Tuscarora Valley Railroad
| Tuscarora Valley Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1891 – 1934 |
| Successor line | abandoned |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
| Headquarters | Port Royal, Pennsylvania |
The Tuscarora Valley Railroad was a narrow gauge shortline that operated in central Pennsylvania from 1891 to 1934.
Construction and plans for extension
The TVRR was chartered in April 1891 to build from a junction with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Port Royal to points south. Concord and Dry Run, in Franklin County, seem to have been the southern termini originally contemplated.
The principal promoters of the new railroad was Thomas S. Moorhead. Moorhead had made a fortune mining phosphate rock in Florida in the late 1880s, and had previously been involved in promoting the Susquehanna and Southwest Railway during the early 1880s. It appears that he intended the railroad as an outlet for phosphate deposits located at Ross Farm, along the Tuscarora Creek. Local financial backing was provided by John M. Blair. His father, John H. Blair, had founded Blairs Mills, high up the Tuscarora Creek. John M. was a storekeeper and a wealthy pillar of the community.
The TVRR was surveyed along the east side of the valley, against the edge of Tuscarora Mountain. Grading began in the summer of 1892 and the railroad was finished from Port Royal to East Waterford on February 1 1893. Here a temporary halt to construction occurred, possibly due to the straitened financial conditions during the Panic of 1893. The use of 3 foot (914 mm) gauge may have been a measure of economy, as well; on the other hand, the gauge was a popular one with several nearby shortlines, such as the East Broad Top Railroad. The railroad shop was temporarily housed in the basement of a grist mill in East Waterford, and a turntable was built there.
The announcement of the Path Valley Railroad in late 1893 temporarily balked plans for a southward extension of the TVRR through Concord Narrows into Franklin County. However, by early 1894, the TVRR had begun selling bonds to finance a further southward extension. In April 1895, grading was finished between East Waterford and Blairs Mills, and regular service began in late 1895. The new extension passed by Ross Farm, and in early 1896, Moorhead made the first public announcement of the phosphate deposits there and his formation of the Pennsylvania Phosphate Company to exploit them. Two miles of grading had also been done between Concord and Dry Run.
The initial workings at Ross Farm were apparently successful, as Moorhead erected a larger processing plant in 1898. 156 by 310 feet and five stories high, it is believed to be the largest commercial building ever built in Juniata County, and had a capacity of 30 tons per day. To supply this plant, Moorhead planned to tap other local lime deposits, and reportedly surveyed a rail line from Honey Grove to Reeds Gap. However, all this was for naught, as the remainder of the phosphate deposits proved too poor to process efficiently, the plant's output dropping from 2,000 tons of fertilizer in 1899 to 900 tons in 1900. The company ceased operation in 1904, a great blow to Moorhead and the TVRR, which was now dependent on lumber and local agricultural traffic.
The railroad's directors continued to contemplate extension. An extensive plan was conceived in January 1897. At the north end, the railroad would extend to Mifflin, cross the Juniata River to Mifflintown, and follow the Selinsgrove and North Branch Railroad's defunct grade to Selinsgrove. To the south, the line would be extended from Blairs Mills to Burnt Cabins and McConnellsburg, and then south to Hancock, Maryland. The extensions would be built to standard gauge, and the railroad itself converted.
Such a plan was far beyond the resources of the TVRR and would have required considerable external investment. As part of the program for doing so, a separate corporation, the Tuscarora Railroad, was chartered in January 1898 to build the southern extension from Blairs Mills to McConnellsburg. Considerable grading was done during 1898, and was supposed to be complete to Neelyton by November, with bridges constructed as far south as Nossville. Grading was finished to Burnt Cabins by the end of the year, possibly using some of the grade from the East Broad Top's branch to reach the South Pennsylvania Railroad. However, no further work was ever done by the company. In 1919, the whole Tuscarora Railroad right-of-way was sold to the East Broad Top for the construction of their Stanton Rock Spur, and the Tuscarora Railroad's charter eventually expired. By the turn of the century, then, the Tuscarora Valley Railroad had reached its greatest length.
Operation
Stations
| Name | Mileage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Port Royal | Used PRR station; site of car house, wye, and offices | |
| Old Port | ||
| Turbett | no station facilities | |
| Freedom | no station facilities | |
| Graham | no station facilities | |
| Spruce Hill | Water tank, station | |
| Esh | ||
| Pleasant View | ||
| Warble | ||
| Fort Bingham | ||
| Honey Grove | ||
| Heckman | ||
| East Waterford | Former shops, turntable (removed). Station intact today | |
| Perulack | ||
| Ross Farm | Engine house and shops, water tank | |
| Leonard's Grove | ||
| Waterloo | Station intact today | |
| Blairs Mills | Turntable (later wye), engine house |
References
- Pierson, George N (1995). Tommy Varner's Red Rooster: A History of the Tuscarora Valley Railroad. Juniata County Historical Society.
