Nittany Valley Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Nittany Valley Railroad was a Pennsylvania shortline built to haul iron ore to blast furnace
s near Bellefonte
.
The company was incorporated on March 15, 1887. It was controlled by B.K. Jamison, president of the Centre Iron Company. The railroad was constructed from a connection with the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad (a Pennsylvania Railroad
subsidiary) in the valley of Logan Branch south of Bellefonte, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to the ore banks at Taylors. The Nittany Furnace
of the Centre Iron Company, which consumed the ore, was located in the vicinity of the interchange. The Centre Iron Company was foreclosed and reorganized as the Valentine Iron Company in 1890, which continued to operate the railroad.
In 1893, the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania
built across its tracks on the east side of Bellefonte, near the Nigh Bank iron mines, and made a connection there. The Central Railroad and the Nittany Valley were both under the control of J. Wesley Gephart
, president of Valentine Iron, who began routing traffic from Nittany Furnace over the Nittany Valley and then via the Central Railroad to Mill Hall. However, the Centre Iron Company, which had formerly owned the furnace, had made an exclusive contract to ship its products over the Bellefonte, Nittany & Lemont (by that time part of the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
). A court initially found in favor of the Nittany Valley, but the judgement was reversed on appeal in 1895 and the contract was held to be binding upon Valentine Iron. Gephart stepped down from the presidency of the iron company and the superintendency of the Nittany Valley in the wake of the affair. He was replaced as superintendent of the railroad by Mortimer O'Donoghue.
After the exhaustion of the ore bank, the railroad was used to haul limestone
. However, the exhaustion of local ore deposits and the obsolete nature of the local iron furnaces made them increasingly vulnerable. Nittany Furnace shut down in 1911 and was scrapped in 1913. With the loss of its major customer, the Nittany Valley was shut down in 1914, and scrapped in the mid-1920s.
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s near Bellefonte
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
The company was incorporated on March 15, 1887. It was controlled by B.K. Jamison, president of the Centre Iron Company. The railroad was constructed from a connection with the Bellefonte, Nittany and Lemont Railroad (a Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
subsidiary) in the valley of Logan Branch south of Bellefonte, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to the ore banks at Taylors. The Nittany Furnace
Nittany Furnace
Nittany Furnace, known earlier as Valentine Furnace, was a hot blast iron furnace located in Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States...
of the Centre Iron Company, which consumed the ore, was located in the vicinity of the interchange. The Centre Iron Company was foreclosed and reorganized as the Valentine Iron Company in 1890, which continued to operate the railroad.
In 1893, the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania
Central Railroad of Pennsylvania (1893-1918)
The Central Railroad of Pennsylvania was a short railroad of built to connect Bellefonte, Pennsylvania with the Beech Creek Railroad at Mill Hall, Pennsylvania...
built across its tracks on the east side of Bellefonte, near the Nigh Bank iron mines, and made a connection there. The Central Railroad and the Nittany Valley were both under the control of J. Wesley Gephart
J. Wesley Gephart
John Wesley Gephart was a Bellefonte, Pennsylvania lawyer and industrialist. Educated in Bellefonte and at Princeton University, Gephart's dilligence and intelligence were already marked when he was admitted to the bar at the end of 1876 and joined the Bellefonte law practice of James A. Beaver in...
, president of Valentine Iron, who began routing traffic from Nittany Furnace over the Nittany Valley and then via the Central Railroad to Mill Hall. However, the Centre Iron Company, which had formerly owned the furnace, had made an exclusive contract to ship its products over the Bellefonte, Nittany & Lemont (by that time part of the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad which owned several rail lines in central Pennsylvania. It had its genesis in the Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, a financially-troubled railroad chartered in 1857, which was unable to complete more than a small portion of...
). A court initially found in favor of the Nittany Valley, but the judgement was reversed on appeal in 1895 and the contract was held to be binding upon Valentine Iron. Gephart stepped down from the presidency of the iron company and the superintendency of the Nittany Valley in the wake of the affair. He was replaced as superintendent of the railroad by Mortimer O'Donoghue.
After the exhaustion of the ore bank, the railroad was used to haul limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. However, the exhaustion of local ore deposits and the obsolete nature of the local iron furnaces made them increasingly vulnerable. Nittany Furnace shut down in 1911 and was scrapped in 1913. With the loss of its major customer, the Nittany Valley was shut down in 1914, and scrapped in the mid-1920s.