Callery Junction The line was originally a
narrow gauge railway line built by the
Pittsburgh and Western Railroad, which later became part of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the turn of the 20th century, a junction was built in Callery Junction (present-day Callery). The mainline headed northwest towards
New Castle, while a small branch headed northeast towards
Butler. The branch was eventually abandoned, and Callery Junction was no more. A new junction was built just north of Callery in the small village of
Eidenau. The junction was named
Harmony Junction, and it still exists today. The junction is now used to connect the Northern Subdivision with the
P&W Subdivision. The P&W runs from the southeast to the northwest of
Pittsburgh by way of
Rankin to
West Pittsburg near New Castle, while the Northern heads northeast towards Butler.
Harmony Junction to Bruin From Harmony Junction, the line (operated by the B&P) runs along the scenic
Connoquenessing Creek past
Buhl's Station and
Renfrew, Pennsylvania. Just past Renfrew, the B&P runs parallel with the
Canadian National Railway (originally the
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad) into Butler. Just north of the city is
Calvin Yard where the B&P and CN share right-of-ways with each other. The B&P also has a large shop located at Calvin, and many of the railroad's locomotives are located at the site. Just outside
East Butler, the line splits. The mainline continues east towards
Punxsutawney, while a branch (original Northern Subdivision) heads north towards
Petrolia. This part of the line is very popular among
railfans for its old wooden trestles near the borough of
Chicora. In
Karns City and Petrolia, the B&P delivers and hauls chemicals from the large chemical plants located in the boroughs. The official end of the line is in Petrolia, but an abandoned section of track continues on to
Bruin. The line and tracks end here, but there is still a mile long section of track between Bruin and
Parker that has not seen service for decades.
Parker to Clarion Jct. carried trains on the Northern Subdivision over the Allegheny River from 1921 to 1964. The bridge was demolished in 2008.The section of the line between Parker and
Knox was abandoned by the B&O in 1964, but the tracks were not removed until 1982. The railroad ran north along the
Allegheny River for about four miles until it reached the small borough of
Foxburg where it crossed over the river, and the
Allegheny Division of the
Pennsylvania Railroad on the old
Foxburg Bridge. The Pennsylvania RR in downtown Foxburg has been gone for many years, but a new
rail trail is in development along the old
right-of-way. The B&O's Foxburg Bridge was demolished on July 24, 2008. The Northern continued northeast of Foxburg, passing through the communities of
St. Petersburg,
Turkey City, and Knox. Before 2001, the Northern had tracks in the borough of Knox, which were used by the
Knox and Kane Railroad. The main customer of the line was the
Knox Glass Bottle Company, but once the company shut down, the line was abandoned. Attempts were made to create a
tourist railroad to Knox, but this plan was not successful. The tracks were eventually removed and more of the Northern Subdivision was lost to history. The K&K made the southwest end of the line at
Clarion Junction, just past
Shippenville.
Clarion Jct. to Mount Jewett From Clarion Jct., the K&K wound its way through fields and woods just outside
Clarion, and then passed through the village of
Lucinda. Between 1987 and 2005, the K&K had its rolling stock and locomotives located in the small village
Marienville. The trains were eventually moved to
Kane in early 2006. Between 1987 and 2004, the railroad ran a tourist railroad from Marienville to Kane, then passed through the borough of
Mount Jewett to
Kinzua Bridge State Park. The Northern Sub. had its official north end of the line located in Mount Jewett, but the K&K decided to extend the line to the
Kinzua Bridge (that was once owned by the
Erie Railroad) where the train would take tourists over the viaduct. In 2003, half the viaduct was toppled over by a tornado. The K&K ran the train to the park for another year, but service was ultimately cut, due to the loss of riders wanting to go over the bridge. Another tragedy struck in March 2008. Arsonists set fire to the enginehouse where the locomotives were kept after being moved from Marienville. Later that year, the Knox and Kane was sold at auction, but the stretch of rails operated by the K&K were left in place. Most of the tracks dated back to the 1920s when most of the original gauge rail was
replaced with rail on the Northern Subdivision. In the spring of 2010, the
Kovalchick Corporation began the long process of removing the rail crossings along state roads between Clarion and McKean counties. == References ==