| By: | Thomas C. Ayers |
| Dates: | 1/1/1959 - 1/31/1968 |
| Album Info: | Here are several photos that were taken at various points along the Pennsylvania Railroad's New Portage Branch Line between 1962 and 1966.
At the same time that the Pennsylvania Railroad was building the Horseshoe Curve, the State of Pennsylvania was constructing the New Portage Railroad to replace the weather-dependent inclined planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The New Portage Railroad was opened in 1855-1856, but the PRR never used it ~ routing all traffic over its own main line. The PRR bought the State-owned Pennsylvania Canal/Allegheny Portage Railroad system in 1857, and promptly abandoned both. In 1904, however, the PRR reactivated the New Portage right-of-way to provide a relief route for extra traffic both up and down the Allegheny Mountains. The New Portage Branch Line was abandoned for the second and final time in 1981. |
