The Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad also known as the Shawmut Line, was a
Class I railroad
Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...
company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
and western
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. The line was financially troubled for its entire life span and declared bankruptcy after just six years of operation. It would spend the remaining 42 year of its existence in
receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
or
trusteeship
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...
: one of the longest bankruptcy proceedings in American railroading history.
The Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad is often confused with the similarly named
Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad
The Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad , also known as the Shawmut Line, was a Short-line railroad, short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Since 2004, it ...
which was a spinoff company from the PS&N. Further adding to the confusion is the fact that both were nicknamed the ''Shawmut Line'', both operated in roughly the same geographic area, and both used nearly identical logos during their history. In fact, the two were completely separate companies after their 1916 split.
The
main line consisted of approximately 190 miles (306 km) of track extending from
Brockway, Pennsylvania
Brockway is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,072 at the 2010 census.
History
The community was laid out as "Brockwayville" in 1836. The borough was named for Alonzo and John ...
to
Wayland, New York
Wayland is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 3,733 at the 2020 census.
The Town of Wayland contains a village called Wayland. The town is in the northern part of the county, northwest of Bath.
History
T ...
with several branches, particularly
Olean, New York
Olean ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is ...
to Prosser, New York (a location on the southeastern edge of
South Valley, New York
South Valley is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 250 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the town's geographical attributes.
South Valley is in the southwest corner of the county and is east of th ...
) and Moraine, New York (a location on the eastern edge of
Canaseraga, New York
Canaseraga is a village in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 550 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a creek that flows past the village, which is reportedly a Seneca term for "lying among milkweeds" or "slip ...
) to
Hornell, New York
Hornell is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers.
The City ...
. Principal shops were divided between
Angelica, New York
Angelica is a town in the middle of Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,284 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Angelica Schuyler Church, the sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, activist, scholar, devoted ...
(car shop, paint shop, maintenance of way) and
St. Marys, Pennsylvania (motive power shop). Each shop burned and was rebuilt.
The Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad began life on August 2, 1899, as the merger of five small railroads in New York and Pennsylvania. of what ultimately became the PS&N were originally narrow gauge lines, though by the time of the PS&N's incorporation only remained as narrow gauge. At the time of its incorporation the PS&N operated four physically-disconnected divisions. The expense of connecting the divisions and upgrading the physical plant to handle through coal trains, coupled with the failure of the PS&N's principal bond underwriter, forced the company to declare bankruptcy in 1905. The company would continue to operate in receivership until 1946, when the bankruptcy was converted to a trusteeship.
The spelling of ''Pittsburgh'' as ''Pittsburg'' in the company name derives from the company’s original 1899 charter. At the time, the
name of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was commonly spelled without the ''h''. The
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...
advocated the ''h''-less spelling from 1891 to 1911 as part of an effort to standardize the spelling of place names in the United States.
The more lucrative Brockway to Freeport route was constructed beginning in 1903 as the Brookville & Mahoning. Confusion with the
Boston & Maine
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the e ...
caused the name to be changed to the Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad. The P&S was leased (but never owned) by the PS&N from 1906 until 1916. After 1916, the lease was terminated and the two companies operated separately. During the time of the lease, the bigger "200 class" 2-8-2s of the P&S operated over the combined systems.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
(
bituminous
Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American English, the m ...
) was the principal commodity for the line during its entire existence, though passenger trains and, after the late 1920s, self-propelled gas-powered
motor cars
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
(known on the PS&N as "
Hoodlebugs") also ran on the route until they were discontinued in 1935. In the early 1930s, the final years of service, the railroad's passenger service on its full mainline route was segmented. Train 9 southbound (10 northbound) traveled as a passenger train from Wayland, New York to Prosser, New York. At Prosser, passengers traveling the full route south would switch to a motor car in Train 11 southbound (12 northbound) which began its trip on a side branch from Olean. This motor car train would continue south to St. Marys, whereupon southbound travelers would transfer to Train 1, another motor car train, for the final trip to Brockway. This trip would involve an overnight layover in St. Marys between a 6:45 pm arrival and #1's 8:00 am departure. Travelers heading northbound would need to make an overnight stop at Prosser, as #12 from Brockway arrived in Prosser at 1:30 pm and #10 bound for Wayland would depart Prosser at 6:39 am.
PS&N operations ended effective April 1, 1947. Portions of the line serving Olean, Brandy Camp, and Farmers Valley were acquired by the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...
(the Farmers Valley portion is today owned by the
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
and operated by the
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad). The
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...
acquired the PS&N's Hornell Terminals in a complex transaction from the
American National Red Cross
The American National Red Cross is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded the organization in 1881 after initial ...
, which had been given ownership of the
Rochester, Hornellsville & Lackawanna Railroad, an 11-mile-long railroad leased to and operated by the PS&N and predecessors prior to 1946.
The tracks for most of the routes have been removed. The only remaining segments are West Creek Westlands Learning Center to St. Marys and Brockway Golf Course to Brockway.
[West Creek Wetlands (N 41.45221 W 78.53885) to St. Marys (N 41.42804 W 78.56113); and Brockway Golf Course (N 41.25454 W 78.74299) to Brockway (N 41.24087 W 78.79521), Acme Mapper 2.2]
External links
Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad Historical Society Restored PS&N Caboose #186 on the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad, St. Marys, PA*
ttp://www.smethporthistory.org/clermont/shawmut.station/hoodle.htm PS&N Hoodlebug #91 at Angelicabr>
The famous Big Loop, Clermont, PA
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittsburgh Shawmut Northern Railroad
Defunct Pennsylvania railroads
Defunct New York (state) railroads
Former Class I railroads in the United States
Railway companies established in 1899
Railway companies disestablished in 1947
American companies established in 1899
American companies disestablished in 1947
Allegany County, New York