Bald Eagle Valley
| Bald Eagle Valley Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Central Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1861–1908 |
| Successor | Pennsylvania Railroad |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
The B&SS continued to operate the line, but the new company, backed by PRR, now had the funds to complete its line. It was completed southward from Wingate to Vail in 1863; there it connected with another PRR subsidiary, the Tyrone and Clearfield Railroad, which bridged the short distance between Tyrone and Vail. The PRR took over operation from the B&SS on January 20, 1863, and formally leased the Bald Eagle Valley on July 1, 1864. In the meantime, construction was also pressing northward from Milesburg, reaching Lock Haven in 1865 and essentially completing the originally planned route of the Tyrone and Lock Haven.
The new line served several purposes for the PRR. Like the Tyrone and Clearfield, it brought coal traffic (mostly from the Snowshoe mines) into Tyrone, but it also tapped the iron furnaces of Bellefonte, and served as an alternate connection between the PRR main line and their Philadelphia and Erie subsidiary at Lock Haven. This represented an important alternate route for east-west traffic. The line from Tyrone to Lock Haven (including a small part of the Tyrone & Clearfield) became the Bald Eagle Branch of the PRR, while the line from Milesburg to Bellefonte became the Bellefonte Branch. While fully under PRR control, the Bald Eagle Valley maintained its corporate existence for some time. The Bellefonte and Snowshoe and Moshannon Railroads were merged into it on April 7, 1881, becoming the Snow-Shoe Branch. Between 1883 and 1885, the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad was built to extend the Bellefonte Branch to Lemont and a connection with the eastern division of the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad, which also became part of the branch. The BN&L was also merged into the Bald Eagle Valley on August 1, 1889. Several spurs were built off the Snow-Shoe Branch in 1890 and 1903 by the Bald Eagle Valley before it was merged into the PRR on March 31, 1908.
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