salminkarkku wrote:This little logging rr (5m) operated around Big Shanty south of Bradford PA, with a junction to the BRP, in the 1890's. This is the only logging line I know of with a name like that, and wonder if the proprietors hoped to develop a spa in the area. No clues from the modern or Mapquest USGS, and nothing on Google either -which is unusual. I have seen it spelt Kish-Wau-Kee.
Perhaps anybody who knows the area well can comment!
salminkarkku-As the old line goes-"I've got good news, and I've got bad news...".
The good news is that I dug out my copy of
Sawmills Among The Derricks by Thomas T. Taber, III last night and found a writeup on the "Kish-Wau-Kee Mineral Springs Railroad". The bad news is that Mr. Taber is just as puzzled as the rest of us as to why the owner/ operator of this line chose such a name for a short logging line.
From the text:
J. R. DRONEY LUMBER COMPANY
KISH-WAU-KEE MINERAL SPRINGS RAILROAD
Big Shanty
"McKean County has the largest number of railroad lumber operations for which a clear history can not be pieced together. Most, if not all of them, were in the Big Shanty-Mt. Alton area. Mention has been made in chapter 7.2 of Weaver's 1885 railroad. The Kish-Wau-Kee Mineral Springs Railroad is another operation for which too little is known. What an intriguing name for a railroad; what a frustrating one to pin down!
On March 1, 1895 James and William Pierce and Company of Boston and Wilson R. Page of Olean made an agreement with Droney to cut their timber. The estate of William Bingham had sold 2860 acres in warrants 2258, 63 and 67 to the Pierces for $ 45,760. The warrants run north and south and are intersected by the B. R. & P. R. R.
On May 10, 1895 the railroad was incorporated to run from Big Shanty, where John C. French had owned a mill, to Pierce Camp, five miles. Big Shanty was on the Erie Railroad. On the B. R. & P. R. R. it was called Dents. The railroad ran off the B. R. & P. and also probably the Erie. The mill may have been French's former mill or one that Droney built.
In order to cut the tract, the railroad had to be relocated several times. During the first two years it was listed as running from Big Shanty to Seamond, five miles and having one locomotive. The last two years listed an additional three miles from Gerald to Droney and two locomotives. Unfortunately, none of these places can be located today. It is believed that the railroad at one time ran south along the East Branch up almost to Bingham to reach the southern portion of the tract. It may also have gone north and then east up Railroad and Droney Runs. One spur ran off the B. R. & P. at Dents onto the hill.
Droney owned 248 shares of the railroad's stock as did Page and each Pierce. B. M. Grailey owned the other eight. The bark went to Pierce's Olean tannery.
Droney cut the lumber under the name of the J. R. Droney Lumber Company. His contract with the Pierces was somewhat unique for Droney had to pay Pierce and Page $ 6.50 per thousand feet for good hemlock, $ 4.00 for cull hemlock, and $ 10.00 for hardwood that he produced. He was then free to sell it for whatever he could get.
Droney used at least three locomotives. The Bradford Era of December 7, 1896 states that the Droney Lumber Company above Big Shanty had sold their locomotive and sent it to Chipmunk. Chipmunk is located near South Vandalia, New York where the engine was used on the South Vandalia and State Line Railroad. The locomotive was a Shay. The Era on August 17, 1898 states that Droney purchased a Shay formerly used on the Allegheny and Kinzua Railroad.
The mill operated until 1899. The railroad was then torn up and the two locomotives sold to unknown purchasers."
As an aside, I grew up in this area and used to frequently travel in the region. I had never heard of the Kish-Wau-Kee Mineral Springs. A check of a map of the Allegheny National Forest showed nothing either.
There were many short-lived logging railroads in that area. Due to the temporary nature of such lines, I have to wonder if sometimes a grandiose sounding name was chosen in jest. Check this thread in the New York State forum regarding the "Salamanca Air Line Railroad" which turned out to be an eight-mile long logging line:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17300