SPROUL, Pa. — The first passenger train over a portion of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Bedford Branch in several decades ran from Hollidaysburg, Pa., to Sproul as a combined railfan charter and public excursion on Sunday, July 16, 2023.
The 25-mile round trip capped a weekend-long celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Station Inn, a railfan bed & breakfast at nearby Cresson, Pa., sponsored by innkeepers Alex and Leah Lang of Pittsburgh. The Langs bought the inn in 2022 from the family of founder Tom Davis [see “Landmark Station Inn … is sold,” Trains News Wire, May 13, 2022]. Davis died in 2021 at age 90 after a career in education spliced with work at steam tourist and Class 1 railroads. [see “Station Inn owner …,” News Wire, Oct. 13, 2021].
Everett operates diesel freight and steam and diesel tourist trains on a 23-mile network of former PRR branches south of Altoona, Pa., that Conrail had deemed to be excess. Passenger trains normally operate to Roaring Spring and sometimes to Martinsburg. The former Bedford Branch to Sproul, which once extended another 60 miles to Cumberland Md., has been, until now, freight-only.
Power for the four-car train was Everett SW900m No. 126, built in 1938 as Lehigh Valley NW1 No. 126 and restored to that scheme by the now-defunct Kiski Junction Railroad. When Kiski closed, Everett owner Alan Maples acquired the unit in 2021 and decided to keep the LV scheme, which, with its bright red color, is popular with younger passengers.
To mark the inn’s anniversary, the Langs held a street fair in Cresson on Saturday, July 15, with Mayor Mary Harker and borough council proclaiming it as Tom Davis Day. At the inn, whose veranda faces the busy Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line West Slope main, the owners have restored the basement as the Yard Office Lounge. An exhibition of about 20 prints by renowned rail infrastructure photographer Mike Froio in that space is the inaugural installment of the inn’s new artist-in-residence program.
The inn is at the center of a dense cluster of Western Pennsylvania railfan attractions, including the Cresson Viewing Platform; Railroaders Memorial Museum and affiliated Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark; NS Gallitzin Tunnels, Tunnel Inn B&B; Tunnels Park & Museum; Cassandra Overlook, Carney’s Crossing; and Station Museum at Portage.
Seems one big rail heritage area was skipped in this article. Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.
Proudly active shortline and heritage railroads continue to be a strong and solid driving force for the enduring idealism of railroading in North America and elsewhere in the world.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün