The Shamokin Valley Railroad is a
short line railroad
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...
that operates 27 miles of track in southern
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
Northumberland County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Sunb ...
in the United States. It is part of the
North Shore Railroad System.
The line runs generally southeast between
Sunbury and the
unincorporated village of Mount Carmel Junction (just east of the borough of
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...
in
Mount Carmel Township). Other communities served include the villages of Paxinos (in
Shamokin Township) and Weigh Scales (in
Ralpho Township), and the city of
Shamokin. The rail line runs east from Sunbury, then turns south through Paxinos and Weigh Scales to Shamokin, where it turns east again, always along or near
Shamokin Creek and roughly following the route of
Pennsylvania Route 61. It interchanges with the
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad in Locust Summit.
The corporate offices are located in
Northumberland, Pennsylvania
Northumberland is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,911 at the 2020 census.
History
A brewer named Reuben Haines, a native of Philadelphia, founded the town of Northumb ...
. There is a connection to the
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
at Sunbury.
The system has
trackage rights via the Norfolk Southern line. These allow the Shamokin Valley Railroad to connect to the north and west with the
North Shore Railroad (at Northumberland), the
Union County Industrial Railroad (at
Milton), the
Lycoming Valley Railroad at
Muncy and the village of Linden (in
Woodward Township, Lycoming County, and to the
Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad at
Lock Haven.
History
The line operated by the Shamokin Valley Railroad was formerly part of
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 ...
. SEDA-COG JRA (Susquehanna Economic Development Association - Council of Governments Joint Rail Authority) was formed in July, 1983 to continue to provide rail service to communities whose rail lines Conrail had decided to abandon. In 1989 the JRA took over the line when Conrail abandoned it, and the Shamokin Valley Railroad was born as its third railroad.
See also
*
List of Pennsylvania railroads
*
Stourbridge Railroad (also operated by Robey Railroads)
External links
Shamokin Valley Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamokin Valley Railroad
Pennsylvania railroads
Spin-offs of Conrail
Transportation in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania