Cornell had a lifelong interest in steam locomotives, owning and operating half a dozen over the years. He built his first steam railroad, the Penn View Mountain Railroad, on his farm near Blairsville, Pa., in the mid-1960s. In 1976, following the formation of Conrail, Cornell became the operator of the Gettysburg Railroad, a former Reading branch line between Gettysburg and Mount Holly Springs. In addition to popular steam-powered excursions, Cornell provided freight service along the line.
Cornell later operated the Knox & Kane Railroad on a former Baltimore & Ohio line between Shippenville and Mount Jewett in northwestern Pennsylvania. The K&K excursion trains ran between Marienville and the former Erie Railroad Kinzua Viaduct (the fourth-highest railroad bridge in the country, at 2,052 feet long and 301 feet high) until 2003, when a tornado destroyed the bridge. The K&K also provided freight service along its route.
Among the steam locomotives used on Cornell’s railroads were No. 76, a small 2-8-0 from the Mississippian Railway; No. 38, a larger 2-8-0 originally from the Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain; No. 3254, a large Canadian National 2-8-2 later traded to Steamtown for 4-6-2 No. 1278, which was heavily damaged when its firebox crownsheet collapsed in 1995 seriously injuring Jim Cornell, his son; and No. 58, a Chinese-built 2-8-2 built new for the K&K. All of these engines have been preserved, and several are being restored for further operation. — Wayne Laepple
