Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad

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Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad
logo
Reporting marks PSN
Locale Brockway, Pennsylvania to Wayland, New York
Dates of operation 1899 – 1947
Track gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters Angelica, New York

The Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad (AAR reporting marks PSN) also known as the Shawmut Line, was a former short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central Pennsylvania and western New York. The line was financially troubled for its entire life span and declared bankruptcy after just six years of operation. It would spend the remaining 42 year of its existence in receivership, one of the longest bankruptcy proceedings in American railroading history.

The Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad is often confused with the similarly named Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad which was a spinoff company from the PS&N. Further adding to the confusion is the fact that both were nicknamed the Shawmut Line, both operated in roughly the same geographic area, and both used nearly identical logos during their history. In fact the two were completely separate companies after their 1916 split.

The main line consisted of approximately 190 miles (306 km) of track extending from Brockway, Pennsylvania to Wayland, New York with several spurs, particularly Olean, New York and Hornell, New York. Principal shops were divided between Angelica, New York (car shop, paint shop, maintenance of way) and St. Marys, Pennsylvania (motive power shop). Both shops burned during their existence and subsequently replaced.

The Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad began life on August 2, 1899 with the merger of five small financially troubled regional railroads in New York and Pennsylvania. Most of the original track from these railroads was narrow gauge and the company put forth an ambitious and costly plan to completely convert the line to standard gauge by 1903. The financial burden of conversion to standard gauge combined with lackluster freight service forced the company to declare bankruptcy in 1905. The company would continue to operate in receivership until 1947.

The more lucrative Brockway to Freeport route was constructed beginning in 1903 as the Brookville & Mahoning. Confusion with the Boston & Maine caused the name to be changed to the Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad. The P&S was leased (but never owned) by the PS&N from 1906 until 1916. After 1916, the lease was terminated and the two companies operated separately. During the time of the lease, the bigger "200 class" 2-8-2s of the P&S operated over the combined systems.

Coal was the principle commodity for the line during its entire existence though Hoodlebugs and passenger trains also ran on the route until they were discontinued in 1935.

The spelling of Pittsburgh as Pittsburg in the company name derives from the company’s original 1899 charter. At the time, the official spelling of the name of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was without the “h”. The spelling of the city name was changed to Pittsburg in 1891 due to an effort by the United States government to standardize the spelling of place names in the United States. Bowing to civic protest, the spelling was changed back to Pittsburgh in 1911.

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Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America
United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM, KCSM
See also: List of USA/Canada/Mexico Class I Railroads, List of USA/Canadian Class II Railroads, Class III railroad, Class 2 Railroads in Canada,
Short-line railroad, List of United States railroads, List of Canadian railroads, list of Mexican railroads
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