The Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad was a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

railroad in

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia Co ...

. Originally built in 1871, it may have been the first American

common-carrier A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...

narrow-gauge railroad. It purchased a rail line called the Coal Hill Coal Railroad from the

Pittsburgh Coal Company The Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company was a bituminous coal mining company based in Pittsburgh and controlled by the Mellon family. It operated mines in the Pittsburgh Coalfield, including mines in Becks Run and Horning, Pennsylvania. Unusuall ...

, and used a coal mine under Mt. Washington as a tunnel to transport coal from

Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania Castle Shannon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 8,316 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Passenger traffic was added soon afterwards, and the train carried passengers during the day and coal at night. The original plan was to extend the line to

Finleyville, Pennsylvania Finleyville is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, named for John Finley. The population was 375 at the 2020 census. It was built at the junction of Brownsville Road (now Pennsylvania Route 88 ) and the 'Washington Road ...

, but the original narrow-gauge line ran only as far as Castle Shannon. The right of way continued as the Pittsburgh, Castle Shannon and Washington Railroad, later to become part of the Pittsburgh Southern Railroad. In spite of its location above the rivers in Pittsburgh, it sustained flood damage on at least one occasion. The

Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Tunnel The Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Tunnel, also known as the Mount Washington Coal Tunnel, was a narrow-gauge railway tunnel under Mt. Washington (Pittsburgh), Mt. Washington. History It was originally begun as a coal mine in 1825 by Jacob Belt ...

was closed to passenger traffic in 1880, but coal trains continued to use it until 1912. Passengers continued to travel over Mt. Washington via two inclines, the

Castle Shannon Incline The Castle Shannon Incline was a funicular railroad in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally part of the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad route to the suburb of Castle Shannon. It replaced an earlier incline dating to 1825 that brou ...

and a "back" incline. The right of way, excluding the tunnel through the coal mine, was leased by Pittsburgh Railways in 1905, and later purchased in 1950. The railroad ran with a

dual-gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...

system, with coal trains continuing to run on the narrow gauge, and at night, and trolleys on a wider gauge (). The right of way is part of the

Pittsburgh Light Rail The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T) is a light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the ci ...

transportation system today, from South Hills Junction to

Library, Pennsylvania Library is an unincorporated community in South Park Township, Pennsylvania along Brownsville Road. Originally known as ''Loafer's Hollow'', it was renamed Library by its residents in honor of the first library in the area, founded by John Moore ...

References

External links

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Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon Narrow Gauge Railroad
Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Transportation in Pittsburgh Narrow gauge railroads in Pennsylvania 3 ft 4 in gauge railways in the United States {{Pennsylvania-transport-stub

See also

References

External links