Pittsburg, Shawmut, & Northern Railroad got its start in St. Marys

July 23, 2012

Photo from the St. Marys Historical Society collection - Pictured is a Pittsburg, Shawmut, & Northern Railroad double-headed coal train about to cross over the Pennsylvania Railroad at Summit just north of St. Marys.

According to local historian Ray Beimel, the Pittsburg, Shawmut, and Northern Railroad "in a sense started in St. Marys."
Beimel recently discussed the railroad's history during a presentation at the St. Marys Senior Center, explaining that the railroad was used to transport coal from mines in Elk County to communities in upstate New York.
"Kaul and Hall built a railroad that ran from St. Marys to a place called Hyde, which is outside of Brockway, and the whole point of that was to haul coal from the mines at Brandy Camp and that area and bring it up to St. Marys," Beimel said.
He noted that this transportation of coal was taking place around the year 1894 on what was known then as the St. Marys and Southwestern Railroad.