The Williams Valley Railroad was an
anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
-hauling railroad that operated in
Schuylkill and
Dauphin Counties,
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, ...
from 1892 to 1971. For most of that time, it was a subsidiary of the
Reading Railroad. It extended the Reading's
Brookside Branch at
Brookside down the Williams Valley to
Lykens.
History
The railroad was originally chartered on September 19, 1891, to connect Brookside (the site of a large
colliery served by the Reading) with Lykens.
The line was opened on July 1, 1892, from Lykens to a point on the Reading known as Williams Valley Junction. The railroad owned one engine, a
Baldwin
Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend".
People
* Baldwin (name)
Places Canada
* Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario
* Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District
* Baldwin's Mills, Qu ...
2-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...
named "A.F. Baker".
The railroad owned three passenger cars in 1894; these were presumably used to operate "miner's trains" for the colliery workers, as was done on the connecting Reading lines.
The Reading owned about a quarter of the line's bonds by 1906,
and obtained control of the line's stock from 1908 to 1909. About this time, the Reading discontinued passenger service on its connecting lines, and presumably on the Williams Valley as well.
It was not formally leased to the Reading until January 1, 1929, and was merged into the Reading Company on December 1, 1947.
After the Reading takeover, the former Brookside (or Good Spring) Branch and the Williams Valley were operated together as the Williams Valley Branch, from
Tremont to Lykens. Around 1963, the end of the branch was cut back from Lykens to East Lykens, and the rest of the Williams Valley was abandoned in 1971 due to the decline in coal mining.
Route
From Williams Valley Junction, located high on
Big Lick Mountain north of Tower City, the Williams Valley Railroad
switched back to the west to a point north of Reinerton. It then switched back again to the east to descend further through Tower City and Sheridan. These switchbacks were laid out on a steep 3.3% grade.
By Williamstown, the railroad had dropped to the bottom of the valley and paralleled
Wiconisco Creek Wiconisco Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill and Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin counties, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long.
Course
Wiconisco Creek begins ...
. It crossed to the south side of the creek in Williamstown and followed the south edge of the valley down to Lykens.
Stations as of 1963:
References
External links
* {{Osmrelation-inline, 1392162, Williams Valley Branch
Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania
Reading Company lines
Transportation in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Transportation in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania