The Path Valley Railroad was a proposed

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railroad in

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

and Franklin Counties,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, USA. Intended as an extension of the

Newport and Shermans Valley Railroad The Newport and Shermans Valley Railroad was a nineteenth-century, American, narrow gauge railroad that was located in Pennsylvania. It ran from Newport, Pennsylvania to New Germantown, Pennsylvania. History The railroad's founder David Gring, ...

, it was to begin at that railroad's terminus in New Germantown and run southward along Shermans Creek and Big Spring Run. Around what is now Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area, the line would climb through a series of curves on a 4%

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

and pass through a tunnel under

Conococheague Mountain Conococheague Mountain is a long and narrow mountain located in the far western corner of Perry County, Pennsylvania. The highest point on the mountain is a summit known as Round Top; it rises to an elevation of and is located at the very sout ...

named ''

Conococheague Mountain Tunnel The Conococheague Mountain Tunnel was a proposed railroad tunnel in Perry County, Pennsylvania. It was originally planned as part of the Path Valley Railroad, with the intent to link the Newport and Shermans Valley Railroad with the East Broa ...

'' to bring it into Burns Valley. It would run down Burns Valley into Path Valley and through the town of Doylesburg, ending at Fannettsburg. An extension through the Concord Narrows was also contemplated, which could have connected to the

East Broad Top Railroad The East Broad Top Railroad (EBT) is a narrow gauge historic and heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania. Operating from 1871 to 1956, it is one of the United States' oldest and best-preserved narrow-gauge railroads, ...

and the Tuscarora Valley Railroad. Incorporated on October 24, 1893, grading began almost immediately. The line was graded for , with the anticipation that the N&SV would be converted from gauge. The grade soon reached

, and construction began on both portals of the tunnel. However, the rock formations of the mountain proved much more difficult to excavate than expected, and the tunnel contractor went bankrupt in September 1894 after excavating about at both ends. Most of the remaining grading was completed, but the tunnel proved impractically difficult to complete, and the railroad was given up as a failure in 1895. Part of the grade from New Germantown to Big Spring was later used by the Perry Lumber Company for a gauge logging railroad from 1900 to 1905. Much of the grading is now preserved as

hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...

s in Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area and

Tuscarora State Forest Tuscarora State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #3. The main office is located in Blain in Perry County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Tuscarora State Forest contains in several tracts a ...

. The north portal of the tunnel is still visible, but fenced off.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Path Valley Railroad Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Transportation in Perry County, Pennsylvania History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Narrow-gauge railroads in Pennsylvania