A few years ago my wife and I visited the trolley museum and enjoyed it very much. We hope that someday the last remaining Interurban car from the Harmony Line will be restored. A visit is highly recommended!
The Johnstown PCCs went to Brussells as parts. The actual Johnstown PCCs were six inches to wide to be used in Brussel. As to the Interurban that went through Conemaugh that was the Southern Cambria, which closed down in 1927 when bonds issued in 1918 to pay off a bad accident on that line came due and the Interurban had no money to pay off the bonds. People have upgraded that part from Conemaugh in the direction of Johnstown as a trail but it stops at a point where a bridge would have been used.. The first part of the line from Conemaugh to Mineral Point was filled in when PA 271 was built in the 1930s. Once away from PA 271 most of the Southern Cambria line still exists, much of it one lane only a cliff side on one side and steep hillside on the other. It is a gradual grade from Minerial point almost to Ebensburg, but it is on land marked "No trespassing" At Mineral Point the Southern Cambia went two different direction, on to Ebensburg mentioned above, the other to South Fork. The later is now a Rails to Trail line and it is interesting when compared to the Staple Bend Tunnel of the same trail (You bike from one to the other using the road at Mineral Point that goes under the old Pennslyvania main line). Both lines are now part of the "Path of the Flood" bike trail. That bike trail starts in Franklin, above where the old Franklin Streetcar loop was (you have to get on Pershing road, that goes by the Franklin Little League go to the end of the paved road, that is where the trail starts). The trail goes along a 36 inch water line built to supply water to the Johnstown Steel mills. The trial then goes on some old logging roads till it rejons the water line as the water line goes up incline #1 of the 1830s era Portage railway, then through the Staple Bend Tunnel, then along the remains of "Plane #1" till you get to the US Park Service center opposite Minerial Point PA. You then take the road under the old Pennslyvania Railroad's main line to Minerial point, go on some side streets to a new hill climb to the Southern Cambria's line. When I lived in Johnstown and the Trail was finished I rode my bike on that trail extensively. The interesting part was comparing the very low grade and very gradual curves of the Portage Railway's path and the much steeper and curver Southern Cambria's line. With horses and steam any grade had to be gradual and curves very gentle. With electric drive, the grade could be greater AND the curves curver. On the Southern Cambria portion of the trail you even have a "Dog leg" curve, i.e. one curve to the left followed by another curve to the right. This was done to take the line over a cut in the hillside without doing more digging into the hillside and building a bridge. It is a good example of what you could get away with when building an electric interurban that would have wrecked steam locomotives on the same line. At South Fork the Southern Cambria took over (c1912) a Cogged railway for the climb on the present trail up from South Fork to where the Southern Cambria turned left (and downhill) from the old Cog railway. The cog railway went straight at that point right up the hillside where you see the coal waste from the mine it served. If you know what you are looking at you can see three different rail technology on that trail. If you want to, you can follow PA 36 from South Fork to where "Plane #1" joined it (in 1854 the Portage Railway abandoned its inclines and put in a proper railroad, two years after the Pennsyvania Railroad had done the same thing). The 1854 "New Portage" railway used "Plane #1" till the line reached Portage PA. In Portage PA you had "Incline 2" which still exists as a paved road. In the 1930s Pennslyvania obtained most of the Right of Way of the New Portage Railway and created PA36 on its remains. Today, PA 36 goes up half way up Incline #2 then turns to the left bypassing Plane #2 (Which still exists as a street). Much of the plane are gone, but part of Incline #3 still exists (In Cassandra) for much of it was cut to make room for the present main line in 1905. Incline #4 still exists in Lilly PA, but the bottom half is blocked off but you can bypass that section and drive up the top half to Plane #4 that takes you to Incline #5, which is a paved over road today. On top of Incline #5, you can drive to old US 22. At old US 22, the line goes to the Lemon house and incline #6, which is another national Park site where part of the inline has been rebuilt. Old 22 cuts incline #6, most of incline #7 was destroyed when the east lanes of old US 22 was built in the 1930s. Incline #8 is mostly intact, but is cut off from its base by the constrution of the New Portage railway in 1854. There is a bike trail from Incline #8 to Incline #10 along the "new Portage railway" and from that trail you can reach Incline #9 and it is interesting comparing the gradual downhill slope of the bike trail on the "New Portage Railway" with the much flatter route of the "Old Portage railway" and how, over many miles, the two come close together then you hit Incline #9 and then Incline #10. Sorry bout the rant but the inner connection between the Southern Cambria, the "Old" and "New" Portage Railways and the bike path being created using all three of these is an interesting mix of the history of transportation.
Great photos and an interesting presentation. Thank you for sharing.
A few years ago my wife and I visited the trolley museum and enjoyed it very much. We hope that someday the last remaining Interurban car from the Harmony Line will be restored. A visit is highly recommended!
This is a well-done presentation. Thanks, Jim and PTM!
The Johnstown PCCs went to Brussells as parts. The actual Johnstown PCCs were six inches to wide to be used in Brussel.
As to the Interurban that went through Conemaugh that was the Southern Cambria, which closed down in 1927 when bonds issued in 1918 to pay off a bad accident on that line came due and the Interurban had no money to pay off the bonds. People have upgraded that part from Conemaugh in the direction of Johnstown as a trail but it stops at a point where a bridge would have been used.. The first part of the line from Conemaugh to Mineral Point was filled in when PA 271 was built in the 1930s. Once away from PA 271 most of the Southern Cambria line still exists, much of it one lane only a cliff side on one side and steep hillside on the other. It is a gradual grade from Minerial point almost to Ebensburg, but it is on land marked "No trespassing"
At Mineral Point the Southern Cambia went two different direction, on to Ebensburg mentioned above, the other to South Fork. The later is now a Rails to Trail line and it is interesting when compared to the Staple Bend Tunnel of the same trail (You bike from one to the other using the road at Mineral Point that goes under the old Pennslyvania main line).
Both lines are now part of the "Path of the Flood" bike trail. That bike trail starts in Franklin, above where the old Franklin Streetcar loop was (you have to get on Pershing road, that goes by the Franklin Little League go to the end of the paved road, that is where the trail starts). The trail goes along a 36 inch water line built to supply water to the Johnstown Steel mills. The trial then goes on some old logging roads till it rejons the water line as the water line goes up incline #1 of the 1830s era Portage railway, then through the Staple Bend Tunnel, then along the remains of "Plane #1" till you get to the US Park Service center opposite Minerial Point PA. You then take the road under the old Pennslyvania Railroad's main line to Minerial point, go on some side streets to a new hill climb to the Southern Cambria's line.
When I lived in Johnstown and the Trail was finished I rode my bike on that trail extensively. The interesting part was comparing the very low grade and very gradual curves of the Portage Railway's path and the much steeper and curver Southern Cambria's line. With horses and steam any grade had to be gradual and curves very gentle. With electric drive, the grade could be greater AND the curves curver.
On the Southern Cambria portion of the trail you even have a "Dog leg" curve, i.e. one curve to the left followed by another curve to the right. This was done to take the line over a cut in the hillside without doing more digging into the hillside and building a bridge. It is a good example of what you could get away with when building an electric interurban that would have wrecked steam locomotives on the same line.
At South Fork the Southern Cambria took over (c1912) a Cogged railway for the climb on the present trail up from South Fork to where the Southern Cambria turned left (and downhill) from the old Cog railway. The cog railway went straight at that point right up the hillside where you see the coal waste from the mine it served. If you know what you are looking at you can see three different rail technology on that trail.
If you want to, you can follow PA 36 from South Fork to where "Plane #1" joined it (in 1854 the Portage Railway abandoned its inclines and put in a proper railroad, two years after the Pennsyvania Railroad had done the same thing). The 1854 "New Portage" railway used "Plane #1" till the line reached Portage PA. In Portage PA you had "Incline 2" which still exists as a paved road. In the 1930s Pennslyvania obtained most of the Right of Way of the New Portage Railway and created PA36 on its remains. Today, PA 36 goes up half way up Incline #2 then turns to the left bypassing Plane #2 (Which still exists as a street).
Much of the plane are gone, but part of Incline #3 still exists (In Cassandra) for much of it was cut to make room for the present main line in 1905. Incline #4 still exists in Lilly PA, but the bottom half is blocked off but you can bypass that section and drive up the top half to Plane #4 that takes you to Incline #5, which is a paved over road today. On top of Incline #5, you can drive to old US 22. At old US 22, the line goes to the Lemon house and incline #6, which is another national Park site where part of the inline has been rebuilt. Old 22 cuts incline #6, most of incline #7 was destroyed when the east lanes of old US 22 was built in the 1930s. Incline #8 is mostly intact, but is cut off from its base by the constrution of the New Portage railway in 1854. There is a bike trail from Incline #8 to Incline #10 along the "new Portage railway" and from that trail you can reach Incline #9 and it is interesting comparing the gradual downhill slope of the bike trail on the "New Portage Railway" with the much flatter route of the "Old Portage railway" and how, over many miles, the two come close together then you hit Incline #9 and then Incline #10.
Sorry bout the rant but the inner connection between the Southern Cambria, the "Old" and "New" Portage Railways and the bike path being created using all three of these is an interesting mix of the history of transportation.
The presenter could not be understood for much of this video. His coughing into the microphone didn't add much to his presentation.
These are all places to jog now.