We wanted to cover a little more about George Pierson’s Tuscarora Valley Narrow Gauge Model RR that we discussed on this week’s show.
This old railroad is so close to our backyards here in Central PA, so there will be some visits to what’s left of the old short railroad to take some pics and visit some of the leftovers of this once functional short run line.
There is so much history in our region of old railroads that I think we’re spoiled and sometimes take it for granted and we forget that within just a short drive, we can learn so much about old railroads and of the industry that once was booming in PA & the Northeast.
Quick Summary of the Tuscarora Valley Railroad
Chartered in April 1891 as a junction to the Pennsylvania Railroad at Port Royal, this short railroad was to connect to points south and southwest through Juniata County where it seems to have terminated in Franklin County.
The TVRR was originally meant to move phosphate from the valley along the Tuscarora Creek but that was quickly proven to be too poor to process and the main focus of the railroad was switched to move lumber and agricultural products out of the region.
At the turn of the century, the new focus on the lumber industry kept the TVRR alive and booming. This region quickly grew and became a fairly large lumber producer for its size and with that, many lumber operations and related industries including businesses that produced mine props, barrel staves, tool handles, and railroad ties began to pop up.
The TVRR was functional through the 1920’s and experienced a fairly high level of use until the improvement of a local highway through the valley as well as some other economic issues began to put a strain on the costs and usage. In the spring of 1934 the TVRR saw it’s last operations when the railroad was abandoned and only stayed open through the fall of that year in order to fulfill the mail contract through the beginning of October. This was the official end of operation for the line and it was scrapped shortly afterwards when most of the equipment was moved to Port Royal. Points north of Blair Mills were scrapped.
Some of the old railroad beds and cuts are still visible in the region and if you travel out to the area, you can still see some remnants including old bridge abutments and many of the old historical industrial buildings.
To learn more about the TVRR check out George Pierson’s book:
Tommy Varner’s Red Rooster:
A History of the Tuscarora Valley Railroad
By George N. Pierson, 1995
124 pages, 119 illustrations, 5 maps, index
You can also take a very detailed tour of George’s Tuscarora Valley Narrow Gauge RR on his thorough layout tour video here:
