Pickering Valley Railroad
| Pickering Valley Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1871–1906 |
| Successor | Reading Railroad |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Length | 11.3 miles (18.2 kilometres) |
| Headquarters |
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
The Pickering Valley Railroad was a short line railroad in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It ran from Phoenixville to Byers, near Eagle, in Upper Uwchlan Township, a distance of approximately 11.3 miles (18.2 km).[1] The company was incorporated April 3, 1869, with the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company subscribing to the bulk of the stock.[2] In or about 1870, the still-unbuilt railroad was leased to the Reading Railroad; it opened in September 1871.[2]
The railroad's principal business was transporting agricultural products from local farms to Phoenixville, for connections with other railroad lines; it also carried local iron ore to the Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville.[3] It played a role in the development of the local graphite mining industry as well.[4] The company was not a financial success: although revenues covered operating costs, there was nothing to pay to the investors (an 1882 newspaper editorial referred to the company's stock as "worthless"[5]). When the lease expired in 1906, the line was more formally merged into the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad system,[2] becoming known as the Pickering Valley Branch of the Reading.[3]
Most of the line, from Byers to Kimberton, was abandoned in 1948. The remainder, which principally served the Phoenix steel mill (a portion was also briefly used by the Valley Forge Scenic Railroad[6]), was abandoned by Conrail in the 1980s. Little remains of the line today.[3][7]
| Station Name | Distance | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| mi[8] | km | ||
| Phoenixville | 0.0 | 0.0 | Connection with Reading Railroad |
| Phoenixville (freight) | 0.5 | 0.8 | Now at 425 Bridge Street |
| Ironsides | 1.5 | 2.4 | Above the Phoenix Iron Company |
| French Creek Junction | ? | ? | Connection with Delaware River & Lancaster Railroad |
| Kimberton | 3.7 | 6.0 | 2205 Kimberton Road |
| Hallman's | 5.5 | 8.9 | |
| Pikeland | 7.0 | 11.3 | At Pikeland Road |
| Chester Springs | 7.5 | 12.1 | Served Yellow Springs |
| Camp | ? | ? | Appears only on the oldest maps |
| Anselma | 9.0 | 14.5 | Also known as Cambria |
| Lionville | 9.8 | 15.8 | At Lionville Station Road |
| Byers | 11.0 | 17.7 | Terminus |
Accident
The Pickering Valley Railroad was the scene of a significant wreck on the night of October 4, 1877. A torrential rainstorm had washed out a portion of the track near Kimberton, and a passenger train from Phoenixville, carrying about 130 people, including many returning from a Pennypacker family reunion, ran into the washout in the dark.[9] The locomotive plunged thirty feet, the first passenger car fell on top of the locomotive, and the second passenger car landed atop the first. Seven passengers and crew were killed, and several dozen injured.[9] A lawsuit arising from this accident rose to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which affirmed the judgement for the plaintiff in the amount of $3,500.[10]
References
- ↑ Greenwood, A.L., "The railroads of Chester County", History Quarterly, Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society, February, 1955 Volume 7 Number 4, Pages 86–94.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Pickering Valley Railroad was Completed on Sept. 1, 1871; Leased by the Reading", Reading Eagle, Aug 18, 1912, p. 18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Pickering Valley Railroad, AbandonedRails.com; accessed 2014.01.27.
- ↑ See Miller, Benjamin L., Graphite Deposits of Pennsylvania, Report No. 6, Topographic and Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, 1912, pp. 96-110.
- ↑ Editorial, Phoenixville Messenger, April 15, 1882.
- ↑ "A History of No. 58", Wilmington & Western Railroad; accesses 2014.01.28.
- ↑ Tinsman, Mary Alfson, Memorandum: French Creek Parkway Project, May 16, 2011, CHRS, Inc.
- ↑ The Official Railway Guide: North American Freight Service Edition. 1902. p. 303.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Disasters on Railroads; Trains thrown into washouts", The New York Times, October 6, 1877, p. 1.
- ↑ Philadelphia & Reading RR. Co. v. Anderson, 94 Pa. 351 (1880).