Bell's Gap Railroad
Bell's Gap Railroad, Collier Trestle
Technical
Line length8+1⁄2 miles (10 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Old gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Route map

The Bell's Gap Railroad was a 8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) long railroad in Pennsylvania. It was inaugurated in 1873 and consolidated in 1874. The original construction was narrow-gauge.

History

The Bell's Gap Railroad Company was incorporated under the general law of Pennsylvania on 11 May 1871, to construct a railway from Bell’s Mills, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, to Lloyds in Cambria County. The construction began in 1872, and the 8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) long line was put in operation in June 1873.[1][2]

The Pennsylvania & North Western Railroad Company became the successor by change of name of the Bell's Gap Railroad Company on 9 May 1874.[3]

In 1883 and 1884, the Pennsylvania & North Western Railroad Company (under control of the Pennsylvania Railroad) converted the original 3 foot gauge trackage to standard gauge.[4]

Route and track

The grade was very heavy, the maximum of 158.4 feet to the mile (3.0 %) being continuous for 6+3⁄4 miles (10 km).

The sharpest curvature was 28° with a 206 feet (63 m) radius. There were ten of these curves on the maximum grade, two of which were 600 feet (180 m) long with a turning an angle of 168°.

The weight of rail was 35 pounds to the yard (17.5 kg/m).[1]

Rolling stock

The weight of the engines was 15 tons. The following rolling stock was used in 1875:

  • 2 locomotives
  • 2 passenger cars
  • 78 freight cars[1]

Operation

Operations for year ending 31 December 1875 were as follows:

  • Gross earnings: $38,146.42
  • Operating expenses: $18,504.85 (48.49 %)
  • Net earnings, $19,641.57[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bell's Gap Railroad.
  1. 1 2 3 4 Howard Fleming: Narrow gauge railways in America. A sketch of their rise, progress and success: valuable statistics as to grades, curves, weight of rail, locomotives, cars, etc. 1876. Page 60-61. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ↑ H.V. & H.W. Poor: Poor's Manual of Railroads. 1887.
  3. ↑ United States. Interstate Commerce Commission, U.S. Government Printing Office: Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports, Vol 22, 1929. p. 665.
  4. ↑ "The Pennsylvania Railroad Company: The Corporate, Financial and Construction History of Lines Owned, Operated and Controlled To December 31, 1945, Volume I The Pennsylvania Railroad Proper | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org. Retrieved 2023-11-20.

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