The Portage, Pennsylvania Railroad Heritage
Located 20 miles east of Johnstown, in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, Portage offers visitors a glimpse into its railroad past.
Developing, as a city, around Plan #2 of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, its first seed sprouted in 1826 when the Pennsylvania General Assembly gave approval for the Canal Commission Board to begin construction of the Pennsylvania Canal, an integral component of the intercontinental canal. modal, rail, and water transportation system that traverses the previously impassable Allegheny Ridge section of the route between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Defined as “land transportation between bodies of water,” “Portage” was implemented in a 36-mile interchange, ten planes, trains, and boats, reducing the previous 22-day journey to just six when it became operational in 1834, or three years. after the first shovel had penetrated the earth.
The city of Portage evolved with her. In 1837, for example, the Washington House Hotel opened its arms to weary passengers who needed lodging during their journey.
Subjecting itself to improvements, the Portage system was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1848, and four years later the original horse-and-mule method of propulsion was replaced by locomotives, which now pulled canal boats by hand. along the tracks. The New Portage Railroad became operational in 1855.
A handful of sights allow the visitor to re-glimpse this railway heritage.
The remains of the New York Tower, for example, can be found to the west of the cul-de-sac of the Southern Railway Station. Located at Milepost 259.1, its third such position, and built in 1891, it rested on a cement pad to raise it to track level, overlooking the south side of the main line, which in turn connected to the Bens Creek Branch. here. The two-story wooden structure sported three windows on the lower deck and five on the upper deck, all facing the track.
The oddly designated “NY Tower”, which controlled, like all such facilities, a rail block, initially had jurisdiction between Wilmore at Milepost 261 and Cassandra at Milepost 256, but was later extended to Lilly when its own LY Tower was removed. in 1931.
Demand, which initially required 24-hour occupancy, soon declined, leading to its progressive reduction until its complete interruption with its closure in the mid-1960s.
Portage itself had once had three railway stations. The first, built in 1854 and located on Main Street, was demolished in the late 1880s when it was bypassed by the new railroad, while the second, made of wood, was located on Washington Avenue and was used during the first quarter of the 20th century. century. The third, a two-story brick depot, built by John T. Gray and Son, rose from Lee Street in 1926 and was used by the Pennsylvania Railroad for 28 years until declining passenger demand could no longer sustain it. the service financially.
Users of the post-rail included the Knights of Columbus and Stager Enterprises, which relegated it to a storage facility, but its current application, as the Portage Station Museum, began in 1992 when the Rotary Club of Portage donated artifacts. the Mainline Mining Museum, another major industry in the area, which had first gained a foothold in 1868. Big Survey, later known as Cambria Mining and Manufacturing Company, purchased land from the Earnest family and opened its first coal mine along Bens Creek in 1872.
A mural depicting Mountain Avenue during the 1920s appears in the building next to the museum.
As part of the Heritage Trail, a series of landmarks along Allegheny Ridge that collectively offer a theme of life along the main line, the Portage Station Museum is like a pocket of stopped time, allowing the visitor re-enter and gain insight into its era through its architecture, artifacts, and exhibits.
The highlight of the museum is the original stationmaster’s officer. The heart of the operation, it was the place for ticket purchases, baggage processing, and cargo shipping and receiving, and had been outfitted with two desks, a safe, and a sink. On display today are an antique adding machine, typewriter, telephone, manual signal lamp, railroad lamp glass, train tickets, daily reports from 1954, and a wooden water bucket used by the Irish teams who laid the original rails.
In the middle of the first-floor waiting room, which features its original millwork, wainscoting, and light fixtures, is a full 20th-century kitchen and display cases with temporary and permanent exhibits. From here, tickets in hand, passengers would exit the port, walk into the arched railway underpass, and then ascend its concrete steps to a covered waiting room between tracks, which provided boarding access for passengers heading East and West. trains
The second floor of the building, originally used as a scary storage area, now offers three main features: a reference section, a relief map of the area’s mines, and a 173-square-foot HO “Miniature Mainline” model railroad. designed by train enthusiasts. Charles Edwards and financed by the late Robert “Bing” James. Multiple train operations representing different time periods negotiate the track, which passes the Portage Station Building, enters the Gallitzin Tunnels, and arcs through Horseshoe and Mule Shoe curves.
An open-air observation deck, at the height of the actual and elevated track passenger and freight train viewing facilities.