Mount Gretna Narrow Gauge Railway
The Mount Gretna Narrow Gauge Railway was a
Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad Company. The C&L Railroad earlier had established a station and picnic ground at Mount Gretna
.
History
The
Rails weighing 30 pounds per yard (10 kg/m) were spiked onto the 4-inch (10 cm) face of ties 3 feet (0.9 m) long. A
coach and 7 open-sided observation cars boarded from long foot-boards running along the length of either side of the car, though typically trains consisted of only one to three coaches. These eight passenger cars were built by the Jackson & Sharp Company. Two more observation cars were added when locomotive #15 was purchased for the summer of 1890.[1] At first the railroad was popular, but the tourist trade declined after the novelty had died down. The loop around Governor Dick was dismantled after the summer of 1896,[6] but the railroad continued operation for the National Guard rifle range. A serious accident on the 11th of July, 1915 killed off that traffic. One of the observation cars overturned on a sharp curve when a large number of guardsmen attempted to board simultaneously from one side of the car.[2] There were some serious injuries, and the tiny railroad ceased operation in the summer of 1916, shortly after its parent company's purchase by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Most sources state that the narrow-gauge equipment was loaded aboard standard gauge cars on 14 September 1916.[1] However, a newspaper clipping dating from the 24th of December, 1920 mentions the departure of "two miniature steam locomotives"[7]
with reference to the narrow gauge railroad. This clipping is backed up by numerous other reports from around that same time.
Locomotives
| Number | Builder | Type | Built | Retired | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | H.K.Porter Company | 0-4-4t Forney | 1889 | Mid 1890s | Converted to standard gauge for use on the Cornwall & Lebanon and later scrapped after operations at the associated Cornwall Anthracite Furnaces ceased.
|
| 12 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 4-4-0 | 1889 | 1916 | Scrapped |
| 11 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 4-4-0 | 1889 | 1916 | Scrapped |
| 15 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 4-4-0 | 1890 | 1916 | Scrapped |
Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad
The standard-gauge Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad continued operations as a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and later Penn Central Transportation Company until 1972. Hurricane Agnes caused flood damage, preventing operation of trains on the branch, and the damage was not repaired. The branch was converted to the 21st-century Lebanon Valley Rail Trail after the rails were removed.[8]
References
- Abdill, George B. (1965). A Locomotive Engineer's Album. Bonanza Books.
- Best, Gerald M. (1968). Mexican Narrow Gauge. Howell-North.
- Crittenden, H. Temple (1937). "Two-footers". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Moody, Linwood W. (1959). The Maine Two-Footers. Howell-North.
- Schaumburg, William C. (1981). "Pennsylvania two-footer". Railroad Model Craftsman.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Shaw, Frederic (1958). Little Railways of the World. Howell-North.