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The Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad was a 3 ft 4 in narrow-gauge railroad in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Originally built in 1871, it may have been the first American common-carrier narrow-gauge railroad. It purchased a rail line called the Coal Hill Coal Railroad from the Pittsburgh Coal Company, and used a coal mine under Mt. Washington as a tunnel to transport coal from Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh. Passenger traffic was added soon afterwards, and the train carried passengers during the day and coal at night. The original plan was to extend the line to Finleyville, Pennsylvania, but the original narrow-gauge line ran only as far as Castle Shannon. The right of way continued as the Pittsburgh, Castle Shannon and Washington Railroad, later to become part of the Pittsburgh Southern Railroad.
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The Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Tunnel, also known as the Mount Washington Coal Tunnel, was a 3 ft 4 in narrow-gauge railway tunnel under Mt. Washington.
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The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad company that formerly operated in western and north central Pennsylvania and western New York. It was created in 1893 by the merger and consolidation of several smaller logging railroads. It operated independently until 1929, when a majority of its capital stock was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the same time, the B&O also purchased control of the neighboring Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway. The Baltimore and Ohio officially took over operations of both roads in 1932.
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Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Plane was a 3 ft 4 in narrow gauge incline railway that ran from the northern end of the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Tunnel to Carson Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally built to carry coal from the Jacob Beltzhoover mine, it was sold by the Pittsburgh Coal Company to the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad in 1871. It was used only for coal as early as 1864, passenger traffic was added in 1874 for the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad. For safety reasons, the tunnel was closed to passenger traffic, and passengers were diverted to the Castle Shannon Incline, constructed in 1890. Emergency use of the plane for passengers and freight continued as late as 1900. Its use for the transport of passengers and freight other than coal was made obsolete by the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel. Operation as a coal incline continued until May 1, 1912. It was operated as a gravity plane, with returning empty cars being pulled to the mine mouth by the weight of the descending full coal cars.
The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was a mining and transportation company that operated in Pennsylvania from 1818 to 1964. It ultimately encompassed source industries, transport, and manufacturing, making it the first vertically integrated company in the United States.
The Mill Creek & Mine Hill Navigation and Railroad Co. was the second railroad built in Pennsylvania and the third in the United States, beginning operations in mid–1829. It was a short four mile line extending from Port Carbon, Pennsylvania along the Mill Creek towards active anthracite coal mines. Its purpose was to transport mined coal to Port Carbon which was the terminus for the Schuylkill Canal, the conduit to markets in Philadelphia.
References
- ↑ Geological Survey of Pennsylvania (1884). "166. Castle Shannon Mines". Report of progress ' Part1 ... p. 179.
- ↑ "Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad HAER no. PA-410" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2009-01-02.