Bald Eagle Valley Railroad - Tyrone and Lock Haven

Tyrone and Lock Haven

The railroad began as the Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, incorporated on February 21, 1857 to construct a line the full length of the Bald Eagle Valley, from Tyrone to Lock Haven. A supplement to the charter on May 4, 1857 authorized further extensions, from Tyrone to Hollidaysburg to reach the Allegheny Portage Railroad, and from Lock Haven to Williamsport to reach the Sunbury and Erie Railroad. Shortly thereafter, contracts were placed for the Eastern Division of the line and for a branch from Milesburg to Bellefonte. However, the railroad was short of capital, and an attempt to defraud its contractors was exposed in 1859. It did complete a small portion of line that year, the Bellefonte Branch from Bellefonte to Milesburg and the part of the main line from Milesburg to Wingate (then known as Snow-Shoe Intersection). There it connected with the Bellefonte and Snowshoe Railroad, which would operate the troubled T&LH for the next few years. On either November 27, 1860 or January 29, 1861 (the date is unclear), the T&LH was sold at foreclosure. It was reorganized on March 25, 1861 as the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad, financially supported by the PRR.