The Monongahela Railway’s Dunlap Branch was an 18.6-mile coal-hauling line extending from Dunlap Creek Junction at Brownsville to Browns Run Junction at Huron, Pennsylvania. Built to serve the coal mines and coke works along Dunlap Creek, the branch operated from 1903 until 1975.
The Monongahela Railway’s Dunlap Branch was an 18.6-mile coal-hauling line extending from Dunlap Creek Junction at Brownsville to Browns Run Junction at Huron, Pennsylvania. Built to serve the coal mines and coke works along Dunlap Creek, the branch operated from 1903 until 1975.
The Monongahela Railroad was formed in 1900 to consolidate and expand railroad service in the coal-producing region around Brownsville. 1 It was ultimately jointly controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE), a New York Central subsidiary, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O). The PRR and P&LE had both considered extending their own lines in the area before joining in the creation of the new railroad.
Initially, the PRR and P&LE appointed four members to the board of directors, which held its first meeting in January 1901. 1 The newly formed Monongahela Railroad acquired several lines in the region from the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston Railway and the Southwest Pennsylvania Railway. It also acquired the Pennsylvania Railroad’s 19-mile right-of-way from Brownsville to Adah for $519,696.13.
The B&O acquired a one-third interest in the Monongahela Railway in 1927, purchasing one-sixth of the capital stock from both the PRR and the P&LE. 1 This secured the B&O’s interest in the coal-producing territory served by the railroad.
The Monongahela remained in operation until it was merged into Conrail in May 1993, after Conrail had previously acquired the shares held by B&O successor CSX Transportation and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie. 1
Dunlap Creek Branch
In 1903, the Dunlap Creek Branch was constructed by the Connellsville & Monongahela Railway (leased by the Monongahela Railroad) between Brownsville and Huron, serving several bituminous coal mines and coke works, and connecting with the B&O. 1 It included numerous stone arch bridges and the Simpson Tunnel. By 1911, the Monongahela served seven mines and fifty-one coke works, including thirty-four coke works and one mine on the Dunlap Creek Branch. Its daily rated output was 1,395 cars of coke and 280 cars of coal.
The final movement on the Dunlap Creek Branch occurred on November 6, 1975. 1
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Further Reading
- Gratz, David E., and Terry E. Arbogast. The Monongahela Railway: Its History and Operation, 1903–1993. Hundman Publishing, 1993.
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