Paul - Thanks for giving an excuse for an expostulation.
There was an "Erie Factor" in the split of the Pittsburg & Shawmut from the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern. The railroad that became the P&S in 1916 was built and owned by the interests that also owned Allegheny River Mining Company. A.R.M. built a large deep mine and cleaning plant at Cadogan, PA, and several other operations along the P&S. They leased their railroad, 88.01 miles from Freeport Jct to Brockway (Erie Jct) to the PS&N until 1916, when the PS&N entered its long terminal receivership. During the lease, most of the P&S coal went north on the PS&N to the Erie at Olean and Hornell and to the DL&W at Wayland. Most of it was steam coal, and the eastern railroads themselves were large customers.
After the PS&N entered receivership in 1916, either PS&N defaulted on the lease terms, or else ARM Co. terminated the lease and ended the largest source of traffic for the PS&N. Either way, the P&S coal at Brockway started moving over the Erie rather than the PS&N. From that time until 1976 the P&S and Erie/EL were closely associated for coal traffic, but the operations themselves were totally separate. The PS&N was not even a friendly connection with the P&S.
The Erie/P&S interchange at Brockway required a change in direction, because the switch at Erie Jct always pointed toward the PS&N. Brockway Yard included tracks owned by the Erie and the PS&N. P&S bought the PS&N tracks in 1947. Until then the Erie interchange was made on the Erie tracks in the yard.
When the PS&N ran out of string in 1947, the P&S bought two of their cabooses. The P&S also had to launch an information campaign to make sure that they were not confused with the PS&N by other railroads for accounting purposes ("The PS&N is dead, but WE, the P&S, are very much alive and well. PLEASE pay the interline and per diem accounts, and continue using our hopper cars.")
The original P&S steam locomotives, which remained in service until 1953, were the same design as the PS&N J-class 2-8-2's, all having been built prior to 1916.
Concerning the 1916 split, I don't know but I suspect that the Erie might have approached the ARM Co. interests before it happened to arrange for the diversion of coal traffic to the Erie. That might well have been a cause, rather than the result, of the PS&N bankruptcy.
The name "Shawmut" had no local connection in Pennsylvania until financial interests associated with the Shawmut Bank of Boston began developing coal mines in the "Shawmut Field" northeast of Brockway.
By the way, in the 88.01 miles of P&S main line, there were 176 curves, or exactly two per mile, until the construction of the bridge over Interstate 80 north of Brookville added one more curve. The longest tangent on the railroad was about two miles, between Brookville and Brockway. It was said that the tangent was surveyed and built during a two-week period while Wade Morrison, then Chief Engineer, was away on vacation.
Gordon Davids
>Leave it to me to get it backwards.
>Paul B
>The Pittsburgh Shawmut and Northern actually leased the old Pittsburgh
>and Shawmut until 1916 but for most of the former's existance, the PS& N
>and the P&S were independant.
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