Beech Creek Railroad Company

Product Details

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Beech Creek Railroad Company
BEE-333

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Historical Context

The Beech Creek Railroad Company was organized in 1886 as successor to the Beech Creek, Clearfield and Southwestern RR, which was sold under foreclosure in 1886.

Originally called the Susquehanna & South Western Railroad, the Beech Creek District consisted of the trackage from Jersey Shore Junction southward and westward. The balance of the trackage, from Newberry Junction (near Williamsport) to Jersey Shore Junction and northward into New York State was the Fall Brook District. Coal from the Clearfield District moved to Newberry where it was interchanged with the Reading Railroad for forwarding to tidewater, or continued northward into New York for other coal users in the East. The output of the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corporation mines was used for company supply coal by the New York Central's Lines East (of Buffalo).

The Beech Creek was leased by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company on December 15, 1890, retroactive to October 1, 1890, for 999 years. For almost another ten years the Beech Creek continued to operate independently of the NYC&HR. On July 1, 1899 the Beech Creek's independent operation ended, and it became part of the NYC&HR's Beech Creek District of the Pennsylvania Division. The New York Central, successor to the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, continued to lease the Beech Creek for decades to come. Not until May, 1948 did the NYC move to acquire control of the Beech Creek through stock ownership. Despite the NYC's control of as much as 79 per cent of the Beech Creek's stock, the lease relationship continued.

The New York Central merged with its archrival, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in 1968 to form the Penn Central. Just two years later the PC declared bankruptcy paving the way for the arrival of Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) in 1976.

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