Bell's Gap Railroad

Bell's Gap Railroad
	Bell's Gap Railroad, Collier Trestle
Technical
Line length	8 1⁄2 miles (10 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The Bell's Gap Railroad was a 8 ¹⁄₂ miles (13.7 km) long standard gauge railroad in Pennsylvania. It was inaugurated in 1873 and consolidated in 1874.

History

The Bell's Gap Railroad Company was incorporated under the general law of Pennsylvania on 11 May 1871, to construct a railway from Bell’s Mills, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, to Lloyds in Cambria County. The construction began in 1872, and the 8 ¹⁄₂ miles (13.7 km) long line was put in operation in June 1873.[1][2]

The Pennsylvania & North Western Railroad Company became the successor by change of name of the Bell's Gap Railroad Company on 9 May 1874.[3]

Route and track

The grade was very heavy, the maximum of 158.4 feet to the mile (3.0 %) being continuous for 6 ³⁄₄ miles (10 km).

The sharpest curvature was 28° with a 206 feet (63 m) radius. There were ten of these curves on the maximum grade, two of which were 600 feet (180 m) long with a turning an angle of 168°.

The weight of rail was 35 pounds to the yard (17.5 kg/m).[1]

Rolling stock

The weight of the engines was 15 tons. The following rolling stock was used in 1875:

2 locomotives
2 passenger cars
78 freight cars[1]

Operation

Operations for year ending 31 December 1875 were as follows:

Gross earnings: $38,146.42
Operating expenses: $18,504.85 (48.49 %)
Net earnings, $19,641.57[1]

External links

References

Howard Fleming: Narrow gauge railways in America. A sketch of their rise, progress and success: valuable statistics as to grades, curves, weight of rail, locomotives, cars, etc. 1876. Page 60-61. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
H.V. & H.W. Poor: Poor's Manual of Railroads. 1887.
United States. Interstate Commerce Commission, U.S. Government Printing Office: Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports, Vol 22, 1929. p. 665.

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[Fleming-1] Howard Fleming: Narrow gauge railways in America. A sketch of their rise, progress and success: valuable statistics as to grades, curves, weight of rail, locomotives, cars, etc. 1876. Page 60-61. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[2] H.V. & H.W. Poor: Poor's Manual of Railroads. 1887.

[3] United States. Interstate Commerce Commission, U.S. Government Printing Office: Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports, Vol 22, 1929. p. 665.