B&O (ex-B&S) line to Sagmore, PA

I am looking to understand when the Sagamore coal mine closed, and when the B&O line from Juneau to Sagamore was abandoned?

The mine closed for good in 1950, but I don't know about the railroad branch... JS
http://www.lib.iup.edu/spec_coll/articles/sagamore.html

Found some more about the RR branch, sounds like it was abandoned shortly after the mine was. JS
From a June 2009 post transcribing a 1965 letter:
"About ten years back the south end of the line from Juneau to Sagamore was abandoned and sold to Nick Kovalchick along with the large coal mine properties and equipment of the old B&S Coal & Coke Company at Sagamore. The rail is still in with tree sapling growing between the ties. Don't know what Nick is going to do with it. A couple of years back he cleaned up the coal mine property and sold most of the mine rail."
http://www.elvastower.com/forums/index. ... something/
Look down in the middle of the June 2 , 2009 post.

The last train on the Sagamore branch was a train of new automobiles in 1957:

"It was constructed in about 1904 and ended with a shipment of 1957 Chevys to the Chevy dealer in Plumville 15 miles south of here, the town at the end of the line."

The Sagamore branch was quite the little road. Heavy grades and numerous curves.

I think you mean "Plumville", not "Pulville". 1957 it was!
http://www.punxsyhistory.org/history.shtml
My Dad drove a 1957 Chevy up until around 1980. It already seemed embarassingly old fashioned to me by 1970. Guess cars didn't last as long on average back then (or the styles changed a lot faster). JS

^Yes, it was a typo. I changed it.

Wow! What a great history.

Last question:

When, in 1953-54 the B&O sold the Galeton section of the old B&S to H E Salzberg to create the WAG, did the B&O keep the old B&S tracks from Sykesville, through DeBois, up though Sinnemahoning?

If so, when did they get abandoned?

Thanks!

The line was cut near Medix Run due to highway construction in 1955.

I have a copy of the B&O track maps. Just past Medix Run, it is noted "End Track ICC 19091 Dec 31 1955."

I have the date from Sabula to Medix Run at home. (I'm at work right now.)

Regarding the DuBois to Sinnemahoning B&O trackage, I'm looking at old county maps from PA at http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bur ... CountyMaps (which could be late to remove a line after it went OOS).
1941 Cameron County; B&O sill there (Sinnemahong going west towards DuBois, -- county border on west is about at Hick's Run)
1957 Cameron County: B&O is gone

1954 Elk county: B&O all still there
1967 Elk County: B&O is gone from Medix Run to the east to the Cameron Cty border, still in from Medix RUn south/westward to the Elk County border
(agrees with previous post of being cut at Medix Run in 1955-- the section east of there was abandoned)
1982 Elk County: B&O is gone entirely - Medix Run southwest to the Clearfield county border ( about 3 miles south of Weedsville) has been removed since 1967)

1962 Clearfield County: B&O still there from DuBois north to Elk county border
1977 and 1991: Clearfield COunty: B&O from Du Bois north exists only to about about 3 miles north of Route 80 (to Sabula tunnel area) (so between 1962 to 1977 from the section from the tunnel north/east to Medix Run was abandoned.
1997: Clearfield County:: B&O going north from DuBois cut back to just south of Route 80.

JS

"20.24 miles: Sabula to Medix Run: Nov. 1971"

I got this from an old issue of Railroad magazine. Didn't they used to list abandonments?

I don't think the tracks from Dubois to Sabula have officially been abandoned.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/B ... ssage/2649

More info from Brian DeVries:

I have been delving into some research material today and want to
shed some enlightenment on a, relatively little-known part of the
Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad which tied into the BR&P at
Susquehanna Jct. near Juneau (pronounced Ja-noo by the locals). I
hope that you'll bear with me and concede that, while it is not BR&P
material per se, it is a kindred operation as intertwined as the B&S
was with the BR&P south and west of DuBois.

I don't have the documents to spell out the actual construction
of the beginning of the B&S. The first date that pops out is the
construction of some culverts in 1903 and some signs (yard limits,
section, etc.) in 1904. In 1905, the deck plate girder bridges over
Little Mahoning Creek (near McCormick) and over Hamilton Rd (east of
Covode) were built. The work was finished in 1906 with the
construction of the passenger station at Sagamore, combination
stations at Plumville and Juneau, Passenger Shelters at East
Plumville and Trade City, a stock pen at Plumville, tool houses at E.
Plumville and McCormick, and water stations at Sagamore and Eckman.
Milepost 0 was at Sagamore PA with the point of the switch at the
BR&P's Susquehanna Jct. being near B&S milepost 21.5. This line was
in operation into early 1955.

On December 31, 1955, the entire line, including track, bridges,
structures and land, was sold for $200,000 to the Kovalchick Salvage
Co. (then of Sykesville PA) under A.F.E. 43465. This was the first of
two back-to-back purges of the former B&S Railroad (the other being
the sale of the line east of Sinnemahoning PA - isolated from the
rest of the B&O since a flood in July 1942 - to the fledgling
Wellsville, Addison & Galeton with their operations beginning the
next day - 1/1/56). Going over to Kovalchick Salvage were:

At Sagamore PA
1906 station
1906 water station - 50,000 gal. tank 16' high x 24' dia., 20' above
the ground. Included 3' x 4' frost box
1911 toilet - 5'4" x 7'9"
1913 scale house - 12'4" x 16'4"
1914 repair shop and office - box car body with partitions
1915 car repair shop (at west end) - 9' x 35' box car body w/ six
windows
1916 sand house - 13'4" x 17'
1916 wet sand storage house - 13'6" x 22'
1919 tool house - 9'4" x 9'4"

At Plumville PA
1906 combination station - 16'4" x 52'
1906 stock pen

At E. Plumville
1906 shelter - 6'3" x 8'
1906 tool house - 14'4" x 20'4"

At Wells
cinder platform 8' x 40'

At Frantz
cinder platform 8' x 40'

At McCormick PA
1906 tool house - 14'4" x 20'4"

At Eckman PA
1906 water station - 50,000 gal. tank 16' high x 24' dia., 22' above
the ground. Included 3' x 4'3" frost box
1906 pump house - 12'4" x 18'4"

At Trade City PA
1906 shelter

At Juneau PA
1906 combination station - 16'4" x 36'4"
1906 coal house - 7' x 19'
1906 toilet - 5'3" x 10'3"

The Kovalchick Salvage Co. held the property largely intact, for
quite a few years after. Mike Kovalchick's intention was to "lease
and develop coal properties along this railroad", and he stated in
October 1960 that there were, at that time, two diamond drills
exploring the property toward ascertaining the value of the coal
underlying it. By late 1963, there were discussions with the B&O
involving Dean Coal Company's opening a deep mine near Plumville
where it was revealed that test borings indicated a 10 million ton
field waiting to be tapped. The proposal was for B&O to rehabilitate
the track as part of their commitment to the plan. In return, they
could expect to handle about 4,500 tons per week - taking either 90
50-ton or 65 70-ton cars to the loading point with three diesel units
(returning light to Riker) and then haul the approximately 6,600
gross tons out with two trains each having four diesel units. Large
issues with the size of trains and assignment of motive power were
the 2.54% westward (empties) and 2.09% eastward (loads) grades near
milepost 5, between Wells and E. Plumville. Discussion was still
underway in February 1964.

Brian DeVries

More from Brian:

Additional research files have now revealed that the Sagamore PA
passenger station was dismantled 5/18/35 and would, therefore, not
have been there for the sale of the Sagamore Branch property to
Kovalchick Salvage Co. in late 1955.

Several other structures which once served this line include:

At Sagamore PA
company dwellings (at least eight) (two dismantled 2/1/33, four more
3/7/34, and two on 9/24/34)

At McCormick PA
station (dismantled 6/26/35)

At Covode PA
station (dismantled 8/17/34)
tool house (dismantled 8/17/34)
1906 company dwelling (dismantled 8/17/34)

Brian DeVries

thebigham wrote:... This was the first of
two back-to-back purges of the former B&S Railroad (the other being
the sale of the line east of Sinnemahoning PA ...

Was the Dubois to Sinnemahoning section sold off by B&O too, or did they hold onto that part and operate it to the end (e.g. it sounds from bigham's earlier post above that Dubois to Medix run lasted to 1971)?. If they sold it who operated it?

JS

^The B&O operated Dubois to Sinnemahoning until the line was abandoned.

thebigham wrote:^The B&O operated Dubois to Sinnemahoning until the line was abandoned.

Too bad the B&O/Kovalchick mine discussions never ended up going anywhere.

Thanks for all the historical detials on this thread.
JS