J. H. Harmon, Pennsylvania, 1869. G. H. Preston, New York, 1879. O. W. Sadler, Chicago, 1868. Those who registered in 1882 were as follows: W. Y. McCoy, Ohio, M. C., 1877. Thomas C. James, New York, 1874. Those who registered in 1883 were as follows: Jacob C. Batdorf, Columbus, 1864. 1883. James Nichols, Buffalo, 1864. Those who registered in 1884 were as follows: Those who registered in 1885 were W. H. Perdomo, New York, 1882. as follows: John P. De Lancy, New York, 1885. Harriet A. Kane, Women's Medical Col- S. M. K. Wells, Buffalo, 1883. Those who registered in 1886 were as follows: F. W. Winger, H. C. Chesney, Fort Wayne, 1883. Those who registered in 1887 were as follows: James M. Peebles, Philadelphia, 1876. Walter B. Hottell, Cleveland, 1886. Orra M. Cain. Those who registered in 1888 were as follows: B. Chadwick, Philadelphia, 1888. Thomas Eddy, Cincinnati, 1854. CHAPTER IX. RAILROADS. THE KINZUA VIADUCT-THE WARREN RAILROAD CONVENTION-SUNBURY & ERIE R. R.-BUFFALO, BRADFORD & PITTSBURGH R. R.-THE TURKEY PATH -SALE OF THE WESTERN NEW YORK & PENNSYLVANIA R. R.-OLEAN, BRADFORD & WARREN R. R.-BRADFORD & FOSTER BROOK R. R.-THE "PEG-LEG' LINE-BRADford, BordeLL & KINZUA R. R.-BRADford, DEGOLIER & SMETHPORT R. R.-PITTSBURGH, BRADFORD & BUFFALO RY., AND BIG LEVEL & BRADFORD R. R.-BIG LEVEL & KINZUA R. R.-BRADFORD R. R. AND KINzua R. R.- BRADFORD & STATE LINE R. R. Co.-BUFFALO DIVISION OF ROCHESTER & PITTSBURGH R. R. CO-MISCELLANEOUS. · IF F variety be a recommendation to railroad systems, McKean county is singularly well endowed. Here have been constructed roads, ranging from a single rail to a double track of six-feet gauge, and from a prairie level to a grade of 264 feet per mile. In the matter of viaducts the county is no less blessed, for every form of bridge from the common wooden culvert to the Kinzua viaduct is found. This latter structure completed September 2, 1882, may be classed as one of the world's wonders. This bridge rests on foundations of sandstone, quarried near by. It consists of twenty lower spans of thirty-eight and a half feet each, and twenty one intermediate spans of sixtyone feet each. The trains run 301 feet above the creek bed, and the length of the structure is 2,051 feet. The first watchman (Stafford) used to inspect three of the twenty towers every day. In the winter of 1883-84, while engaged in this work, the air benumbed his hands, so that he could not cling longer to the braces, and losing his grip, fell sixty-five feet into a deep snowIdrift which saved him. On another occasion some one hailed him from the track, and, forgetting his location, he let go his hold and was falling from the top girts, when a friendly iron brace, within reach, saved his life. The old "PegLeg" Railroad, now a thing of the past, was wonderfully unique. It belonged to Bradford's infancy and for this reason is referred to historically in the sketch of that city. To-day a ride on the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua Railroad, is almost as exciting as a chariot-race or bull fight, and a trip from Bradford to Smethport, or south on the main line, is something at once enjoyable and instructive. A reference to the first chapter will point out the sharp high elevations over which our engineers have carried this and other local railroads. The Warren railroad convention of June, 1851, claimed Representatives O. J. Hamlin, Hiram Payne and N. W. Goodrich, of McKean county; Henry Souther, James L. Gillis and C. K. Early, of Elk county, on the executive committee. Many other citizens, however, were present as delegates. Work on the Sunbury & Erie Railroad was soon after commenced, and the completion of that road through McKean, Elk and Cameron counties in 1864 followed. The Buffalo, Bradford & Pittsburgh Railroad from Carrollton to Gilesburg, twenty-six miles, was consolidated in 1859 with the Buffalo & Pittsburgh and the Buffalo & Bradford Railroads, and opened January 5, 1866. The Turkey Path was proposed in 1872, and $50,000 was expended on sur vey and right of way. Asa H. Cory was agent for purchase of right of way, and B. D. Hamlin attorney, in 1873. This road was graded through Farmers Valley by Contractors A. I. Wilcox and Capt. Murphy, who abandoned it the same year. In April, 1881, the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad was sold to Archer N. Martin. This sale covered the main line, 121 miles; the Olean, Bradford & Warren Narrow Gauge (twenty-three miles of which were then built); the Kendall & Eldred Narrow Gauge (eighteen miles opened July 30, 1877); the McKean Railroad from Larrabee, twenty-three miles up to the coal mines, together with 16,000 acres of the Buffalo Coal Company's lands. The price paid was $4,850,000, exclusive of $3,000,000 first and $1,000,000 second mortgage bonds. Sherman S. Jewett represented the old company, A. N. Martin represented the purchasing syndicate, while the city of Buffalo, owner of $700,000 stock, was also represented. The Olean, Bradford & Warren Railroad was opened in 1878 to the State line (twelve miles), and from the State line to Bradford the same year. The Bradford & Foster Brook Railroad Company was incorporated in October, 1877, with Col. A. I. Wilcox, president; John B. Brawley, M. N. Allen, S. H. Bradley, Roy Stone, George Gilmore and E. W. Codington, directors. The object was to build a railroad from Bradford to Gillmor City, on Foster Brook, the gauge not to exceed three feet. Among the stockholders were the officers named, with C. W. Staats and T. J. Skidmore. The work of construction was soon commenced, and in January, 1878, the road was opened to Tarport, running in opposition to the Olean & Bradford Narrow Gauge, completed February 11 that year. Eli Perkins, who traveled on the Peg-Leg in February, 1878, describes the road as follows: The cars run astride an elevated track on a single rail. This rail is nailed to a single wooden stringer which rests on the top of piles. So evenly balanced is the train, that passing over a pond or creek at the rate of twenty miles an hour the water is hardly disturbed. The motive for building is economy, the price per mile being $3,000, and the cost of a ten-ton locomotive, $3,000. The locomotive is a queer looking thing. An Irishman here compared it to a gigantic pair of boots swung over a clothes line. The boiler is without a flue, the engine without a piston, and the driver without a crank. I rode with Gen. Stone around corners and up steep grades at thirty miles an hour. In De On Eli exaggerated somewhat, as this speed was never attained, there were no corners, and little or nothing in the way of grades. The Peg-Leg depots were Bradford, Tarport, Foster Brook, Babcock's Mill, Harrisburg Run and Derrick City. Ten double trips would be made daily, and an accident was chronicled almost every day. The accident of August, 1878, was a trivial one. It appears that immediately after the two flat cars were pulled out of the depot, by the new locomotive, A. I. Wilcox, the timbers holding the single track gave way and the flat cars fell ten feet, leaving the engine on the track. In May, Hugh Brawley, now deputy prothonotary, was appointed conductor. cember he moved to Smethport, leaving George Grogan to take his place. January 27, 1879, the explosion of a boiler, during the trial of the Gibbs & Sterrett locomotive, over the Peg-Leg, resulted in the death of six men and the mutilation of three others: George Grogan (conductor), John Addis (brakeman), John Vaughn (engineer), Charles Shepherd (assistant superintendent), Michael Hollevan (fireman) and Thomas Luby (engineer) being killed, and Sterrett, Peterson and Gartside injured. In February, 1879, the road was sold to Allen & Skidmore, and in March, 1880, it was disposed of at sheriff's sale. The Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua Railroad Company was incorporated March 4, 1880; among the local directors were F. E. Boden, W. F. Jordan, James Broder, W. W. Brown, G. L. Roberts, of Bradford, and C. H. Knox, of Kendall. On April 17 the first locomotive was placed on the track for construction purposes, and the road was opened for traffic June 7, 1880, to Kinzua junction, the train being in charge of Conductor Stubey, with A. T. Harris, engineer, and Reuben Sweet, express messenger. The officers of this company for 1890 are as follows: President, J. J. Carter; vice-president, W. W. Brown; directors: John E. Ransom, of Buffalo, N. Y.; A. S. Murray, Jr., of New York; John C. Havemeyer, of New York; August Stein, of New York; M. L. Hinman, of Dunkirk, N. Y.; W. W. Brown, of Bradford, Penn. ; A. I. Wilcox, of Bradford, Penn.; George A. Eckbert, of Titusville, Penn.; John C. McKenna, of Bradford, Penn.; John J. Carter, of Titusville, Penn. In September, Craigie, Rafferty & Yeomans signed the contract for building the road from Simpson's to Smethport, and December 16 the first train arrived at the county seat, with President J. J. Carter, Attorney W. W. Brown, F. E. Boden, James Broder, A. I. Wilcox and J. W. Humphrey, of Bradford, among the passengers. The first freight was received by Ed. Schenck, of the Bennett House. Col. Carter, lessee of the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua, reported a total tonnage of 430,000 tons five years ago, when he took charge, and 2,000,000 tons in 1889. This road is now known as the Bradford & Smethport Railroad, and forms part of the old Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua system. The officers elected in 1890 are as follows: President, J. J. Carter; vice-president, A. I. Wilcox; directors: J. J. Carter, J. C. McKenna, W. W. Brown, G. L. Roberts, A. I. Wilcox, J. E. Ransom, M. L. Hinman, L. J. Backer, August Stein. The other officers of the roads elected are as follows: Superintendent, J. C. McKenna; treasurer, C. T. Griggs; secretary, J. E. Ransom; auditor, W. R. Diffenbach. The Bradford, DeGolier & Smethport Railroad Company was organized April 16, 1880, under charter, with L. Emery, Jr., president; Eben Brewer, secretary; Robert H. Rose, treasurer; R. B. Stone, George A. Berry, M. A. Sprague, C. S. King, P. H. Towell and W. C. Kennedy, with the officers named, directors. The people of Smethport soon entered the project, B. D. Hamlin, D. Sterrett and R. H. Rose, leading, and by April 22, $8,000 dollars were subscribed. In May, 1880, the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua Railroad Company was consolidated with the Bradford, DeGolier & Smethport Road, the condition being that the latter's charter be surrendered, and $30,000 subscribed to the stock of the first named company. Under the management of Col. C. W. Mackey, of Franklin, the Pittsburgh, Bradford & Buffalo Railway was extended to Kane in 1883. The same year it was consolidated with the Big Level & Bradford Railroad (partially constructed in 1881 by Gen. Kane) and the united railroad was in turn consolidated with the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad, and completed to Mount Jewett. Difficulties of transfer from narrow to standard gauge at Mount Jewett however prevented the development of much traffic until, in 1886, Elisha K. Kane joined with five of the stockholders of the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad, and built the Big Level & Kinzua Railroad from Mount Jewett to Ormsby station on the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua Railroad. Contracts were then entered into by which the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua Railroad Company gained control of the line from Ormsby to Kane, and have since operated it greatly to the satisfaction of the people of Kane, and to the development of traffic. The railroad accident of January, 1884, on the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua Road, three miles from Bradford and one from Tarport, resulted in the death of three female passengers and one male, and injury to many others. It appears that oil from the Anchor Company's tank on the Buchanan farm leaked, in large quantities, down the steep hill to the railroad track, and running along the track formed a pool 1,000 feet below. Engineer Patrick Sexton and Fireman Walsh did not suspect the presence of oil until the gas caught the engine fire, and in a minute the engineer opened the throttle wide to fly through the flames. It was a terrible ride, the air-pipe couplings were burned, and the train plunged down a grade of 130 feet per mile, until derailed at the curve, the engineer and fireman being at their posts until their roasting flesh compelled them to plunge into the snow. The persons burned to death were Mrs. Fair, of Kinzua Junction; Mrs. Jones, of Rew City; Miss Moran, of Allen, and the aged Prof. Fought, of Tarport. The Bradford Railroad, fourteen miles to the intersection of the Kinzua Railroad, was opened in July, 1881. The Kinzua Railroad from that point to Kinzua, twelve miles, was also built. The Bradford & State Line Railroad Company was incorporated September 23, 1881, to build a road from Bradford to the crossing of the State line at Tuna creek. The consolidation of the Allegheny & Kinzua and Bradford & Corydon Roads, embracing what is known as the "Bullis Lumber Roads," was effected in February, 1890. The Allegheny & Kinzua had ten miles of road constructed from Red House on the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad to Freck's lumber station, the Bradford & Corydon Railroad, fifteen miles from Bradford to Coffey run. S. S. Bullis was chosen president, and C. D. Williams, of Bradford, superintendent. The branch road connecting Freck & Gilbert's mills up the west branch, runs through ten miles of dense forest. The third railroad connecting Bradford with Buffalo was opened November 19, 1883, by the Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad Company. It is known as the Buffalo division, extending to Punxsutawney, about 182 miles. The inauguration train was in charge of Joe Consalus, with William Hayden, engineer, and James M. Nevins, baggageman. In December, 1878, a meeting was held at Eldred to consider the question of building the Wellsville & Eldred Railroad, Guerdon Evans presiding. In May, 1881, this narrow gauge railroad was commenced, W. F. Jones being president; William Duke, vice-president; L. S. Anderson, secretary; W. A. Baldwin, treasurer, and C. A. Farnum, attorney at the time. Work on the Eldred & Rew City Railroad was commenced May 28, 1882. In May, 1886, the contract for building the narrow gauge from Mount Jewett to Ormsby. was sold to Tennant & Johnson. This road was suggested in 1858 by Gen. Kane. The Mount Jewett, Kinzua & Riterville Railroad Company was chartered in April, 1889, with Elisha K. Kane, president. The capital stock was placed at $80,000. The line is eight miles long, extending from the junction of the Big Level & Kinzua Railroad at Mount Jewett to the junction of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad, near Crawfords Summit. The work of construction was at once entered upon, and by the close of July the road was ready for the iron to Kushequi, or crossing of Kinzua creek, where McClellan & Kane's large saw-mill was being built. The road was completed to Doyle's mill, two miles below, in September. It is proposed to build the road through to the mouth of the Kinzua. The Philadelphia & Erie Railroad branch between Johnsonburg and Clermont was completed in May, 1889. In 1885-86, during the oil excitement at Kane, James Bros., of Kane, constructed the Kane Oil Field Railroad, from Jo-Jo Junction, one mile south of Kane, to Jo-Jo, an ephemeral village near the confluence of West and Wind runs of East Branch, Tionesta creek. It is not now operated. In 1886 West & Britton, of Kane, constructed a lumber railroad, which |