The Pennsylvania Railroad River Line followed the southern bank of the Allegheny River between Olean, Salamanca, and south toward Kinzua and Warren, PA. It was built in 1882 and was abandoned in sections between 1965 and 1972.
History
1882: The Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Western (BP&W) Railroad built the 39.4 mile long segment from Warren, PA to Salamanca.
1883: The Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia (BNY&P) Railroad built the 20.70 mile segment from Olean to Salamanca. The BNY&P was formed from the merger of the BP&W and other railroads so it operated the entire line from Olean to Warren.
1887: The Western New York and Pennsylvania (WNY&P) Railroad / Railway began operating the line.
1900: The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) began operating the line.
1962: The PRR abandoned the section between Onoville and Salamanca to allow for the construction of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River. There are stories that prior to agreeing to abandon and sell this section of track the company ran trains of empty cars on the line to increase its claimed value and get more money for the property.
1965: The PRR abandoned the section between Salamanca and Allegany.
1968: The Penn-Central Railroad succeeded the Pennsylvania Railroad and began operating the section between Allegany and Olean.
1972: The Penn-Central abandoned the Allegany – Olean section.
The section of this line in Salamanca is now part of the Pennsy Trail multi-use walking/hiking/biking path.
Operations
Normal freight traffic on the line officially ended August 1, 1962, but the Pennsylvania Railroad used the line until 1964 or 1965 to haul gravel from a gravel pit in Machias, NY through Olean and Salamanca to the dam construction site. One crew took a train of 50 loaded cars from Machias to Olean where a second crew took the train to the dam. The process was reversed for empty cars. One train of 50 cars went each direction on the line five days a week during the construction of the dam.
Stations
The following were the stations on the New York section of the line:
Onoville * Wolf Run * Quaker Bridge * Cold Spring * Red House * Shongo * Salamanca * Carrollton * Riverside Junction * Vandalia * Russell/Moritz * Allegany * Olean
Details and Mileage
| Station | Mile |
| Olean Allegany Vandalia Riverside Jct. Carrollton Salamanca Red House Quaker Ridge Wolf Run Onoville | 0 3.0 9.3 11.6 13.6 19.3 25.3 31.2 33.3 36.4 |
Clippings
Maps
Timetables
Photographs
Other Interesting Things
Learn More
- “Kinzua Dam Railroad” discussion on railroad.net.
- “Salamanca Question” discussion on railroad.net