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In 1881 Wm. Henry Vanderbilt hired Oliver Wendel Barnes to begin building a railroad directly in Pennsylvania Railroad country. The Pennsylvania Railroad was making advancements into New York where Vanderbilt was operating his family run New York Central Railroad from New York City to Chicago Ill. The Pennsylvania Railroad a private business run railroad, was backing construction of the West Shore Railroad which was actually collapsing but with Pennsylvania Railroad supplys and help the West Shore continued to build on. Vanderbilt knew that when the West Shore would collapse the Pennsylvania Railroad would move on the defunct railroad and collect from it's investments which would then make them a direct threat with his New York Central line.
Above left: The South Pennsylvania Railroad name stamped on some of the leters.
Above right: Harrisburg &Western was sometimes used to direct other railroads or interested persons from knowing that the South Pennsylvania Railroad was the real owner.
The original name
was to be the South Pennsylvania Railroad.
However under a second name of Harrisburg & Western the railroad
could be more secret to the people and other railroad in southern
Pennsylvania.
Above: Though no
work was done here in this great Valley where Amberson
Valley (right) and Path Valley (left) meet beneath Knob Mtn. (center)
is where the South Pennsylvania Railroad was to pass beneath. The gap
in the far distance on the left is where the rejected alternate
Marysville to Burnt Cabins route was to come upon the scene behind Tuscarora Mtn on the left.
Below: The photo above shows that it was made with five panned views. The maps below are showing the maps in the panned area second from the right behind the farm building. The South Pennsylvania Railroad would have been built in that section below the mountain.
Below: The photo above shows that it was made with five panned views. The maps below are showing the maps in the panned area second from the right behind the farm building. The South Pennsylvania Railroad would have been built in that section below the mountain.
If
all of the South Pennsylvania Railroad history that I collected
could be written in a book it would fill a book over 1000 pages.
And that is only the best photos, maps and other documents I felt
deserved to be placed inside its covers. Think of the thousands of
rejected photos I have taken and decided not to use.
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One
of the newest tools I use to discover the right of way just before the
turnpike was built is these aerial photos taken about 1938-1939. This
one is actually showing the Negro Mountain Tunnel with its grade on
both ends. Also the beginning of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
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Left & Right letters: How much did a house that was used to house surveyors and as an office cost the South Pennsylvania Railroad? Read this next two page letter. This office was located just to the east of the Sideling Hill Mountain Tunnel in West Dublin on Pumping Station Road.
Center: The letter stating that B.A. Lyon was renting a piece of ground opposite his dwelling for an office in West Dublin.
Below: The panaramic view of West Dublin in Fulton County, Pennsylvania from the south east corner lot showing all of B.A. Lyons structures. The only one that was not on the original drawings done by the South Pennsylvania Railroad maps is the building on the far left which is the south west corner lot. The present Pennsylvanioa Turnpike and Sideling Hill Plaza is seen to the right of the barn.
Below Left: This map is showing B.A. Lyons, West Dublin corner before the South Pennsylvania Railroad drew in a structure drawn in by penciil.
Below Right: On this map to the top right a penciled in structure was added and shows that only on the south west corner was room for a structure to be built in that period. The South Pennsylvania Railroad is seen on this map at the bottom to reach left hand side of the map which shows part of the Sideling Hill Tunnel alignment. Notice the missing alternate alignment on the south east corner of this map that is seen on the map to the left.
Above Maps: Also note on the above left map that an alternate rejected alignment is seen drawn through West Dublin. I have not touched /researched that one yet.
Mile Post 182.4 west of Burnt Cabins
Above: The 1938 aerial photo on the left is the exact site seen on the South Pennsylvania Railroad map on the right. he Pennsylvania Turnpike took this area from the center of the aerial photo to the right and therfore the South Pennsylvania Railroad work is beneath the turnpike.
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County
Below: No work was done in Cumberland County west of the bridge piers. However locating the South Pennsylvania Railroad is not as challanging as one might suspect. Using this next map you can see exactly where the South Pennsylvania Railroad was to be built. This includes the distruction of a grave yard west of Mechanicsburg. The 1884 report show that the bottom penciled in alignment was the one that was choosen.
You can easily compare the then (above) with the 1937 now (below) aerial photo below when the turnpike was suppose to use this route. They didn't, they are to the south of this site.
Below: Notice at the top left hand corner of this map to see a line marked Mounts Creek Line. This line originates at the top of Jacobs Creek ( Pennsylvania Turnpike) along the south bank to one mile east of Laurelville, to the head waters of Mounts Creek. But your main focus would be the alignment along this south bank of the Youghiogheny River which originated from the east portal of the Allegheny Mountain climbing up Deeters Run to Berlin to Garett to the present bike trail along the Youghiogheny River to this point at Connellsville.
Below: A 1946 map showing the original Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The South Pennsylvania Railroad has been sitting in our southern section of Pennsylvania for over 120 years and to the average driver on the Pennsylvania Turnpike who knows of this route will not know that most of the alignment remains are still laying off the Pennsylvania Turnpike proper. Like a jig saw puzzle on a coffee table never completed I have come along and have found a knack of completing the project. At least learning more then anyone I know of today. Over 13 years of exploring and gathering together information never known about before. Only here on this web page will you learn where works are compared to where the Pennsylvania Turnpike is found. I always disliked books on the famous route as non were able to give me much information on the railroad. They all seemed to give several pages on the railroad route but soon jumped into the building and history on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. If you ever acquired my South Pennsylvania Railroad DVD's you will notice that I stay on the South Pennsylvania Railroad alignment making the alignment of the Turnpike only second.
Notice: With so much information I can not place everything known of this railroad that I learned of on this web page. however when you acquire the South Pennsylvania Railroad DVD you will get a step by step walk across the whole route from Harrisburg to Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Latrobe, Connellsville, Confluence, Ohio Pyle, Hagerstown and many different survey routes that were surveyed but rejected.
Below are several pieces of information not known by the average person.
1. If the two routes could coexist today, the South Pennsylvania Railroad would be crossed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike 36 times.
2. The South Pennsylvania Railroad was never in bankrupcy.
3. A tunnel at the Donegal cut west of the Donegal Interchange was planned for but dropped before the survey was completed.
4. Stone monuments on the top of Blue, Allegheny and Laurel Hill Mountains were built for Railroad and used for the Turnpike survey equipment.
5. The first major route or branch that was to be built after the main line was completed was the Hagerstown Branch, beginning at the Tuscarora Mountains east portal to Hagerstown, Maryland to connect with Western Maryland Railroad.
6. The second major route off the main line was to be located outside the east portal of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel to Connellsville via Confluence and Falls City (Ohio Pyle) via Deeters Gap.
7. A third branch was to be located to Connellsville and eventually to Wheeling via the south bank of Jacobs Creek to Mounts Creek just west of Donegal.
8. In letter form a survey was made down Painters Run, Westmoreland County (Pa. Trpk. MP. 198.) to reach the Ligonier Valley and run along the Ligonier Valley Railroad to Latrobe.
9. Another true line which was to be built was to branch off the main line in the valley west of the Chestnut Ridge at the intersection of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at highway 981 and travel north to reach Latrobe to run along side the Ligonier Valley Railroad to the Soxman Mine.
10. The Connellsville to Wheeling route was to be in the Ten Mile Creek Valley south of Washington, Pa. to reach Middle Wheeling Creek to the south side of the present abandoned tunnel at Fulton, WV. to reach the old/now removed Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad bridge.
11. Pittsburgh was not the original destination of the South Penn. Pittsburgh was to be a branch line. Wheeling WV. was the end of the line.
12. The Shade Gap Railroad was to have a station at the inside curve junction on the west side of the Tuscarora Tunnel.
13. The South Penn was ready for the ties and rails part of construction as documents show just how many splice rails, ties, nails and rails were needed.
14. Outside the east portal of the Allegheny Tunnel was planned for a second tunnel named White Horse Spur Tunnel but was dropped during the survey period.
15. A second survey was done in Somerset County just north of the Stony Creek crossing to reach the Husband junction west of the Somerset turnpike interchange but that alignment was dropped during the survey period.
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