Shortline
Kiski Junction Railroad
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Situated along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh, the Kiski Junction Railroad was a 6-mile shortline along the shores of the smaller Kiskiminetas River offering scrap metal hauling for an Allegheny Ludlum plant located online.
The road also handled local grain interchange for a time, and attempted to service a reactivated coal mine.
First constructed in 1856 by the Allegheny Valley Railroad, the line was later merged into the vast Pennsylvania Railroad system, later Penn Central and then Conrail.
The Kiski Junction shortline began in 1995 and was based in Shenley, Pennsylvania, where the road interchanged with the Norfolk Southern.
The KJR also offered seasonal tourist passenger service, often utilizing a beautifully restored 1943 Alco S-1 switcher.
KJR route map / RWH
See also our complete Kiski Junction tourist scrapbook in Preservation
Motive Power
Kiski Junction #7135
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Kiski Junction #7135
to United States Army #7135
to Cass, West Virginia
to South Branch Valley RR
to Kiski Junction #7135, 1995
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
SJul 2010 / RWH
Jul 2010 / RWH
Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Kiski Junction #752
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction #752
to Wisconsin & Southern #752
to Kiski Junction #752
to Indiana Boxcar Corporation #752
at Youngstown & Southeastern
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
There is no doubt that the transition to diesel-electrics from tea kettle steam drastically reduced the prep time needed to get a train moving. The ignition sequence for a B-B road switcher is not too dissimilar from my bucket-of-bolts Ford Escort wagon. Nevertheless, coaxing a cold, sixty-year-old EMD mover back to life after several days offline is something of an art form, a trick to behold. Some fiddling here, some adjustments there, check the oil again, then ... contact. The starter coil engages with a clank, forcing all sixteen cylinders to make a few cold revolutions before getting back to work. Add a diesel and oxygen mix, and suddenly 752 wakes from the dead, sending a cloud of blue-gray exhaust into the air. A throaty, two-cycle gurggle fills the valley around us, and Kiski's newest and biggest locomotive is once again ready for work ... hauling scrap aluminum and happy children.
all photos above: Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Rolling Stock
Kiski Junction #4
Caboose / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction #5
Modified caboose / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction #44
Excursion car / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction #200
Modified transfer caboose / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction #1154
Coach / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Coach interior / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction #MW1
MoW speeder / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Action
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
near Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
near Bagdad, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
near Bagdad, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Norfolk Southern Interchange
The Kiski Junction connected to the outside world via an active interchange with the Norfolk Southern. During a July 2010 visit to the shortline, the NS local was switching interchange cars in Schenley using two locomotives on either end of their train. The ex-Conrail unit seen here was not running during this switching move, serving only as the trailing equipment on the backup move across the river from the NS mainline.
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Locations
Click to see this location plotted on a Google Maps page
Kiski Junction depot
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Kiski Junction shop
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Railcar storage / Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Allegheny Ludlum
Other than hauling tourists in the summer season, the Kiski Junction had two sources of online revenue: onsite railcar storage and Allegheny Ludlum's metal processing plant at Bagdad, Pennsylvania. Kiski served the plant twice a week, bringing empty high-side gondolas to the facility from the Norfolk Southern interchange back at Shenley and hauling gons loaded with scrap aluminum back out for interchange. During tourist season, passengers watched from the train as the crew switches the plant. Back at the Schenley depot (last picture, below), loaded gons wait to be picked up the Norfolk Southern local.
Bagdad, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Lagniappe
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Signs of Life
Jun 2009 / RWH
RWH
Always a Railfan
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Men at Work
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Train Talk
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Watchful Eye
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jun 2009 / RWH
Jun 2009 / RWH
The region below Lake Erie is dotted with a number of small shortline operators who have given the public a great nod by offering seasonal tourist operations on their pikes. To the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson and the Oil Creek & Titusville add the diminutive Kiski Junction -- proud owner of the finest looking Alco S-series I have seen in quite some time. The Kiski is a one-industry shortline, although there is discussion about the possibility of reactivating coal service from a nearby mine. Still, the good folks of this Allegheny River valley road open up their little line to the public every summer, even giving passengers a front row seat to switching operations at the mill -- a perk perhaps lost on the dozens of families who ride; cherished by railfans. A summer 2009 visit to the Kiski reminded me of why shortlines loom large in my pantheon of steel rail interests: the people. My father in a wheelchair, the crew of the KJR all afternoon went out their way to make him comfortable -- even assisting me in coaxing his wheelchair through the heavy gravel of the shop area in order to take a peak at their Alco lady tied up in the engine house, awaiting new brake shoes. Thanks Kiski Junction. It's likely you were host to his last run.
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / Will Hankins
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
Schenley, Pa / Jul 2010 / RWH
After only two visits, the tiny Kiski Junction already holds a dear place in my heart.
It turns out the KJR was the last pike my father and I were able to ride together, as he died just months after our first visit to the line.
Not able to see their Alco switcher in service during that visit, I knew I would have to come back and ride again.
A year later, I got my chance. On a hot and humid July day, my brother-in-law and I took my nephew to Schenley for his first big-time train ride.
The KJR did not disappoint: Arriving in town, we all three squealed with delight at the sight of #7135 on the station track, ready for a day's work.
(Well, the grown-up railfans in the car squealed over the Alco power; my nephew was just happy to see a train--any train!)
Once again, the folks at the KJR were terrific hosts. We enjoyed lots of horn action, a long stay in the cab, and plenty of after-ride conversation and answers to all our probing questions.
Thanks again, Kiski Junction. You hosted my father's last, and my nephew's first.
Another generation of railfan gets the green signal. Dad would be pleased.
Links / Sources
- Kiski Junction Railroad website
- Wikipedia article for Kiski Junction Railroad