Wheeler and Dusenbury Lumber Company

Between 1887 and 1938, railroads built and owned by the Wheeler & Dusenbury Co., Endeavor, Pennsylvania, formed one of the largest logging rail networks in Northwest Pennsylvania. A logging railroad network sprawled over Warren County, Pennsylvania and Forest County, Pennsylvania fed two large band mills at Endeavor, Pennsylvania, hosted rod and geared steam locomotives, and for a time, even connected the Collins Pine empire to the outside world as the Hickory Valley Railroad.[1] The railroad featured an entry in the Official Railway Guide, a formal timetable, and the only rail bridge across the Allegheny River between Oil City and Warren to connect the empire to the Pennsylvania Railroad at West Hickory.[2]

W&D's policies of widespread selective tract cutting resulted in the logging railroads being active until the 1930s, supplying the Mayburg Chemical Company with chemical wood on second-growth tracts, and contributing to the survival of the Sheffield & Tionesta Railroad until World War II. W&D's legacy can also be seen at Hearts Content National Scenic Area, where a tract of virgin timber was saved and is a public recreation area today.[3] Even in 1906, W&D was known for saving virgin tracts of timber.[3]

See also

References
  1. Walter Casler.Allegheny Valley Logging Railroads. Casler, 1977, p. 10.
  2. Wheeler, Reginald.Pine Knots and Bark Peelers. Ganis and Harris, 1960, p. 45.
  3. Walter Casler.Allegheny Valley Logging Railroads. Casler, 1977, p. 17.
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