Today there’s nothing very glamorous about flying or being herded through airline terminals. Squeezing into a small seat on a crowded airliner is hardly a pleasure.
But in the old days, riding on a train was just the opposite. Back in the slower times when we didn’t have to get to a place a thousand miles away in three hours, people took the train and loved it.
A railroad town always had a special distinction. This was a place where more than seventy-five percent of all the families had a railroading connection.
Family Life
As described masterfully in Boot Brisbin’s narrative from the Tyrone Railroad Dinner of 1996, the life of a railroader’s family often had to be built around Dad’s long hours and long trips, and this put a lot of the burden of raising the family squarely on the mother.
But in a railroading town, there were many who were not part of a “motive power” crew. These people made up the support system that kept the trains running, kept the tracks in superb condition, and handled the “book work” to make sure the mail went through, the packages were delivered, and the trainloads of coal or manufactured goods got to the market.
“Hub of the Rails”
In the early days the Tyrone Division was separate from the Middle Division. While the main line was the primary focus of passenger and freight service to the outside world, it was the branch lines of the Tyrone Division that “brought civilization” to the rural areas that fanned out from the center of this division — right here in Tyrone. The lines brought coal, timber, ore, and other products to Tyrone — and from here, on to markets such as Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and later to Pittsburgh and places to the west.
The Tyrone Division was like the spokes of a wheel, with thousands of workers involved in operating and maintaining these rail lines in every direction from Tyrone. Passengers and freight all moved through our town day after day. It was a gigantic undertaking.
Like Spokes of a Wheel
Tyrone Division’s five lines spread out in all directions:
The Cambria & Clearfield Railway ran from Tyrone to Vail, Vanscoyoc, Sandy Ridge, Osceola Mills, and all the way to Clearfield and Grampian. The Moshannon Branch split off at Osceola and went to various mining areas, including Brisbin and Houtzdale as well as Smoke Run.
The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad ran from Tyrone through Port Matilda, Milesburg, and to Lock Haven. A spur line ran into Bellefonte. The Bellefonte and Snow Shoe Branch ran up the mountain through Gum Stump, Aqua, School House, and eventually reached Snow Shoe.
The Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad extended from Tyrone to Stover, Warriors Mark, Marengo, Pennsylvania Furnace, and Fairbrook, ending at Scotia.
Not Quite to New York City
Of course, in spite of the Lewisburg Line’s impressive name, Scotia is far from the Susquehanna Valley. Visionary planners had conceived of a brand-new route from Tyrone through Lewisburg, carrying coal and other supplies from this area to Lewisburg to meet existing rail lines through the hard-coal region right to the “Big Apple.” A great idea!
Chester ‘Chet’ Finnegan, a longtime rail conductor and historian, told of these expansive and visionary plans that never came to reality. Instead of ending up in New York City or even Lewisburg, this part of the Tyrone Division was built only as far as Scotia.
Where is Scotia? Scotia today is a mined-out ore field that is a wilderness wasteland in sharp contrast to the intense development of the Greater State College metroplex just five or six miles away. There is nothing there. But in the old days Scotia’s mines produced large amounts of ore each day to be hauled through Tyrone to the world that was so eager for iron to use in the rapidly expanding American cities.
Coal Through Tyrone Helped to Heat Canada
Chet also spoke of the transporting of Pennsylvania coal to Canada by way of the Tyrone Division. A hundred years ago PRR crews would pull a hundred-car coal train down the valley to Lock Haven, and then north to Potter County where, at Keating Summit, New York Central crews and wheelage would go all the way to Montreal.
Railroader Families
The bands of steel that tied this backwoods part of America with the big cities and markets were a way of life to five generations of families. We say families rather than employees because it was a family involvement. Railroaders, however, made good pay, and until times got tougher the work was very steady; layoffs were rare, but tolerated, because every railroad family believed in the “company” and the PRR took care of its own.
Joe McKee talked about growing up here when the Tyrone Division was at its prime. A PRR band was maintained to play for important occasions. The PRR Athletic Park (now the location of Gardners and Dixon Tool & Die) was used by local teams and golfers. The PRR YMCA was built and operated by the company for the benefit of the town.
The superintendent of the Tyrone Division lived in a home that was appropriately large and impressive, in much the same way as the owner or manager of a large coal mine in the Osceola or Curwensville or Philipsburg or Snow Shoe area.
Trains Had to Go Through
Leonard Hardy talked about working in bitter cold as a brakeman on a long coal train. The trains had to get through. There was no such thing as “giving up and going home till the tracks were cleared.” They were cleared over and over again, and the crews never even thought of abandoning their train and seeking shelter.
“Book of Rules”
A very strict “Book of Rules” guided every railroad employee. Regular exams assured that no one failed to memorize and practice these rules, which specified maintenance and operating procedures designed to prevent accidents and save lives. If one flunked one of the periodic exams, he was fired on the spot. There was no cheating or sneaking a look at the answers when these rules exams were conducted. They were taken very seriously by every employee — from the engineer to the rest of his crew, the track maintenance crews, and the tower operators and crossing guards.
Family Life in a Railroad Town
For a hundred years, the strong railroad ethic permeated the fabric of the Tyrone area. Families who were fortunate enough to live close to the tracks could catch the sight of Dad as he waved from a passing train. Kids loved to sit on the porch and watch the trains as they slowed to make one of the many speed-controlled curves between Spruce Tower and the long, straight stretch up to Altoona.
Outside of the paper mill families, virtually everybody else in the region either had a railroad connection or had a connection as a service provider or merchant.
Dirt
Ash, coal particles, and grit from the hundreds of trains that passed our way were an accepted part of the package for rail families — as well as for every other family in town. Washes hung out to dry often had to be shaken to remove the particles. But nobody cared. Just like the smell of the paper mill, the dirt meant food on the table and clothes for the kids.
Great Middle Class
None of the railroader families was exceptionally wealthy nor were any of these families poor. Perhaps this was one of the most noteworthy of the factors that affected Tyrone. This great “middle class” of secure families would be in sharp contrast with other communities that relied on factories or farm products. Those towns had economies that were subject to rises and falls of income seasonally and as the market varied.
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