Past to Present - Part 1 7/19/21

Note: Part 2 of this blog entry appears on 7/29/21

By 1840, Pennsylvania had assembled a statewide system composed of mainly rivers and canals (modified with locks and dams and some with tow paths), connected by a few short rail lines, to compete with the Erie Canal. Sixty years later the water segments of the "Penn Canal" had been completely replaced by railroads owned most notably by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), but also by the Reading, B&0, NY Central railroads.

The 35 mile section of the Penn Canal system between Hollidaysburg and Huntingdon was part of the Juniata Division (lower center on the above map). Initially, it was the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River modified with locks and dams. Williamsburg and Alexandria were the two largest towns on the river between Hollidaysburg and Huntingdon. The Hollidaysburg to Williamsburg water segment was replaced by rail (the Williamsburg Branch) by 1870. However, the Williamsburg to Alexandria and beyond water segment was one of the last in the entire Penn Canal system to be replaced by rail. The so-called Petersburg Branch of the PRR opened in 1900 connecting the PRR main line at Petersburg, to Alexandria and Williamsburg (where it matched up with the Williamsburg Branch built 30 years earlier).

The productive life of the combined Petersburg - Williamsburg Branch ended in 1979 and it was abandoned. The Lower Rail-Trail, on which we frequently bike ride, is built on 17 miles of the former rail bed, which mainly runs along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River. The remains of structures from both the canal era (e.g., lock walls, concave channels, stone house walls) and railroad era (e.g., concrete foundations and abutments, contours of sidings, mile markers, bridges - see 4/10/21 blog entry) can be seen as one rides Lower. However, inside the towns of Williamsburg and Alexandria evidence of the Penn Canal and railroad, especially the former, are not as apparent.

The Penn Canal was a major advancement in the movement of goods over the “Alleghany Front” and so the development of the “West”. The Alleghany Portage Railroad (APRR), which was built (1831-34) as part of the canal system, carried barges up and over 1,200 ft of elevation in the Allegheny Mountains between Hollidaysburg (on the east) and Johnstown (on the west). The APRR significantly surpassed the capacity of the Hundingdon, Cambria and Indiana (County) Turnpike - a 77 mile road over the Front between Huntingdon and Blairsville that opened in 1810 (the precursor to the current US-22). The APRR was a massive engineering feat; it included 11 moderate grades, 10 steam-engine driven cable inclined planes (that operated similar to the cable cars in San Francisco), a rail line summit at Cresson, a viaduct over the Connemaugh River, and the 900 ft Staple Bend Tunnel in its 36 miles route. Initially, horses and mules pulled barges on huge wheeled cars on the moderate grades. They were replaced by steam engines as steam engine technology developed. In 1854 the APRR was replaced by the world famous Horseshoe Curve, located northwest of Altoona, that continues to be the major rail route over the Alleghany Front today.

Continued in Part 2 - Posted 7/29/21

Based partially on photos, maps and info from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission online archives <https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/default.aspx> and from Wikipedia: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Pennsylvania>, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Canal> and <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Portage_Railroad>, <http://exploringoffthebeatenpath.com/Parks/AlleghenyPortageRailroad/>.