The Montour Railroad was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service in southwestern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. At its height in the 1930s, the railroad served 27 mines transporting nearly seven million tons of coal annually in Allegheny and Washington Counties.

History

The Montour Railroad Company was chartered in 1877 as a wholly owed subsidiary of the Imperial Coal Company. The first segment constructed extended from the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad line at Montour Junction, near

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Coraopolis () is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. In 1940, the population peaked at 11,086. Coraopolis is located west of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburg ...

to the Imperial Coal Company mines at Imperial, Pennsylvania. In 1901 the

Pittsburgh Coal Company The Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company was a bituminous coal mining company based in Pittsburgh and controlled by the Mellon family. It operated mines in the Pittsburgh Coalfield, including mines in Becks Run and Horning, Pennsylvania. Unusuall ...

assumed control of the railroad. A major expansion was undertaken in 1912 to reach new coal mines and factories. By 1914 the railroad reached the town of

West Mifflin, Pennsylvania West Mifflin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The population was 20,313 at the 2010 census. It is named after Thomas Mifflin, 1st Governor of Pennsylvania, signer of the Un ...

on the Monongahela River. The Montour Railroad became an important feeder line and eventually all five major railroads in the southwestern Pennsylvania market were linked to the Montour Railroad. In 1946 the Pittsburgh Coal Company sold the Montour Railroad to the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

and the

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio in the ...

(a subsidiary of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

), who operated it jointly. A branch served Moon Run, this segment being operated until 1936. The P&LE acquired sole control of the Montour Railroad in 1975. Montour Railroad Mikado steam engine 26

The railroad's engine houses and shops were at Montour Junction, near the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

. The Montour Railroad had passenger service in its early years from 15 stations along its route, but passenger service was discontinued in 1927. By the 1950s most of the coal mines the Montour serviced had been worked out and the Montour began a slow decline. The Montour Railroad was down to just of track between Montour Junction and Gilmore Junction when operations ceased in 1984 with the closing of the Westland Coal mine, the Montour’s last remaining major customer. In the 1990s large portions of the

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

were acquired by the Montour Trail Council in a rails to trails program. In 1944 Montour reported 159 million ton-miles of revenue freight; at the end of that year it operated of road and of track.

Westland Branch

The Westland Branch was opened in 1928 to serve Westland Mine #1. Later, Westland Mine #2 was opened, and the Montour was extended to serve it. Westland #1 closed in 1981. The #2 mine was the last operating mine served by the Montour, finally closing in 1983, and demolished in 1985. In December 2010

MarkWest Energy MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P., a subsidiary of MPLX LP, is a natural gas gathering, processing and transportation company master limited partnership of the United States. In 1988, the company was founded in Denver, Colorado and grew to be C ...

announced plans to lease the Westland Branch right of way from the Montour Trail Council for 30 years. The branch was redeveloped as a combination trail and railroad operated by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway to serve MarkWest's Westland

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

processing plant. Construction was completed and the branch began operation in August 2012.

Preservation

In 2019, the Montour Railroad's SW9 locomotive #82 was acquired by the

Age of Steam Roundhouse The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, Sugarcreek, Ohio, United States, is a museum roundhouse housing steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars and other railroad equipment. History The roundhouse was built by Jerry Joe Jacobson, former CEO of ...

from the Flats Industrial Railroad, restored to its original condition, and painted into Montour colors.

References

External links

The Montour TrailMontour Railroad historyAbandonment notice for part of the railroad from 1980
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montour Railroad Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Railway companies established in 1877 Railway companies disestablished in 1984 History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1877 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

Westland Branch

Preservation

See also

References

External links