of Rail City. Coach 27 was acquired by the Central New York Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society
and is preserved at their Central Square Station Museum.
Depots still exist at Riddlesburg
(converted to a church), Everett
(along with the separate freight house structure), Hopewell, and Dudley
(the latter being the depot from Broad Top City, Pennsylvania
. The Dudley water tank, an enclosed wooden structure, remains as well.
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...
.
Operational headquarters were in Huntingdon
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Huntingdon County. It is located along the Juniata River, west of Harrisburg, about halfway between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, in an agricultural and fruit-growing region, with valuable forests and deposits of...
, and Saxton
Saxton, Pennsylvania
Saxton is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 803 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Saxton is located at ....
, with financial and business offices located in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The primary shop facilities were located in Saxton; auxiliary car shop facilities were at Huntington. Turntable
Turntable (railroad)
A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock. When steam locomotives were still in wide use, many railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many...
s were located at Huntington, Saxton, and Mount Dallas, Pennsylvania
Mount Dallas, Pennsylvania
Mount Dallas is a populated place in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It is located in the water gap of Tussey Mountain approximately 1 mile upstream of Everett along the Raystown Branch Juniata River...
.
Construction
The Huntington and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company was chartered on May 6, 1852, and organized on January 10, 1853. The purpose of the line was to provide a rail link from Huntington to BedfordBedford, Pennsylvania
Bedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000...
, and to provide a competitive alternate route to local coal producers to break the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
's monopoly on coal that was being shipped from the Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, area. The existence of high quality semi-bituminous coal in the Broad Top Mountain region was known since colonial times. Before the railroad, wagon or pole barge was the only practical method of bringing the coal from the remote region to market.
The 31 mile portion of the main line from Huntington to Hopewell, via Saxton and Riddlesburg
Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania
Riddlesburg is a small village in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the central region of Pennsylvania.-Population:...
, was completed in 1855. On February 3, 1859, the Bedford Railroad Company was chartered to provide a railroad connection for Bedford, and was incorporated February 19, 1859. This company, with financial assistance from 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....
(PRR), built a line from Mount Dallas to Hopewell in July 1863, connecting with the H&BTM. It was merged into the H&BTM on August 17, 1864. Total track mileage at the company's height was just over 72 miles.
Coal Branches
A number of branches were built to serve the Broad Top coal fields, beginning as soon as the railroad reached the area in 1853–1855.- Shoups Run Branch — from Saxton to Broad Top CityBroad Top City, PennsylvaniaBroad Top City is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Broad Top City is located at ....
via CoalmontCoalmont, PennsylvaniaCoalmont is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 128 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Coalmont is located at ....
and DudleyDudley, PennsylvaniaDudley is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 192 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dudley is located at ....
. It was extended to Barnettstown, near Dudley, in 1856. Passenger service was operated on this branch between 1859 and 1917, from Saxton to Dudley only. - Coalmont Branch — from Coalmont to Hickory Hill
- Miller's Run Branch — from Shoups Branch between Coalmont and Dudley to Kenrock and beyond along Miller's Run. It was built in 1908.
- Six Mile Run Branch — from Riddlesburg to North Point via DefianceDefiance, PennsylvaniaDefiance is a small village in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The village is home to approximately 100 residents. It is located along Six Mile Run Road in Broad Top Township, Pennsylvania...
and CoaldaleCoaldale, Bedford County, PennsylvaniaCoaldale is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Located 120 miles east by south of Pittsburgh, and south of Raystown Lake, as of the 2000 census the borough population was 146.-Geography:...
The branch was opened to Defiance in 1862 and subsequently extended. - Shreeves Run Branch — from North Point to FinleyvilleFinleyville, PennsylvaniaFinleyville is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, named for John Finley. It was built at the junction of Brownsville Road and the 'Washington Road' from Cox's Fort to Catfish Camp, now Washington, Pennsylvania...
- Sandy Run Branch — from Hopewell to the Garlick Mine via Langdondale
- Long's Run Branch — from Langdondale to Kearney. The branch was opened in 1883.
- Kimber Run Branch — from south of Hopewell at the confluence of Kimber Run and the Raystown Branch of the Juniata RiverJuniata RiverThe Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
up Broad Top Mountain. This branch lasted only a few years at the beginning of the 20th century.
Interchanges
The H&BTM connected with the PRR at Huntington, and with the Bedford and Bridgeport Railroad at Mount Dallas. It operated the B&B via lease in 1871, however the PRR, which had provided the majority of financial backing for the B&B's construction, took over operation of the B&B the following year. The H&BTM would continue to operate passenger service via trackage rights to Bedford over the B&B until 1953, but from 1872 onwards, its southern freight terminus was at Mount Dallas. The B&B was under complete control of the PRR from 1872 onwards but was separated from the contiguous PRR system until 1910, when they completed their Bedford Division between Cessna and Brookes Mills. The H&BTM served as a PRR bridge line for traffic between its two end points until that time. After 1910, the majority of bridge traffic was shifted to the PRR's Bedford Division.The H&BTM also supported some minor industrial lines, mostly logging railroads and iron ore, as well as the coal-hauling Juniata and Southern Railway
Juniata and Southern Railway
The Juniata and Southern Railroad was a short-lived coal and logging railroad in Central Pennsylvania.It originated as a private lumbering railroad owned by William Caprio and Anthony Grieco, contractors in Lock Haven...
, which connected at Marklesburg
Marklesburg, Pennsylvania
Marklesburg is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 216 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Marklesburg is located at ....
. Glendale, the terminus of the Sandy Run Branch, originally was an interchange with the narrow gauge Reichley Brothers logging railroad, which operated near Wells Tannery in Fulton County
Fulton County, Pennsylvania
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 14,845.Fulton County was created on April 19, 1850, from part of Bedford County and named for inventor Robert Fulton.Its county seat is McConnellsburg....
. When the branch was extended from Glendale up Broad Top Mountain in the early 1920s to access the Garlick Mine, the Reichleys abandoned their right of way on the western slope of the mountain and moved their interchange point to the community of Reichley, the location of the brothers' sawmill.
Though similar in name, there was no formal interchange connection or business relationship between the H&BTM and the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad
East Broad Top Railroad
The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company is a for-profit heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania, north of Interstate 76 and south of U.S. Route 22, the William Penn Highway. The railroad operates excursion trains on a seasonal schedule.-History:The East Broad Top...
. Through the Juniata and Southern Railroad, a physical connection existed at Jacobs, but its doubtful that any cargo was exchanged between the two railroads.
Later History
The railroad was at its height in the last decades of the 19th century and the pre-World War I period of the 20th century. The completion of the Bedford Division allowed the PRR to divert most of the lucrative through traffic from the Cumberland area away from the H&BTM. The decline of the Broad Top Mountain coal fields, the maturity of construction bonds, and many ill-advised right of way improvements and equipment purchases took their financial toll. The Huntington and Broad Top Mountain Railroad declared bankruptcy on October 11, 1953, operated its last passenger train in November 1953, and ceased operations on March 31, 1954.The Everett Railroad
Everett Railroad
The Everett Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates ex-Pennsylvania Railroad trackage in the Hollidaysburg area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It runs freight trains over two separate lines, one from Brooks Mill and Sproul, and the other, owned by the Morrison's Cove Railroad, from...
took over the southernmost four miles of H&BTM trackage, between Tatesville and Mount Dallas on April 1, 1954. They operated until 1982, when they closed due to Conrail's abandonment of the remainder of the Bedford Division, by then known as the Conrail's Bedford and Mount Dallas Branches. The trackage was removed in 1985.
The railroad's trackage in Huntington, Pennsylvania was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The PRR and its successors Penn Central (PC) and Conrail (CR) operated the track as a means of accessing an industrial park in the Smithfield portion of Huntington. Though the northern portion of the trackage remains, it has not been used since the late 1990s.
Preservation
H&BTM's only surviving locomotiveLocomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
is number 38, a 1929 Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
2-8-0
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
. After the H&BTM closed, this locomotive was sold to the Rail City Historical Museum in Sandy Creek, New York. Railway Post Office
Railway post office
In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to...
car 5436, coach 27, caboose
Caboose
A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...
17, and various pieces of tools and other hardware were also acquired and preserved by the museum. Locomotive 38 would later be sold to the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad
Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad
The Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad is a short line railroad that operates in Livingston County and Monroe County in New York, United States...
, which restored it to service, and finally, Sloan Cornell of the Gettysburg Railroad
Gettysburg Railroad
The Gettysburg Railroad was a railway line in Pennsylvania that operated from 1858-1870 over the 17 mile main line from the terminus in Gettysburg to the 1849 Hanover Junction...
. The locomotive was transferred to Cornell's Knox and Kane Railroad
Knox and Kane Railroad
The Knox and Kane Railroad was a short-line railroad in Pennsylvania that operated between Knox, in Clarion County, to Kane and then on to Mount Jewett, in McKean County.-Early years:...
at Marienville, Pennsylvania
Marienville, Pennsylvania
Marienville is an unincorporated community in Jenks Township, Forest County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its altitude is 1,732 feet , and it is located at...
in the 1980s. After it was removed from tourist service in the 1990s, 38 was stored at the Marienville enginehouse, where it received a new tender and H&BT lettering. After the K&K ceased tourist operations, it was moved to Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane, Pennsylvania
Kane is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, east by south of Erie. It was founded in 1863 by Civil War general Thomas L. Kane at an elevated site 2210 feet above sea level. In the early part of the twentieth century, Kane had large glassworks, bottle works, lumber mills, and manufactures of...
and stored inside the railroad's expanded enginehouse. However, that structure was burnt in an arson-related fire on March 16, 2008, damaging 38 in the process. The locomotive was sold at auction to the owner of the Everett Railroad
Everett Railroad
The Everett Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates ex-Pennsylvania Railroad trackage in the Hollidaysburg area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It runs freight trains over two separate lines, one from Brooks Mill and Sproul, and the other, owned by the Morrison's Cove Railroad, from...
on October 10, 2008.
The last surviving piece of revenue freight equipment was G-22 gondola 3807, which had been sold to 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...
in the late 1930s. Converted to a work car, it was scrapped in the 1980s.
Caboose 15 is at the Williams Grove Historical Steam Association's park in Williams Grove, Pennsylvania
Williams Grove, Pennsylvania
Williams Grove is an unincorporated community in Monroe Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Williams Grove is located off of and is home to the Williams Grove Speedway and defunct Williams Grove Amusement Park.-References:...
. Caboose 16 is now at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741...
. Caboose 17 survived after Rail City's closure; its current whereabouts are unknown, although it is believed to be in New England. RPO 5436 was scrapped on the grounds of Rail City. Coach 27 was acquired by the Central New York Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society
National Railway Historical Society
The National Railway Historical Society is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for, the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and organized into 16 regions and...
and is preserved at their Central Square Station Museum.
Depots still exist at Riddlesburg
Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania
Riddlesburg is a small village in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the central region of Pennsylvania.-Population:...
(converted to a church), Everett
Everett, Pennsylvania
Everett is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,905 at the 2000 census.Everett's original name was Bloody Run, after a creek which was the site of a battle between settlers and Native Americans...
(along with the separate freight house structure), Hopewell, and Dudley
Dudley, Pennsylvania
Dudley is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 192 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dudley is located at ....
(the latter being the depot from Broad Top City, Pennsylvania
Broad Top City, Pennsylvania
Broad Top City is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Broad Top City is located at ....
. The Dudley water tank, an enclosed wooden structure, remains as well.