for those of you that where discussing the Pittsburgh Westmoreland and Sommerset railroad in its relation to where it went after it left ligonier…i found a USGA map for 1915 that shows it…as well as a very intersting tramway on it…
check it out…
http://historical.maptech.com/getImage.cfm?fname=smrs15nw.jpg&state=PA
csx engineer
csxengineer: You have found and reproduced a great copy of the topo map showing the route of the PW&S…I had a copy of that map supplied by a fellow poster on here several years ago and lost it when I purchased this new computer and didn’t get all the stuff transfered over to this unit…So thanks for posting this very clear map. I have just taken my first look at it and will study it more closely. It seems a bit different than the one I had as mine did not show the “tramway” as this one does…And I have no knowledge of the “tram” route shown…Never heard of it. Wonder if it is an old logging path, etc. I note it even has a switch back on it’s route…That makes me wonder of it being an old logging path, rail system, etc…It crosses very close to the present location of the abandoned Laurel Hill Tunnel of the Pennsylvania Turnpike…
In my quick look at the map I tried to locate the Quemahoming Tunnel that was located as the route decended down the Somerset side of the mountain…It is {was}, located a few miles back up on the decending grade before the route reached Somerset. And it was opened up by the constructors of the {not finished}, South Penn RR back right before they stopped construction in 1885…But the PW&S builders finished it and used the roughly 900 ft. tunnel to get down off the mountain and on in to Somerset.
That was a very challanging grade up that mountain from Rector and on up to the summit…As one can see on the map the PW&S connected to the Ligonier valley RR at the eastern edge of Ligonier. The gleaming white stone Depot is still standing in Ligonier {right along Main st.}, and is a beautiful building and just in the last several years was once again renovated inside for use by the area school system…{offices, I believe}…The “Busch” {not sure of spelling}, train shed is still located behind the “Depot” and was and perhaps still is used as a place for parking cars under it…
…I have pulled up a picture of the passenger station {depot}, that was located there in Somerset and used by the S&C…and perhaps by the PW&S. I sent a copy of that photo to Brian some time ago…It was a pretty nice looking substantial building.
csxengineer -
Thanks for posting that map! The train club I belong to (Laurel Highlands Model RR Club) received a grant earlier this year for providing history on the PW&S. We have a spare/stock room that we’re going to use to provide information on it. If you (or anyone else) knows any good sites on the web to learn about the PW&S, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Brian
Brian…I pulled up your last post of several weeks ago and noted the project of collecting data on the PW&S RR…I might inform a booklet is out there…{I can’t remember where I got mine}, titled “The Story Of A Mountain Railroad”…It is a reprint of an original with permission of the owner of the copyright. The name on this booklet is Frankin J. Langsdale. It is a small booklet of the creation of the PW&S and first person reports and even reports on why it failed in the end. I have no idea where one might get this booklet…I probably sent away for it but really don’t remember where that might have been. The booklet has a soft paper back cover and sold red in color with black lettering.
According to Taber’s index of the R&LHS Bulletins, this may have originally appeared in Bulletin 96 – here’s the cite:
Pittsburgh, Westmoreland & Somerset RR: “The Story of a Mountain Railroad,”
by F.J. Langsdale, 96/63-79
modelcar, you might compare what’s in your booklet with this page count to see if this is right…
Overmod…I believe you have referred to the exact same booklet…Everything in the Title is correct…If you mean pages in my little booklet it has a total of 33…
I have had a fascination with the story of this little railroad in the mountains…as I grew up in that general area. Years ago, my mother even related of riding on it from Somerset to Ligonier and back…
As I think more of that last part…She most likely would have boarded a train in Kantner, Pa…{Station sign said Stoyestown}, on the S&C…and rode to Somerset {10 miles}, and then on the PW&S over the Laurel Hill mountain to Ligonier.
that was the only info i have…lol… im doing a little project for my own personal use…taking old USGS topo maps from the early part of the 20th century and then overlaying them with USGS maps of today to beable to plot old grades and routes…as well as to see how much change has happend over the past 100 years… my little history project…lol… by the way… one of thiese days i plan on making up to summerset to see your clubs layout…but i need some info on the club…like days and times of your meetings…and/or days and times of any open houses…so i can plan something in the near futuer…
csx engineer
…Anyone in the Laurel Hill Mountain area {Pennsylvania}, have any info about the Tram route shown on the above mentioned TOPO map…?