Pittsburgh and Western Railroad

Pittsburgh and Western Railroad
Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1879
Defunct	1911
Fate	Absorbed into Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Headquarters	Pittsburgh, United States
Products	Rail transport services

The Pittsburgh and Western Railroad operated during the 1800s as a narrow gauge line that linked Pittsburgh with coal regions and the oil-producing areas near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Its route eventually became the primary western main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extending from Pittsburgh. In 1889, the company underwent reorganization under the leadership of Malcolm A. McDonald.

This railroad also constructed an additional narrow gauge track running from Callery Junction to Foxburg, Pennsylvania, which was later incorporated into the B&O as the Northern Subdivision. Following the financial collapse of the Pittsburgh, Bradford and Buffalo Railroad in 1883, the P&W acquired its route stretching from Foxburg to Mount Jewett. Subsequently, it merged with both the Bradford, Bordell and Kinzua Railroad and the Big Level and Kinzua Railroad; nevertheless, by 1902 these combined ventures faced economic difficulties.

The Bradford, Bordell and Kinzua Railroad played a crucial role in enabling interchange traffic with standard gauge networks through a truck exchange system—railcars were lifted at transfer points to replace their bogies to accommodate differing track gauges. This method occasionally introduced operational hazards, including a deadly incident caused by the failure of blocking devices used when fitting standard-gauge cars onto narrow gauge trucks.

Control of the P&W was assumed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1902. By 1911, the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad was dissolved and fully absorbed into B&O’s system. That same year saw the conversion of most narrow gauge track to standard gauge (). The B&O continued to operate this line until 1982, when Sloan Cornell of the Knox and Kane Railroad purchased it.

Currently, segments of track between Ribold and Butler, Pennsylvania, including what is known as the Petrolia Branch, remain active under the operation of the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad. The section from Clarion Junction to Kane ceased service in 2006 and was officially abandoned in 2008 after the Knox and Kane Railroad was auctioned off.

Pittsburgh and Western Railroad

See also

Further reading