Knox and Kane Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Knox and Kane Railroad (K&K) 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
.
was bought from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
in 1982 when the B&O discontinued operations on the old Northern Subdivision between Foxburg
and Kane. This line was a part of the old Pittsburgh and Western Railroad, originally a narrow-gauge line created in the latter third of the 19th century from a merging of various earlier narrow-gauge lines.
When the segment of the B&O from Foxburg to Knox was taken out of service, shipping raw materials, mostly glassmaking sand, to Knox Glass became difficult. To ease this situation, a connection with the Conrail (originally the New York Central Railroad
) line through Shippenville
was put in place. The B&O and NYC crossed each other not too far west of Shippenville for many years, but there had never been provision for interchange between the two roads. Operations in to Knox, which had been the original southern terminus of the K&K, were discontinued around the time the only real customer in Knox, the Knox glass bottle company
, ceased operations. This ended the use of the Shippenville interchange.
After the Knox segment was embargoed, the southern terminus became what was known as North Clarion Junction, where there was a fibreboard plant and a wye, the tail track of which had been the P&W's line across to the east side of the Clarion River
to the borough of Clarion
(county seat of Clarion County). This branch was discontinued at around the time the B&O purchased the P&W. The bridge over the Clarion River needed replacement and the railroad requested that the town help with funding the project. Clarion's town fathers declined this honor, so the railroad cut back service to the west side of the river, which was eventually abandoned as well.
At one time, the K&K derived some revenue from shipping out car loadings of coal from what had once been an extensive coal mining complex in and around the village of Lucinda, a few miles north of North Clarion Junction. During the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, under B&O ownership, coal
loadings from this area were quite extensive. A conductor's report from one northbound freight train (Foxburg to Kane) in the early 1960s showed in excess of fifty loads of coal shipped north out of Lucinda, most of it bound for ports on the Great Lakes. The last coal shipper on the line, Zacheryl Coal, went bankrupt not too many years after the K&K acquired the line, which materially reduced shipping over the line, and thus reduced income.
(originally the site of another of the Knox Glass Bottle Company's plants), and back to Kane. A portion of the Erie Railroad
was purchased so that the tourist trains could cross the Kinzua bridge
. A Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works-built 2-8-2 steam locomotive 58
was acquired to power the tourist trains. 58 was built as SY1658 in 1989. It was imported new to the Knox and Kane, (one of only 6 steam engines imported from China after the end of steam in the States). The K&K had a much older 2-8-0 steam locomotive, Knox & Kane 38, built by Baldwin
for the Huntington and Broad Top Mountain Railway 38 had not run since the 1980s, but was under restoration to be returned to steam. A new tender tank had been built. As the B&O never saw a need to turn locomotives at Marienville, there was no wye
or turntable
in that community. So the K&K built a turn table there, specifically to turn its steam locomotive. There was also a four bay roundhouse
built in Marienville. Today, the roundhouse is in a considerable amount of disrepair, with three of the four tracks having been removed. The coaches used on the Knox & Kane were mostly an old type of Long Island Railroad commuter cars. This type of car had been dubbed ping pong cars because of their tendency to rock and bounce all over, even when new on well maintained track. The cars, while charming and somewhat modern in appearance with their round vestibule windows, were also notorious for rusting, making maintenance one these cars a constant chore. This collection of old and new equipment made for one of the more unique tourist train operations in the country, although it was often overlooked because of its remote location.
. The viaduct was extensively damaged by a tornado in 2003. When the State of Pennsylvania, which owns the viaduct, could not afford to repair it, the railroad lost its major tourist draw.
In another devastating blow, on early Sunday March 16, 2008 the locomotives used to carry sightseers across the Kinzua Bridge were severely damaged by a fire set by arsonists. The fire, which burned the Biddle Street building used to house the trains in Kane, Pennsylvania caused $1 million in damage. The residents of Mount Jewett would watch the train several times daily as it passed through town—directly to the north of the borough building. This further dampened the dream of reopening the railroad.
According to an article published in the Bradford Era newspaper immediately following the auction, the Kovalchicks reportedly had "little interest in resuming tourist rides along the rails."
In the spring of 2010, Kovalchick removed the rail crossings between Clarion and McKean counties. The entire line from Clarion Junction to Mount Jewett is now in the process of being removed. Once the tracks are removed, there are plans to convert the line into a trail as part of the rails-to-trails program.
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...
that operated between Knox
Knox, Pennsylvania
Knox is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,176 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Knox is located at ....
, in Clarion County
Clarion County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 41,765 people, 16,052 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile . There were 19,426 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, to Kane
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 then on to Mount Jewett
Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania
Mount Jewett is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,070 at the 2000 census. The students of the borough attend school in the Kane Area School District, even though the borough is surrounded by Hamlin Township--belonging to neighboring Smethport Area School...
, in McKean County
McKean County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,936 people, 18,024 households, and 12,094 families residing in the county. The population density was 47 people per square mile . There were 21,644 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
.
Early years
The track and right of wayRight-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...
was bought from 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...
in 1982 when the B&O discontinued operations on the old Northern Subdivision between Foxburg
Foxburg, Pennsylvania
Foxburg is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the east bank of the Allegheny River, about two miles north of its confluence with the Clarion River.-History:...
and Kane. This line was a part of the old Pittsburgh and Western Railroad, originally a narrow-gauge line created in the latter third of the 19th century from a merging of various earlier narrow-gauge lines.
When the segment of the B&O from Foxburg to Knox was taken out of service, shipping raw materials, mostly glassmaking sand, to Knox Glass became difficult. To ease this situation, a connection with the Conrail (originally the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
) line through Shippenville
Shippenville, Pennsylvania
Shippenville is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 505 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Shippenville is located at ....
was put in place. The B&O and NYC crossed each other not too far west of Shippenville for many years, but there had never been provision for interchange between the two roads. Operations in to Knox, which had been the original southern terminus of the K&K, were discontinued around the time the only real customer in Knox, the Knox glass bottle company
Knox Glass Bottle Company
The Knox Glass Bottle Company was a glass manufacturer based in Knox, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, with several plants throughout the United States. The great majority of the company's production was in the form of glass bottles, many of which were beer bottles, milk bottles, and a large number of...
, ceased operations. This ended the use of the Shippenville interchange.
After the Knox segment was embargoed, the southern terminus became what was known as North Clarion Junction, where there was a fibreboard plant and a wye, the tail track of which had been the P&W's line across to the east side of the Clarion River
Clarion River
The Clarion River is a tributary of the Allegheny River, approximately 110 mi long, in west central Pennsylvania in the United States...
to the borough of Clarion
Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion is a borough in Clarion County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, about 100 miles north-northeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the surrounding area produced natural gas, oil, lumber and coal. Merely 2,004...
(county seat of Clarion County). This branch was discontinued at around the time the B&O purchased the P&W. The bridge over the Clarion River needed replacement and the railroad requested that the town help with funding the project. Clarion's town fathers declined this honor, so the railroad cut back service to the west side of the river, which was eventually abandoned as well.
At one time, the K&K derived some revenue from shipping out car loadings of coal from what had once been an extensive coal mining complex in and around the village of Lucinda, a few miles north of North Clarion Junction. During the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, under B&O ownership, 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...
loadings from this area were quite extensive. A conductor's report from one northbound freight train (Foxburg to Kane) in the early 1960s showed in excess of fifty loads of coal shipped north out of Lucinda, most of it bound for ports on the Great Lakes. The last coal shipper on the line, Zacheryl Coal, went bankrupt not too many years after the K&K acquired the line, which materially reduced shipping over the line, and thus reduced income.
Tourist
The K&K also operated a tourist railroad operation over the segment of the line from Kane to MarienvilleMarienville, 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...
(originally the site of another of the Knox Glass Bottle Company's plants), and back to Kane. A portion of the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
was purchased so that the tourist trains could cross the Kinzua bridge
Kinzua Bridge
The Kinzua Bridge or the Kinzua Viaduct was a railroad trestle that spanned Kinzua Creek in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
. A Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works-built 2-8-2 steam locomotive 58
Knox & Kane 58
Knox & Kane Number 58 is a China Railways SY class steam locomotive that was built in 1989 by the Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works for the Knox and Kane Railroad, where it spent its life until that railroad's demise. It was recently purchased by the Valley Railroad Company.58 ran for...
was acquired to power the tourist trains. 58 was built as SY1658 in 1989. It was imported new to the Knox and Kane, (one of only 6 steam engines imported from China after the end of steam in the States). The K&K had a much older 2-8-0 steam locomotive, Knox & Kane 38, built by Baldwin
Baldwin
- United States of America :* Baldwin, Florida* Baldwin, Georgia* Baldwin, Illinois* Baldwin, Iowa* Baldwin, Louisiana* Baldwin, Maine* Baldwin, Maryland* Baldwin, Michigan* Baldwin, Chemung County, New York* Baldwin, Nassau County, New York...
for the Huntington and Broad Top Mountain Railway 38 had not run since the 1980s, but was under restoration to be returned to steam. A new tender tank had been built. As the B&O never saw a need to turn locomotives at Marienville, there was no wye
Wye (railroad)
A wye or triangular junction, in rail terminology, is a triangular shaped arrangement of rail tracks with a switch or set of points at each corner. In mainline railroads, this can be used at a rail junction, where three rail lines join, in order to allow trains to pass from any line to any other...
or 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...
in that community. So the K&K built a turn table there, specifically to turn its steam locomotive. There was also a four bay roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
built in Marienville. Today, the roundhouse is in a considerable amount of disrepair, with three of the four tracks having been removed. The coaches used on the Knox & Kane were mostly an old type of Long Island Railroad commuter cars. This type of car had been dubbed ping pong cars because of their tendency to rock and bounce all over, even when new on well maintained track. The cars, while charming and somewhat modern in appearance with their round vestibule windows, were also notorious for rusting, making maintenance one these cars a constant chore. This collection of old and new equipment made for one of the more unique tourist train operations in the country, although it was often overlooked because of its remote location.
Final years
In the spring of 2006, the K&K ceased both freight and tourist service. One reason was that freight shipments over the line had declined seriously over the years. An additional reason the line was abandoned as a tourist operation was that the main attraction of the ride was a trip over the Kinzua BridgeKinzua Bridge
The Kinzua Bridge or the Kinzua Viaduct was a railroad trestle that spanned Kinzua Creek in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
. The viaduct was extensively damaged by a tornado in 2003. When the State of Pennsylvania, which owns the viaduct, could not afford to repair it, the railroad lost its major tourist draw.
In another devastating blow, on early Sunday March 16, 2008 the locomotives used to carry sightseers across the Kinzua Bridge were severely damaged by a fire set by arsonists. The fire, which burned the Biddle Street building used to house the trains in Kane, Pennsylvania caused $1 million in damage. The residents of Mount Jewett would watch the train several times daily as it passed through town—directly to the north of the borough building. This further dampened the dream of reopening the railroad.
End of the line
On October 10 and 11, 2008, the K&K's rolling stock was auctioned off as part of a liquidation sale. The Kovalchick Corporation (which also owns the East Broad Top Railroad) bought the property.According to an article published in the Bradford Era newspaper immediately following the auction, the Kovalchicks reportedly had "little interest in resuming tourist rides along the rails."
In the spring of 2010, Kovalchick removed the rail crossings between Clarion and McKean counties. The entire line from Clarion Junction to Mount Jewett is now in the process of being removed. Once the tracks are removed, there are plans to convert the line into a trail as part of the rails-to-trails program.