Union County Industrial Railroad
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The Union County Industrial Railroad is a
short line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...
that operates on approximately 12 miles (20 km) of track in Union County in the
U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
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, ...
. It is part of the North Shore Railroad System. The line is along the right bank of the
West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exten ...
, roughly following
U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...
between the
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
village of Winfield in southern Union County and the village of New Columbia (in White Deer Township) in northern Union County. Other communities served by the UCIR include Lewisburg, the village of West Milton (in Kelly Township), and Milton (east across the
West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exten ...
in Northumberland County). Although the UCIR has no employees and owns none of the track on which it operates, its corporate offices are located in
Northumberland, Pennsylvania Northumberland is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,804 at the 2010 census. History A brewer named Reuben Haines, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded the town of Northumberland in ...
. There is a connection to the Norfolk Southern Railway line at Milton. Robey Railroads, a private company, operates the Union County Industrial Railroad. The Union County Industrial Railroad has no employees, instead they are provided by the North Shore Railroad. This led the
Railroad Retirement Board The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is an independent agency in the executive branch of the United States government created in 1935 to administer a social insurance program providing retirement benefits to the country's railroad workers. T ...
to find that "the Union County Industrial Railroad is not an employer subject to the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts." The North Shore Railroad System has
trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...
via the Norfolk Southern line. These allow the Union County Industrial Railroad to connect to the north and west with the Lycoming Valley Railroad (at Muncy and Linden), the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad (at
Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
) and, to the south, with the North Shore Railroad (at Northumberland) and the Shamokin Valley Railroad (at Sunbury).


Union County rail lines

There are basically two rail lines in Union County (although they have five different owners as of 2006):
#the former "
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
Williamsport Line" from Winfield to Allenwood (north-south along the river); #the former "Reading Catawissa Branch" from West Milton east to Milton (east-west crossing the river); All of the lines in Union County passed into the possession of Conrail, and were eventually abandoned or sold by it or its successors. Although the UCIR has a contract to operate on these lines between Winfield and Allenwood, and West Milton and Milton, as of 2008, the line from New Columbia north to Allenwood is out of service on account of bad track. The UCIR formerly operated the West Shore Railroad (
reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...
WTSE) from Lewisburg to Mifflinburg, but service ended in 1997 and the line was sold to become a rail trail in 2008. As of 2006, ownership of the lines in Union County is as follows: The north-south former "Reading Williamsport Line" along the river is divided into four sections with three owners: *The "Lewisburg and Buffalo Creek Railroad" (LBCX) owns the track from Winfield north to West Milton. It is a non-operating railroad, although a tourist service operated on this track until the mid-1990s. As of 2006, this track is used by the UCIR for freight services. *The "West Shore Railroad Corporation" (WSRC) owns the track from Milton, through West Milton north to New Columbia, terminating just north of Interstate 80. This track is also used by the UCIR. *The "White Deer and Reading Railroad" (WDRR, owned by SEDA-COG JRA) owns the track from just north of Interstate 80 north to the village of White Deer (across the river from Watsontown). The local NRHS chapter also runs short excursions over this track. *The "Union County Industrial Development Corporation" owns the out-of-service track north of Allenwood, (and perhaps further north to the county line).


See also

*
List of Pennsylvania railroads The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Common freight carriers * Aliquippa and Ohio River Railroad (AOR) Genesee & Wyoming * Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR) * Allentown & Auburn Railroad (ALLN) * BD Highspire Holding ...


External links


Union County Industrial Railroad


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union County Industrial Railroad Transportation in Union County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania railroads Spin-offs of Conrail