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From Coal To Glory History of the Huntingdon & Broad Top RR & Coal Co Vol 1
From Coal To Glory The history of the Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain Railroad & Coal Co Volume 1 By Jon Baughman and Ronaold Morgan
Soft Cover
1852-1874
114 Pages
Copyright 1988
includes the history of the Bedford Railroad Company and the Bedford & Bridgeport Railroad Co.
Table of Contents:
Before the Railroad
RR organization & construction the early eyars
Civil war years
Communities along the line
On to Cumberland Expansion & disappointment
Story of Sylvester Richard Houp
WHen John Fulton walked these streetsBattle of SaxtonWater Co
Appendixes
This book is a history of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company, a short-line steam railroad that operated in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania for more than 100 years.
It reflects many years of patient research by the authors to produce as complete a history of the railroad as is humanly possible. Since neither of the authors are "experts" on railroading, the account which follows will prove of great interest to persons interested in local history as well as rail buffs. The text was researched and written while both men were pursuing their careers in the newspaper industry, therefore it was a part-time endeavor.
What was the Huntingdon and Broad Top? An Everett, Pa. native, B. B. Ashcom (professor at Wayne University in Detroit, Mich.) once wrote that "the Huntingdon and Broad Top was the best small railroad. I am convinced, that ever went broke.'' Ashcom observed. "William H. Vanderbilt. of the New York Central, with all the insolent arrogance of the robber barons of his day, once snorted in the late 1880's. "The public be damned," an attitude that characterized most railroads when they were riding high. Not so the H. and B.T. It was almost a community affair. One got to know the station employees at Bedford, Mt. Dallas, Hopewell, Riddlesburg, Saxton, and even Entriken."
The Huntingdon and Broad Top was a good railroad for the communities it served. While serving a largely rural population, it was no backwoods line. The track featured 70 and 100 lb. rail on an immaculately maintained main line; millions of tons of coal moved off the branch lines and the main line to the Pennsylvania Railroad at Huntingdon; iron furnaces and other industries dotted the line: and passenger service was among the best for a short-line railroad.
The mighty Pennsylvania Railroad and other lines continually eyed the takeover of the
Huntingdon and Broad Top. But while the Pennsy was successful in swallowing up many railroads. the directors of the H. & B.T. valued their independence and were able to resist all attempts. In later years, when a takeover might have saved the line, there were no interested suitors.
While a successful railroad in it's heyday, the line was continually plagued with unfortunate incidents. They were not so much the result of poor management, but rather of "bad luck'. and circumstances beyond management's control. Eventually they claimed the railroad's existance. Even in the end, many informed people felt the line could have been cut back and operated profitably. but it was not to be.
Many railfans have not heard of the Huntingdon and Broad Top: in the final days of operation, most fans went a few miles farther to see her "little sister,'' The East Broad Top Railroad. Today the narrow-guage E.B.T. is a popular tourist attraction; the H. & B. T. is gone.
Come with us and relive the exciting days of yesteryear on the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad.
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