Northern Subdivision
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northern Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR), and the Knox and Kane Railroad (KKRR) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line is one of the oldest in Pennsylvania, and at one time, stretched all the way from Callery, to Kane, Pennsylvania. Today, more than half the line is gone.
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[edit] History
[edit] Callery Junction
The line was originally a narrow gauge railway built by the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad which later became part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the turn of the 20th century, a junction was built in Callery Junction (present-day Callery). The mainline headed northwest towards New Castle, while a small branch headed northeast towards Butler. The branch was eventually abandoned, and Callery Junction was no more. A new junction was built just north of Callery in the small village of Eidenau. The junction was named Harmony Junction, and it still exists today. The junction is now used to connect the Northern Subdivision with the P&W Subdivision. The P&W runs from the southeast to the northwest of Pittsburgh by way of Rankin to West Pittsburg near New Castle, while the Northern heads northeast towards Butler.
[edit] Harmony Jct. to Bruin
From Harmony Jct., the line (operated by the B&P) runs along the scenic Connoquenessing Creek past Buhl's Station and Renfrew, Pennsylvania. Just past Renfrew, the B&P runs parallel with the Canadian National Railway (originally the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad) into Butler. Just north of the city is Calvin Yard where the B&P and CN share right-of-ways with each other. The B&P also has a large shop located at Calvin, and many of the railroad's locomotives are located at the site. Just outside East Butler, the line splits. The mainline continues east towards Brookville, while a branch (original Northern Sub.) heads north towards Petrolia. This part of the line is very popular among railfans for it's old wooden trestles near the borough of Chicora. In Karns City and Petrolia, the B&P delivers and hauls chemicals from the large chemical plants located in the boroughs. The official end of the line is in Petrolia, but an abandoned section of track continues on to Bruin. The line and tracks end here, but there is still a mile long section of track between Bruin and Parker that has not seen service for decades.
[edit] Parker to Clarion Jct.
The section of the line between Parker and Knox was abandoned by the B&O in 1964, but the tracks weren't removed until 1982. The railroad ran north along the Allegheny River for about four miles until it reached the small borough of Foxburg where it crossed over the river, and the Allegheny Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad on the Foxburg Bridge. The Pennsylvania RR in downtown Foxburg has been gone for many years, but a new rail trail is in development along the old right-of-way, while the B&O's Foxburg Bridge is expected to be demolished in 2009. The Northern continued northeast of Foxburg, passing through the communities of St. Petersburg, Turkey City, and Knox. Before 2001, the Northern had tracks in the borough of Knox, which were used by the Knox and Kane Railroad. The main customer of the line was the Knox Glass Bottle Company, but once the company shut down, the line was abandoned. Attempts were made to create a tourist railroad to Knox, but this plan was not successful. The tracks were eventually removed and more of the Northern Sub. was lost to history. The K&K made the southwest end of the line at Clarion Junction, just past Shippenville.
[edit] Clarion Jct. to Kane
From Clarion Jct., the K&K winds it's way through fields and woods just outside of Clarion, and then passes through the village of Lucinda. At Marienville, the K&K has it's rolling stock and locomotives located in the small village. Between 1987 and 2004, the railroad ran a tourist railroad from Marienville to Kane, then passed through the borough of Mount Jewett to Kinzua Bridge State Park. The Northern Sub. had its official north end of the line located in Kane, but the K&K decided to extend the line to the Kinzua Bridge (that was once owned by the Erie Railroad) where the train would take tourists over the viaduct. In 2003, half the viaduct was toppled over by a tornado. The K&K ran the train to the park for another year, but service was ultimately cut, do to the loss of riders wanting to go over the bridge. As of 2008, the Knox and Kane Railroad has had its freight and passenger service suspended over the line.
