Wayne's History of the Huntingdon
and Broad Top Mountain Railroad
             and Coal Company

From the annual Report of the Secretary of
Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania for the year ending June 30.1892

The Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain
           Railroad and Coal Company

Date of organization; May 6, 1852
Post Office address of general office; Manhattan Life Building, S. E. corner,
Walnut and Fourth Street, Philadelphia, PA.

The President; Spencer M. Janney --- Philadelphia. PA

Property Operated

Main Line Huntingdon And Broad Top Railroad --- Huntingdon to Mt. Dallas; 45 miles
Shoup's Branch -- Saxton to Fisher Colliery -- 7.8 miles
Six Mile Run Branch -- Riddlesburg to Edge Hill -- 3.9 miles
Sunday Run Branch -- Hopewell to Cumberland Colliery -- 2.7 miles
Long's Run Beanch (of Sunday Run Branch) -- Longs's Run Branch to Kearney -- 2.6 miles
Total mileage -- 62 miles.

Contracts, Agreements, Etc.

Adams Express Company. --- 22 cents per 100 pounds.
United States Post Office Department,   $3,998.20 per annum.

Characteristics of Road

Bridges;
                 Number Iron;  18
                 Number Wooden;  40
Trestles;
                  Number;  42
                  Aggregated Length (feet);  8,014 ft.
Telegraph;
                  Miles of line owned by this company;
                  53 miles
                  Miles of wire owned by this company;
                  58 miles
Gauge of track;  4 ft. 9 in.
Total yearly compensation in 1892  $170,064.06
Total Employes;  363




H & B T at Hope Well, PA.      H & B T Freight
Engine in Pass Service.   




   Map of the Huntingdon & Broad Top Railroad   
                      H & B T Number 37   




    Photo from Dave Seidel collection .   




In an article in Trains magazine 1947,a story
written by A. M. Rung Jr.he mentions seeing a
combine-coach number 27 being a brilliant
blue,matching the mail car with it.





    Left; H & B T Express Cars
    Right; Number 39 gas-electric   



Back in 1941, number 39 wore a square
head light which was replaced by a modern
round one. Before a collision in 1942,
passenger trains usually were powered by
this gas-electric car. Passenger service was
maintained with a gas-electric car and an
express trailer, both painted Pullman Green.





About May 5, 1942 somewhere between
Hummel and Cove, # 39 gas-electric car
was in a head-on collision with an east
bound freight. The freight engine telescoped
the gas car's front end ruining her power unit.
The front end was cut off and the car
converted to a coach. The engineman jumped
but the passenger conductor was killed.



   M 39 Cab after Wreck   Wrecking Crane # 2   
                                              and Coach # 27   



   Four Photos From The Jim   
    Eschenmann Collection   



Wrecking Crane #2          Wrecking Crane # 2
at a site believed to be Cypher.   



   H & B T at Saxton, PA       H & B T North    
                                             meets South   



Left; Number #30 with Coach # 27
Right; H & B T #30 4-4-0 with Passenger train   



   Left; H & B T REA 1950, Station Unknown.   
   Right; H & B T 1952 Fan Trip   

    Photos From TheDave Seidel Collection   



   Top photo left is H & B T Box Car X3. 
   Bottom photo left is flanger # 75.
   Right Column H & B T  Cabin Cars   



   Left; Coal miner on the H & BT
   Right; H & B T  train near Saxton   

The first coal mined in the Broad Top was dug
out of the bed of Six Mile Run in 1760 by Nathan
Horton, a blacksmith. The first record of
commercial shipment was in 1856 when Ben
Foster and Dave Shacker dug coal, sledded it
to Riddlesburg, built an "ark" and floated it
down the Juniata and Susquehanna.




   Mine Cars        A 675 Lb. lump of smokeless   
   Broad Top Coal   


The first mine to make car load shipments
was on Shoups Run near Dudley. During the
Civil War, General McClellan opened a mine
and the coal was used by the Union Army.  
The manufacture of pig iron was one of
the earliest industries in the Broad Top Region. 
The entire Juniata Valley was dotted with
furnaces. The furnace companies mined
Broad Top Smokeless Coal for the manufacture
of their own coke. Three seams of coal were
worked in the Broad Top Field, Fulton, Barnett
and Kelly.   






   Penn Central Light and Power Co. plant   
    at Saxton   




   H & B T Track along the Raystown   
   River near Cypher   



   Hopewell Grade Crossing. Post card   
    from the Dave Seidel collection   






Railroad Cut at Cypher


   Three photos of the Tatesville Trussel    
   from Barbara Miller's collection   








   Colonial Iron                    Huntingdon Station   




Huntingdon, Pa. PRR Station with Hunt Tower.
Huntingdon Broad Top passenger train on track
at right. View East along Juniata River.
Huntingdon was founded in 1770 by Dr. William
Smith, first provost of the University of
Pennsylvania, and named by him for the
Countess of Huntingdon. The Indian name of
the town was Onajutta, from which was
derived the name "Juniata."




Click on Water Tank for page two




This Page Up Dated On December 15, 2006
This site built and maintained by Harley Burket
                waynestrains@aol.com