Snow-Shoe Branch
The Bellefonte & Snow Shoe ended its independent operation in January 1881, when it was sold to the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad, long a subsidiary of the PRR. The Bellefonte & Snow Shoe and the Moshannon Railroads were merged into the Bald Eagle Valley on April 7, 1881 to become the Snow-Shoe Branch.
Several new branches were built off the line under Bald Eagle Valley management to reach nearby coal mines. Two were constructed in 1890. The Sugar Camp Branch diverged 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of Snow Shoe and ran north, then turned west and rounded a horseshoe curve to cross the Beech Creek Railroad and descend to Clarence, along the North Fork Beech Creek, ending near Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #9 Mine with a length of 4.75 miles (7.64 km). The Grauer Branch left the Sugar Camp Branch just north of the Beech Creek crossing and ran 2.04 miles (3.28 km) north up Cherry Run, reaching Sugar Camp and the Clarence Colliery #1. The Fountain Branch was built in 1903, 1.32 miles (2.12 km) in length, crossing the Beech Creek Railroad to serve Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #14 Mine.
On March 31, 1908, the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was at last merged into the PRR, including the Snow-Shoe and other branches. The PRR would construct a few more mine branches, extending the Sugar Camp Branch 3.87 miles (6.23 km) in 1914 and 1915. The extension continued east out of Clarence, then climbed steeply north to Poorman Side, then descended along Contrary Run and (Big) Sandy Run to Cherry Run #4 Mine of the Big Sandy Coal Company near Shettleston. The Big Sandy Branch, built in 1915, left the Sugar Camp Branch along Big Sandy Run and climbed out of its valley and along that of an unnamed tributary, extending 2.41 miles (3.88 km) to Lehigh Valley Coal Co. #25 Mine.
However, the railroad was soon to pass into a decline. The Fountain branch had already been removed by 1923. The Great Depression caused the closure of most of the coal mines in the area, and the Big Sandy Branch was abandoned in 1935. A fire brick manufacturer near Clarence and the remaining coal mines still provided some business to the line, but the mine branches continued to be pruned back. On March 6, 1959, the entire line from Wingate north was abandoned.
Read more about this topic: Bellefonte And Snowshoe Railroad
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