The Chartiers 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 ...

followed

Chartiers Creek Chartiers Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek was named after Peter Chartier, a trapper of French and Native American parentage who established a trading post at the mouth of the cree ...

from Carnegie to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, passing Bridgeville, present day

Southpointe Southpointe is a suburban business park located in Cecil Township near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh and is a familiar landmark along Interstate 79. It is home to many corporations, including Fortune 500 members CONSOL Energy an ...

, and

Canonsburg Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

. It is long and construction was completed in 1867 and is still in use today, after passing through at least seven different owners.

History

was named after

Peter Chartier Peter Chartier (16901759) (Anglicized version of Pierre Chartier, sometimes written Chartiere, Chartiers, Shartee or Shortive) was a fur trader of mixed Shawnee and French parentage. Multilingual, he later became a leader and a band chief among ...

, a trapper of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Native American parentage who established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

at the mouth of Chartiers Creek in 1743. In 1831 the Washington & Pittsburg Railroad was chartered to build a rail link between

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 ...

and

. Chartiers Creek was determined to be the easiest route, but enough financial support was not gathered. The same happened in 1837. On February 7, 1853, the Chartiers Valley Railroad was formed to fulfill the failed task of the Washington & Pittsburg Railroad. Work was started, but when almost a third done in 1856, funds ran out. The road foreclosed in 1861, and the Right of Way was sold to William Howard a solicitor for the

(PRR). In 1867, the Chartiers Railway Company was founded, and with PRR backing finished the line. On December 19, 1870, regular service began between Carnegie and Canonsburg. May 18, 1871, saw the beginning of service to Washington. The line was leased to the

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

(PC&StL) on December 8, 1871. The

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

(PCC&StL) gained the lease when it was formed and acquired the road on November 20, 1907. The PCC&StL formed part of the PRR system. Although initially poor, coal fields found in the 1880s proved prosperous. The branch provided revenue even through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. However, around this time the coal supply declined and highway access increased. This led to the closing of the B&M branch in 1942. Passenger service to Washington halted on July 20, 1952. The double track changed to a single and stations decreased. The Westland and Palanka branches were abandoned in 1955. On August 4, 1959, the connection with the main line at Carnegie was abandoned for a short run over the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railway

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 ...

. Signals were also abandoned and removed at this time. 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 ...

, as it did for much of its main and secondary track, let the branch fall into disrepair.

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 ...

took the line over in 1976 and stopped service west of Tylerdale. It was renamed Canonsburg Industrial Track and was put up for sale in 1994. In 1996, RailTex bought the line and started the

Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad The Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad was a Class III short-line railroad operating about 42 miles of track over the Chartiers Branch in southwest Pennsylvania. It was owned by RailTex, which bought the line from Conrail in 1996. In 2000, after the ...

(PIR). The PIR lasted for 4 years before being sold to the

Ohio Central Railroad System The Ohio Central Railroad System is a network of ten short line railroads operating in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Headquartered in Coshocton, Ohio, the system operates of track divided among 10 subsidiary r ...

, who formed the

Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad The Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad is a short-line railroad operating of track over the Chartiers Branch in southwest Pennsylvania. It also operated a small portion of the former Conrail Panhandle Route between Carnegie and Walkers M ...

(POHC). The POHC is the current owner of the line.

Branches

Bridgeville and McDonald Branch

The Bridgeville and

McDonald Macdonald, MacDonald or McDonald may refer to: Organisations * McDonald's, a chain of fast food restaurants * McDonald & Co., a former investment firm * MacDonald Motorsports, a NASCAR team * Macdonald Realty, a Canadian real estate brokerage f ...

branch left from Bridgeville at MP 4 and went to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

to serve the Bishop Coal Mine. It was abandoned in 1942.

Westland Branch

The Westland Branch left Houston at MP 15.3 and went to Westland coal mine (Midland #3). It was abandoned in 1955.

Palanka Branches

Two branches left the Westland branch to serve the Palanka mines.

Connections

Waynesburg and Washington Railroad The Waynesburg and Washington Railroad was a 28-mile 3 foot gauge subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. From the 1870s through the 1920s the line served its namesake towns in Southwestern Pennsylvania (often referred to as the Wayynie). After t ...

at the end of the line *

Montour Railroad The Montour Railroad was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service in southwestern Pennsylvania. At its height in the 1930s, the railroad served 27 mines transporting nearly seven million tons of coal annually in Alle ...

at Hills (MP 8.6) *

Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, ...

had a mile west of Bridgeville (off the B&W) * Pittsburgh, Chartiers and Youghiogheny Railway

References

* {{reflist Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania