Connelsville coke, and the fact that so many Pittsburgh industries sprang from the Appalachian coal seam, is a big part of why I object to labeling Western PA as a midwestern area. Those by-product ovens that killed the older coking operations ended up being almost as bad for Pittsburgh as the beehives were for Connelsville; the wastewater ended up dumping phenol (not to mention a spot of cyanide) in the river, which when treated with chlorine for drinking makes the water disgusting. Leaving the comment to try to boost you as well, supposedly the algorithm likes that for exposure.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Pittsburgh and Southwestern PA as a whole is quite a unique place as you mentioned. It is not midwestern but has so much in common with the rust belt and the industrial cities of the Midwest. At the same time, however, it is an often-forgotten part of Appalachia, not being seen the same way as West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I have lived in this region all of life, and seem to learn something new every day, such as your comment about the by-product ovens being just as bad as the beehive coke ovens. Thank you very much for your comment and boosting my engagement. My goal is just to educate and entertain others in areas that I am interested in.

@roblywobly

9 ай бұрын

​@@RegionalTransitEnthusiast I have a book recommendation for you! I know the CLP Squirrel Hill has a copy because I borrowed it from them earlier this summer. It's an edited collection called Making Industrial Pittsburgh Modern, published in 2019, so it's quite modern literature on the subject. There are 16 articles, so you can sort through which are relevant for content obviously, but it has an incredible wealth of information on planning in Pittsburgh and the way the steamboats, railroads, streetcars, the skybus, and the automobile all introduced themselves. I read that fact about the by-product ovens in this book. I feel like it would be an awesome read for a channel covering Western Pennsylvania!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

@@roblywobly Thank you very much for the recommendation! I will have to get a chance to go to the library and check out the copy of this for myself. I am sure that there is a bunch of information that can apply to video ideas, and especially with my interest and focus on Western Pennsylvania.

Well, I'm sure that other Brits have watched and enjoyed this, but I thought that I ought to comment so that you know that we have. So many video makers either assume that the viewer knows the area or aren't bothered enough about their audience to include them, but I am so grateful for all the maps. They and the postcard-style photos kept this newcomer engaged and I look forward to the next slice of America and PA in particular that you're preparing. Many thanks.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I would just like to say that it means the world to hear how grateful you are. You are first official British viewer of my channel, so congratulations to you! I love maps, and think that the visual image of them really helps connect all of the dots when talking about a location. I hope that the next videos engage you just the same, as I have several more ideas, wether that be highway infrastructure, Amtrak services, or historic railroads. Thank you.

Saint thomas, Ontario used to have 5 railroads too with the Canada Southern, Pere Marquette, Canadian National, London and Port Stanley, and the Credit Valley Raikway. Great video! Nice to learn about these little towns!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

I know very little of the former major Canadian Railways. I will have to do some research on the ones that you have mentioned. I watched a video that talked about Winnipeg and how that was at the center of a large passenger network. It was quite interesting to learn that past.

I’d planned to model this in HO scale c. 1967 and had a massive collection assembled, but it never got off the ground. If you wanted to do this, you’d need a proper mix of… PRR, B&O EMDs, WM EMD/Alco in Speed paint only, N&W (hi hood), P&LE U-boats, add in some misc RDG power to WM + B&O, and add relevant freight cars. Then you’d need to custom model the important buildings and bridge structures. Also fun fact there were a total of four rail yards (B&O, Bowest (WM, Dunbar) Greenwood (PRR, Wheeler bottom), and P&LE (with Dickerson Run further to the north). All that remains there today is the CSX yard and its connections to WLE (N&W) and SWP (PRR) railroads.

Nice to learn about this small town’s rich connection to the railroad. Really puts into perspective how incredible my town (Superior, WI) has to be to have been served by 8 different railroads (NP, GN, CNW, SOO, DMIR, DWP, DSS&A, and the LST&T) at its height despite being only about a third the size of its neighbor city. Great video!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Oh my goodness, 8! Wow, I think that may be the most in any town someone has commented yet. I will have to look into your town, and I really hope to compile a list with the different towns and their number of railroads. Thank you for your comment, and I am glad you enjoyed the video.

Pretty cool video, I live down the river near Smithton. I see W&LE going over the Banning Trestle often, quite a sight to see, 1530ft long, 160ft high. Great information in this video, enjoyed it👍🏼😎🇺🇸

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Oh wow, you’re really local. I am not too far away from you! I unfortunately do not know much of the history about Smithton. I will have to make a visit to go there and explore the town a little bit, and also the trestle!

@JBDay-bd8cu

8 ай бұрын

I didn't know that trestle was there either. I don't go through smithon much

Griffith Indiana once had 5 railroads:Chesapeake and Ohio,Elgin Joliet and Eastern, Erie, Grand Trunk Western and New York Central. Now it only has Canadian National.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I am hoping to do a video on Ohio eventually. Similar to Indiana, Ohio had so many different railroads that all crisscrossed each other. I have never heard of Griffith, however. As soon as I searched it on the map, I can see all of the number of railroads that once existed. Thank you very much for sharing!

@railfandepotproductions

9 ай бұрын

Seen the railcam of it along with pictures of it when the GTW operated it

@dingusdingus2152

8 ай бұрын

They can still access grand funk railroad...

Great video. I like these that tell the history and show maps. The pictures of then and now and how the community tries to make lemonade out of lemons. Thanks

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

I am glad to hear you enjoyed it! I like your analogy of the community making the most with what is has after the two railroads were abandoned. Thank you!

Stillmore Georgia once had 5 different railroads that came into it. Well 4 and the one that originated there. The owner of that railroad (Stillmore Airline) decided in the 20's that he wouldn't make any money at the railroad, and in an insurance scam started a fire in the enginehouse. That fire spread to the city and burned 90% of it down. The town never recovered.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Wow, that is quite a fascinating story! I just looked up Stillmore on the map. It looks like the town has changed a lot; you are hardly able to recognize that there were once several railroads that came to the town. Thank you for sharing!

I took the Cap Lmtd in May 2023 wish i saw this video before then. I also have access to an interactive rail map, so as the video rolled i was able to quickly pinpoint. i may have event taken a photo of the decayed turntable

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

First of all, thank you very much for commenting! I have been on the Pennsylvanian before, but unfortunately not the Capitol Limited yet. I was just in West Virgina 2 weeks ago, visiting the New River Gorge. I visited Thurmond, WV which is a stop on the Cardinal. Where all did you take the Amtrak service?

@JBDay-bd8cu

8 ай бұрын

​@RegionalTransitEnthusiast Thurmond is a stop on the cardinal not the capitol limited. The capitol limited station stops east of Pittsburgh are in order, Connellsville, Cumberland MD, Martinsburg WV, Harper's Ferry WV, Rockville MD, and Washington DC. The cardinal follows former C&O trackage through the new river gorge.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

⁠​⁠@@JBDay-bd8cu Thank you for the correction. I have not been on either service, and I was just thinking of the first one that started with a C that came to my head. I hope to ride both of them in the future. I have been to Cumberland, and should be there later this year in December.

Oh I passed through here on the Capital Limited when I took it last December! I think we stopped here for a smoke break for like 10 minutes and I got out and stretched my legs. This is a really interesting video, thank you!

@JBDay-bd8cu

8 ай бұрын

I've been on the capitol limited through there as well. Lots of times. They tend to stop in connelsville for an extended stop because the train is often early arriving there. For some reason CSX dispatching keeps the line mostly clear for amtrak. It's Norfolk southern that screws amtrak in Ohio and especially Indiana which is why the train is often late arriving in Chicago. The east bound capitol limited is also usually late arriving into Pittsburgh for the same reason

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Where did you travel from? I am sure that the trip is quite scenic in the wintertime with snow covering the ground through the Appalachian Mountains. I am glad you were able to recognize the town!

Coal's all gone now, lower Connellsville field too. What little remains in pillars is completely flooded and not economical to recover. There was a "Connellsville and Monongahela" railroad too, but it didn't have its own entry, I'm pretty sure it used the B&O. Really awesome video!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for enjoying! It is quite evident how the region is still trying to recover economically from the coal industry.

For at least the second half of the 20th century, the B&O lines were the Main Line Subdivision (east to Cumberland), Western Subdivision (west to Pittsburgh), and the FM&P (geographic south, railroad east) to Morgantown and Fairmont, West Virginia. As to the Western Maryland / Pittsburgh & Lake Erie viaduct, a number of the concrete piers remain today. The "wye" bridge at 11:00 - the abandoned piers were from an old railroad (I think the oddly named Ohio and Baltimore Short Line) and, if they ever actually did have a bridge on them, it wasn't for very long. Greene Junction Tower (WH) - closed in 1987 - stands at the junction of the FM&P with the Main Line.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for the information. I could not find any information about the wye bridge. I just always thought it was part of the other segment. I will have to see if I can find anything on the Ohio and Baltimore Short Line. I assume it was mainly a coal short line for the lower region of the coke field. I may have come across it in my research. Or it may have been the Fairmont, Morgantown & Pittsburg Railroad as you mentioned.

This is a well made video full of great photos and information. Thank you for your hard work.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for watching and enjoying, as well as your comment of support.

Fun fact #2 there were technically SIX railroads, but not concurrently. The O&B (Ohio & Baltimore) short line ran from the (removed) B&O Yough River crossing at Wheeler, across the B&O FM&P sub and then overtop of the PRR to some mines and coke ovens, crossing over Route 119 at Sitka and heading toward Leisenring. a portion of the stone arch bridge at Wheeler bottom remains and can still be seen today.

Honestly your videos are underatted, keep up the good work

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Thank you very much. I hope that they are appreciated by those who watch. I definitely have some ideas for future videos!

My hometown!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Quite a historic and beautiful town!

Rivet counter: "your model railroad town is unrealistic, there are too many track all over the place!" Me:

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Hahaha, the more tracks, the merrier. The layouts we create may be uncommon, but they sure are realistic somewhere!

Great video man! Keep it up!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Thank you! I plan to start another video once I get home in a week.

Winona, Minnesota, also had 5 railroads up until the mid-1960’s. They were the Milwaukee Road line from Chicago to St. Paul; The Chicago and Northwestern line from Adams Wisconsin to South Dakota; the Green Bay and Western from Green Bay to Winona, the Chicago Great Western branch from Rochester MN to Winona, and the Chicago Burlington and Quincy, whose Chicago - Minneapolis main line ran on the east bank of the Mississippi and who had trackage rights over the GB&W from East WInona to WInona. They kept a switch engine in Winona. Today, all of the rail lines into Winona are owned by the CPKC. The Chicago and Great Western was abandoned in the late 1960’s, and the Green Bay and Western was abandoned following a fire which destroyed their Mississippi River bridge. This also terminated the BN (CB&Q) trackage rights. The Union Pacific acquired the Chicago and Northwestern and retains trackage rights over the CPKC from Winona to Adams, as the result of the acquisition of the Milwaukee Road by the Soo LIne and the subsequent merger of the Soo Line into the Canadian Pacific (CP) and ultimately the CPKC.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Wow! Thank you for sharing all of this history. I see from your profile picture that you know quite a lot about the Milwaukee Road. I have watched a video and researched myself about their western expansion to Seattle. I am unfamiliar with Minnesota, and never realized that they have such a historic railroad history. I see the remnants of the former bridge that crossed the Mississippi River. Thank you very much for your comment.

Thank you

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for watching.

While an electric railWAY, and run on PA Broad Guage (5' 2.5"), Connelsville was also served by the West Penn Railways connecting Connelsville to a number of other towns in the region, including Irwin and Uniontown

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

That would be a great video idea! I was thinking of including it into this video, but felt like it deserved a whole video of its own. It seems that there is not much information about the railway, which is quite a shame.

Excellent. New subscriber from Eastern North Carolina.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the comment and subscribing! One of my coworkers is from New Bern, NC. I have heard it’s beautiful out there near the coast.

Wonderful video, thank you for this very informative video. I live an hour from Connellsville and have passed thru numerous times. If I would have known this history I would have stayed for a day or two checking out some of the past.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I am familiar with the region, but unfortunately have not explored the town much for its historical aspects. They have quite a historic library, as I learned when researching the history of Connellsville. Most of it is lost history, such as the West Penn Railway which was headquartered in the city.

Excellent video!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for enjoying!

Kansas City Mo has the 5 big ones bnsf, ns, cp ,ksc, up with 3 bnsf and 3 UP..Only missing is CSX...

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I have never thought about Kansas City that way! Chicago is the only city that comes to mind that I am almost certain has all, without confirming this. I would guess St. Louis has close to or all of them as well? This could be something interesting to research.

@railfandepotproductions

9 ай бұрын

Kcs and cpkc

Good Work! Very interesting. As someone who grew up in a small town with multiple railways running through it, I love hearing about these stories

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I appreciate your comment on my work so much. This is just the second video that I have ever created, and I hope that people enjoy it as much as I do. Which town did you grow up in? I would love to hear your stories as well about a different place.

@senorsoupe

9 ай бұрын

@@RegionalTransitEnthusiast My Home town is a place called Lennoxville, Quebec, now part of the larger city of Sherbrooke, about 100 miles east of Montreal. There are two lines that pass through to this day, the CP line from Montreal to Saint John NB, which had been sold by CP when I was a kid to short line operators (including the horrible Montreal, Maine & Atlantic that was responsible for the devastating explosion in Megantic) before CP brought it back. The second line was the old CN line from Montreal to Portland Maine that was sold to short line operators also in the mid 1990's. My grandparents had a house that was right next to the CN line and our house was just up the street so whenever we heard the train coming I would go and stand on the sidewalk to count the cars. A good friend of my fathers was a track maintenance worker for CP, he ended up being relocated to Northern Ontario when CP sold off the line

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

@@senorsoupe I grew up right up the hill from a short line. I remember every time I heard the train horn, which was not often, I would run down the hill to see it. My family has a cottage that is along Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line, and I would count how many trains there were every day in a notebook. Lennoxville sounds like a beautiful place.

Awesome!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

I am glad to hear you think so! I think the town is very awesome, and the history is part of what makes it unique.

Nice video!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Thank you very much, I am glad you enjoyed.

You might be interested in knowing. Pittsburg, KS has a lot in common with Connelsville. At one time, there was 5 railroads in Pittsburg. Santa Fe, KCS, MP, Frisco, and Joplin and Pittsburg. Pittsburg was the hub for the area coal mines. There was also zinc mines and a few other things. Pittsburg also had a big industry as well. Everything dried up due to the high sulfur content and the fact the Powder River coal was so much bigger. The last coal mine closed down in the 1990s. We have one coal mining attraction close by. Big Brutus is to the southwest near West Mineral. It's one of the largest shovels in the world.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Like most people with Connellsville, I have never heard of Pittsburg, Kansas. Supposedly it is named after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? Please let me know if this is true. How has the town adapted over the years with the loss of its major industry? I have heard of Big Brutus!

@michaelpiatkowskijr1045

8 ай бұрын

@@RegionalTransitEnthusiast it was named after Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburg has survived due to the college and KCS has a yard and is a crew change point. The large industry pretty much closed down, but they got some smaller industries that come in. WATCO also got started there and National Pizza Corporation was founded there. Pittsburg is south of KC by 100 miles. It's around 20,000 population. The KCS shops have been closed down, but they were the place that scrapped most of the KCS steam engines. Between the industries and Pittsburg State University, they have maintained their size. Other cities close by are Parsons, Fort Scott, and Joplin, MO. Other towns are pretty much gone, but there was so much history there. My grandma went to school in Cockrell. Their team was the Cocks because of all chicken coops in the area. Food Network did a Food Wars episode between Chicken Annie's and Chicken Mary's. They also have Gebhart's and Barto's chicken restaurants.

I appreciate all the maps!

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I am glad you enjoyed them, I love maps as well!

You should look at Exeter, Devon, England, GB in the city of 130,700 people there are 12 passenger rail stations and a minimum hourly service from 0500 till 2000 on all the lines. That's how to do small city railways.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

I have never considered doing a video on a foreign country yet, such as Great Britian. They have a much greater passenger history than the United States, and I do enjoy already watching British rail content here on KZread. Maybe now I will have to think of a video idea for the UK. Thank you very much for the suggestion!

very good

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for commenting on my video. I will always enjoy and appreciate words of encouragement!

This is where American Rust is being filmed. The trains in the background are awesome. I live here in Pennsylvania and I was really happy to see a real series about our area and the poor and problems real people deal with. Season 2 is coming next month. Season 1 was incredible. Maura Tierney is so good. All the acting is really great. If you have not seen the season 1 it is available on demand.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I think I have heard about this series before, but I have never watched it. It sounds quite interesting, and as a local I am sure it would connect to us even more. I will add this to my watchlist for sure!

Even now Amtrak makes stops at Connellsville, while axing innumerable other small stations. That is good for the cyclist crowd who prefer to bike towards Ohiopyle.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I have never boarded at the Connellsville station before. The ridership is low due to the 2019 pandemic, but hopefully will increase back to it’s peak numbers from before. The bike trail is very nice, which I have biked on before. It is arguably the best thing that Connellsville can use to boost itself currently.

There's an area in Cleveland Oh off Broadway rd where 5 railroads ran through very near each other. 1. W&LE/NKP, 2.PRR, 3. Erie, 4. Big 4/Cleve Connecting 5.Newburgh and south shore.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

I think I have an idea of where you are talking about. Even though I am from the Pittsburgh area, Cleveland has really grown on me the more times I visit it. I think it is a very underrate city, and the industrial presence is often unrecognized or shadowed from Pittsburgh.

@franks471

8 ай бұрын

@@RegionalTransitEnthusiast Pittsburgh is a wonderful city. I've been there a few times and I generally like the entire region of central, west & sw PA. It's more than just railroads. That area in Cleveland is near Holy Name church and east towards E93rd. The old big 4 route ran through giant gulleys and crossed streets and other RRs at tunnels, like on Harvard Ave, Cannon, and Booth Ave. The scrap yard in the area bought part of the line from Norfolk Southern and the old W&LE line north of there to the flats was removed. The Erie line on 93RD ran to the Randall Park secondary which iirc George Elwood wrote about on his website, and ran to Literary Street yard, which is also now gone. In the edge of the church yard near the N&SS line I think the B&O had a coal dock there too.. can't be sure. Parts of the N&SS are still there, the line to Broadway and it's W&LE interchange is gone but Marceline yard is still basically there and their flats tracks. N&SS bought the last ever brand new alco loco, a T-6 History and lore, all fun stuff.

McPherson (in the middle of Kansas) had the Rock Island, Santa Fe, Missouri Pacific and Union Pacific.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I have never heard of McPherson before. I was just in Kansas this summer and wish I could have gotten a chance to visit this railroad town. I have several different comments about small towns that had several railroads, perhaps I should make a list of them!

Frankfort Indiana also had 5 railroads at one time.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

It is really incredible how there are so many Midwest towns at the junctions and crossings of the railroads, such as Frankfort. I am very unfamiliar with the culture and mindset of these towns. I would love to check out as many of these towns as I can one day.

The Pittsburghese is strong with this one...

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

Haha, I am glad that someone commented on it. Everytime I say downtown, I just know that dahntahn slips out, haha.

fun note Palmer Mass had seven

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

I just searched it, and the nickname is “Town of Seven railroads.” Wow, this is a most for any town so far!

Interesting video. Do they still have coal mines there? Thanks for explaining “coke “ I knew it had something to do with coal but didn’t know much more.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

To put it simply, no there are no more coal mines there. The region has pretty much been depleted, and there are not many large coal mine operation in Southwestern Pennsylvania anymore. The only one that comes to my mind is the Bailey Mine, and that is an hour west.

@dingusdingus2152

8 ай бұрын

Coke is an essential ingredient in the smelting of iron into steel. If you think of how much steel has been produced in the u.s. you can understand why coke was such a valuable commodity.

@JBDay-bd8cu

8 ай бұрын

​@@RegionalTransitEnthusiastemerald mine 1 and 2. One of them is along SR 18 north of SR21 which is west of Waynesburg. Last time I was in the area ( maybe a year ago ) whichever emerald mine that is was still operational and served by Norfolk southern. The rail line through goes to the west then branches off north to serve this mine. While the mainline continues to the south west and eventually makes its way down into west Virginia. Would have to look up on maps what towns it serves. I've traced this line years ago when I lived in Waynesburg but don't remember which towns and which mines are to the southwest. I wanna say it was 2 and they were bigger than the one off of SR 18

@JBDay-bd8cu

8 ай бұрын

​@@dingusdingus2152coke is the fuel that gets the melting process started. Think of it as the fuel gas used in oxy-acetylene torch cutting. The coke gets the process started. Oxygen then gets the temperature really high. Limestone created chemical reactions with the impurities in the iron ore and "fluxes" them, in other words traps them inside the melted limestone and binds them to it then floats to the top where it can be skimmed off. This is called slag

@dingusdingus2152

8 ай бұрын

@@JBDay-bd8cu thank you for the clarification. I am almost entirely ignorant of most aspects of metallurgy. I only knew that coke was a valuable commodity indispensable to the steel making process.

Been there on bike trail

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

I have biked both the Connellsville and Ohiopyle stretches. They are both beautiful scenic drives. I have never biked the West Newton section, but I have canoed down the river which was a blas!

Too bad they could not have made the town a transit/freight hub...

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

8 ай бұрын

It was at one time. It was also the headquarters of the West Penn Railways, an electrified trolley service that served the surrounding area. Both the boom of the automobile and the decrease of coal led to little freight and transit.

"Yonck-i-Gainy"?? You mean the "Yung-ah-Henny"............

@stretchlimo7275

9 ай бұрын

Never heard anyone from the area ever call it Yung ah henny 🤔

@gracemember101

9 ай бұрын

Neither have I.

@RegionalTransitEnthusiast

9 ай бұрын

Yough-a-gainy, or yough-i-gainy, either or. I believe it comes from the Nativr Americans that were here before the French or British explorer the area.