The Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad is a

short line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...

that operates of track in Blair,

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, and Clinton counties in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is part of the North Shore Railroad System. The line runs generally northeast between Tyrone (in Blair County) and

Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

(in Clinton County). Other communities served include Port Matilda, Milesburg (both in Centre County), and Mill Hall (in Clinton County). There is a spur at Milesburg that runs southeast to Bellefonte, then splits, with a track going northeast to Pleasant Gap and another going southwest to Lemont and State College (all in Centre County). There are of track in Blair County, in Centre County, and in Clinton County. The rail line follows Bald Eagle Creek northeast in Centre and Clinton counties, and runs roughly parallel to

U.S. Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for f ...

between Tyrone and Milesburg, and parallel to Pennsylvania Route 150 between Milesburg and Lock Haven. The spur to Bellefonte follows

Pennsylvania Route 144 Pennsylvania Route 144 (PA 144) is a state highway located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering a distance of about . The southern terminus is located near an interchange with U.S. Route 322 (US 322) at State Route 2015 (SR ...

and the line from Lemont to Pleasant Gap follows

Pennsylvania Route 26 Pennsylvania Route 26 (PA 26) is a highway in the south-central area of Pennsylvania. Its northern terminus is at PA 150 northwest of Howard; its southern terminus is at the Maryland state line near Barnes Gap in Union Township. Two major desti ...

. There are connections to the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

at both Tyrone and Lock Haven as well as an indirect connection to

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. The system has

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may con ...

via the Norfolk Southern line. These allow the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad to connect via Lock Haven to the east and south with the

Lycoming Valley Railroad The Lycoming Valley Railroad is a short line that operates of track in Lycoming and Clinton counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. It is part of the North Shore Railroad System. The line runs generally west between Muncy (in ...

at Muncy and the village of Linden in Woodward Township, Lycoming County, the

Union County Industrial Railroad The Union County Industrial Railroad is a short line railroad that operates on approximately 12 miles (20 km) of track in Union County in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania. It is part of the North Shore Railroad System. The line is alon ...

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, the North Shore Railroad at

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, and the

Shamokin Valley Railroad The Shamokin Valley Railroad is a short line railroad that operates 27 miles of track in southern Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is part of the North Shore Railroad System. The line runs generally southeast bet ...

at Sunbury.

History

The line operated by the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad was formerly the Bald Eagle Valley Branch of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

Tyrone Division, later part of the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

, and then

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

. SEDA-COG JRA (Susquehanna Economic Development Association - Council of Governments Joint Rail Authority) was formed in July, 1983 to continue to provide rail service to communities whose rail lines Conrail had decided to abandon. In 1984 the JRA took over the line when Conrail abandoned it, and the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad was born (along with the North Shore Railroad). In 1989, more track was purchased, extending the Nittany and Bald Eagle line to Lock Haven. The name of the railroad comes from

Mount Nittany Mount Nittany is the common name for Nittany Mountain, a prominent geographic feature in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. The mountain is part of a ridge that separates Nittany Valley from Penns Valley, with the enclosed Sugar Valley be ...

in Centre County and Bald Eagle Creek.

Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society (BHRS)

The Bellefonte Historical Railroad is a tourist/excursion railroad that also uses the line operated by the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad. Because

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

also uses the line increasingly for coal and other traffic, the Bellefonte Historical Railroad "is thought to be the only volunteer operation in the country that runs in conjunction with a Class I railroad". Unfortunately this also hampers their ability to operate on the main line at times, as Class I traffic has the right of way. The Bellefonte Historical Railroad has limited operations at this time and hosts special excursion runs. Their website is http://www.bellefontetrain.org.

Awards

* In 2003, the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad won the American Shortline & Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) 2003

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

award. * In 2004, it was named "

Short Line Railroad of the Year ''Railway Age'' is an American trade magazine for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago (the United States' major railroad hub) and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. History The magazine's ...

" by

Railway Age ''Railway Age'' is an American trade magazine for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago (the United States' major railroad hub) and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. History The magazine's ...

magazine

References

External links

Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nittany Bald Eagle Railroad Pennsylvania railroads Bald Eagle Valley Spin-offs of Conrail Transportation in Blair County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Centre County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Clinton County, Pennsylvania

History

Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society (BHRS)

Awards

See also

References

External links