The Chartiers branch of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...

followed

Chartiers Creek Chartiers Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek was named after Peter Chartier, a trapper of French and Native American parentage who established a trading post at the mouth of the cr ...

from Carnegie to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, passing Bridgeville, present day

Southpointe Southpointe is a suburban business park located in Cecil Township near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh and is a familiar landmark along Interstate 79. It is home to many corporations, including Fortune 500 members CONSOL Energy and ...

, and Canonsburg. It is long and construction was completed in 1867 and is still in use today, after passing through at least seven different owners.

History

was named after

Peter Chartier Peter Chartier (c. 16901759) (Anglicized version of Pierre Chartier, sometimes written Chartiere, Chartiers, Shartee or Shortive) was a fur trader of mixed Shawnee and French parentage. Multilingual, he later became a leader and a band chief am ...

, a trapper of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Native American parentage who established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

at the mouth of Chartiers Creek in 1743. In 1831 the Washington & Pittsburg Railroad was chartered to build a rail link between

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and

. Chartiers Creek was determined to be the easiest route, but enough financial support was not gathered. The same happened in 1837. On February 7, 1853, the Chartiers Valley Railroad was formed to fulfill the failed task of the Washington & Pittsburg Railroad. Work was started, but when almost a third done in 1856, funds ran out. The road foreclosed in 1861, and the Right of Way was sold to William Howard a solicitor for the

(PRR).

In 1867, the Chartiers Railway Company was founded, and with PRR backing finished the line. On December 19, 1870, regular service began between Carnegie and Canonsburg. May 18, 1871, saw the beginning of service to Washington. The line was leased to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway (PC&StL) on December 8, 1871. The

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

(PCC&StL) gained the lease when it was formed and acquired the road on November 20, 1907. The PCC&StL formed part of the PRR system. Although initially poor, coal fields found in the 1880s proved prosperous. The branch provided revenue even through

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. However, around this time the coal supply declined and highway access increased. This led to the closing of the B&M branch in 1942. Passenger service to Washington halted on July 20, 1952. The double track changed to a single and stations decreased. The Westland and Palanka branches were abandoned in 1955. On August 4, 1959, the connection with the main line at Carnegie was abandoned for a short run over the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railway

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 c ...

. Signals were also abandoned and removed at this time. The

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

, as it did for much of its main and secondary track, let the branch fall into disrepair.

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

took the line over in 1976 and stopped service west of Tylerdale. It was renamed Canonsburg Industrial Track and was put up for sale in 1994. In 1996, RailTex bought the line and started the

Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad The Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad was a Class III short-line railroad operating about 42 miles of track over the Chartiers Branch in southwest Pennsylvania. It was owned by RailTex, which bought the line from Conrail in 1996. In 2000, after th ...

(PIR). The PIR lasted for 4 years before being sold to the

Ohio Central Railroad System The Ohio Central Railroad System is a network of ten short line railroads operating in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It is owned by Genesee & Wyoming. Headquartered in Coshocton, Ohio, the system operates of track divided among 10 subsidiary ...

, who formed the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad (POHC). The POHC is the current owner of the line.

Branches

Bridgeville and McDonald Branch

The Bridgeville and McDonald branch left from Bridgeville at MP 4 and went to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

to serve the Bishop Coal Mine. It was abandoned in the early 1990s.

Westland Branch

The Westland Branch left Houston at MP 15.3 and went to Westland coal mine (Midland #3). It was abandoned in 1955.

Palanka Branches

Two branches left the Westland branch to serve the Palanka mines.

Connections

Waynesburg and Washington Railroad The Waynesburg and Washington Railroad was a twenty-eight-mile, three-foot gauge subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It started because of the boom in Oil and Gas, oil and gas, helped all of the natural resource industries to grow and spurred ...

at the end of the line *

Montour Railroad The Montour Railroad was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service in southwestern Pennsylvania. At its height in the 1930s, the railroad served 27 mines transporting nearly seven million tons of coal annually in Al ...

at Hills (MP 8.6) *

Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad ...

had a mile west of Bridgeville (off the B&W) * Pittsburgh, Chartiers and Youghiogheny Railway

References

* {{reflist Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania