mileage
138 PITTSBURGH station, 1100 Liberty Avenue. Elevation approximately 817. Pittsburgh was named
after Sir William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, England, and the name of Fort Pitt was given to an early military garrison in the
area. The fort was located at the junction of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers (now known as the “Golden Triangle”),
and the settlement was named Pittsburgh in 1758. Its steel and glass industries developed after the American Revolution, and
the nearby availability of coal from the surrounding hills gave rise to the iron and steel industry in the area. The first blast furnace
was built in 1792.
Because of the multitude of iron and steel plants
in the 19th century, Pittsburgh got the name “Iron City,” and during the early years of the 20th century, the numerous billowing smoke
stacks from industrial plants in eth area gave Pittsburgh the name “Smoky City, before the onslaught of environmental regulations
in the 1980’s.
Pittsburgh is the nation’s largest inland port city, and the
largest city in western Pennsylvania. It remains a cultural, educational, and recreational center.
Pittsburgh is the home of the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History and Science Center, the Andy Warhol Museum, and the Cathedral
of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, which is the tallest college skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.
140.5 Pass beneath
Bloomfield Bridge. The parallel tracks on the right (eastbound) carry AMTRAK’s New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian.
142 In the hills on the left (eastbound) can be seen many of the buildings of the University of Pittsburgh, including the 535-ft tall
Cathedral of Learning (see MP 138 above). The Cathedral of Learning also houses the Stephen Foster Memorial. Also visible
from this point, on the top of the nearest hill to the railroad, is the Carnegie Library and Museums (see MP 138 above).
Around the bend just to the south of MP 142 can be seen the Phipps Botanical Garden and Conservatory on the right (eastbound). The sandstones in the road and railroad cuts here are Pennsylvanian-aged Conemaugh and Monongahela Groups.
142.5 On the right (eastbound)
is the 456-acre Schenley Park, which is a popular city park containing a lake, playground, picnic tables, tennis courts, a golf course,
and an ice skating pond during the winter.
143.5 On the left (eastbound) is the former site of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company,
which shut down in 1987. It formerly contained a locomotive shop and roundhouse.
144 Pass through Hazelwood.
145 Glenwood. The Baltimore & Ohio RR (now CSX) Glenwood Yard is located along the Monongahela River on the right (eastbound).
146.5 Pass
beneath the Homestead Bridge. The city of Homestead is located across the Monongahela River on the right (eastbound). Homestead was settled in 1871, and was the site of the Homestead Steel Mill, a very productive facility which closed in 1984. In 1999, a shopping mall was built on the former steel mill site.
148-149 Pass through the borough of Swissvale, named after John Swisshelm,
who owned a nearby farm. Swisshelm served under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War, and fought at Valley Forge. George Westinghouse, the President of Westinghouse Air Brake Company, erected Union Switch and Signal at Swissvale and maintained
that facility which provided employment for the residents.
149 Pass through Rankin, named after early settler Thomas
Rankin, whose house served as the first station for the B & O railroad through the area.
150 Pass through Braddock. The town is named for General Edward Braddock (1695-1755). The Braddock Expedition, particularly his crossing of the Monongahela
River on July 9, 1755 at this place, led to the British General's own fatal wounding and a sound defeat of his troops who had been
moving against the French at Fort Duquesne. This battle, now called the Battle of the Monongahela, was a key beginning in the
French and Indian War.
Braddock's first industrial facility, a barrel plant,
opened in 1850, and the borough was incorporated on June 8, 1867. The town and its industrial economy began in 1873, when Andrew
Carnegie built the Edgar Thomson Steel Works on the historic site of Braddock's Field in what is now North Braddock, Pennsylvania. This was the first steel mill using the Bessemer process in America. It continues operations today as a part of the United States
Steel Corporation. This era of the town's history is best known from the novel Out of This Furnace, by Thomas Bell. Braddock
is also the location of the first of Andrew Carnegie’s 1,679 public libraries in the United States.
Just past Braddock, you can see some of the roller coasters of Kennywood Amusement Park, across the river on the right (eastbound). Kennywood Park has 5 roller coasters and 3 water rides, and is a popular destination for Pittsburgh residents. Kennywood is
a National Historic Landmark, since some of its buildings date to 1898.
151 Pass beneath the Port Perry bridge. This bridge and the tunnel it connects with to the northeast, is owned and used by Norfolk Southern Railroad primarily for routing
double stack trains through the Pittsburgh area. This small branch line connects the Pittsburgh Division with the Monongahela
Division of Norfolk Southern. The bridge & tunnel were originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
152 Across the Monongahela River on the right (eastbound) is the borough of Duquesne, which was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1891. Duquesne Works, a productive steel mill that was part of Carnegie Steel Corporation and later part of U.S. Steel, was the heart and
soul of Duquesne during its brightest moments in the early 20th century; the city's population peaked in 1930, and deindustrialized
beginning in the 1960’s.
155 On the right (eastbound) is the former site of U.S. Steel’s National Tube Works, which
opened in 1872 and closed in the 1980’s.
155.5 Cross the Youghiogheny River, which we will be following for the next 70 miles or so.
We are in the city of McKeesport, which was named after John McKee, its founder. After taking over his father's local river
ferry business, McKee devised a plan for the city to be called McKee's Port. He set out his proposal in the Pittsburgh Gazette,
as part of a program under which new residents could purchase plots of land for $20.00 (a lottery was the means to distribute the
plots to avoid complaints from new land owners concerning "inferior" locations). Around the time of the French and Indian Wars,
George Washington often came to McKeesport to visit his friend, Queen Alliquippa, a Seneca Indian ruler. After being settled
by the McKee family in 1795, McKeesport began to grow in 1830 when coal mining began.
156.5 Pass beneath the 15th Street Bridge. We are passing through Port Vue. Geologically, we are passing through the outcrop area of some younger Pennsylvanian rocks now. Much of the Western Pennsylvania coal seams are found in these strata.
157.5 Pass through the Borough of Liberty. Liberty is
part of the South Allegheny School District, along with Glassport and Port Vue. Liberty was at one time part of Port Vue but
gained it's "liberty" from Port Vue, thus the origin of the name of the town.
Cross the Youghiogheny River on a high bridge.
159 Pass through the Borough of Versailles, named after the
French palace. The name is a reminder of the struggle that the French made for control of western Pennsylvania. Pass beneath
Boston Bridge, which connects Versailles with Boston, across the river.
164 Enter WESTMORELAND County. The
county was formed in 1773 from Bedford County, and named after Westmoreland Country in England. The word “Westmoreland” means
“land of the western moors.”
Bedrock exposed along the edge of they flood plain
is Pennsylvanian-aged sedimentary rocks, many of which contain coal seams.
169 Borough of Blythedale across the river. We are now traversing the outcrop area of the Pennsylvanian-aged Monongahela Group sedimentary rocks, consisting of sandstones, shales,
and coal seams.
170 Pass through Sutersville. We are still traversing the sandstones of the Pennsylvanian-aged
Monongahela Group
172 Cross Sewickley Creek.
173-174 Pass through West Newton. This town traces its roots to
1788, when a group of American pioneers to the Northwest Territory led by General Rufus Putnam traveled overland from Massachusetts
and stopped at this location to build boats. They then set out down the Youghiogheny River to the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers,
ending their journey and founding the town of Marietta, Ohio. Former names of West Newton are Simeral's Ferry (or Sumrill’s
Ferry) and Robbstown. Formerly, the manufacture of radiators and boilers were the chief industries of the town.
175 Across the river is a small open-pit coal mine, which likely mines coal from the lower members of the Pennsylvanian-aged Monongahela
Group.
177 Although much of the hillsides are heavily forested in this area, we are now traversing a northeast-southwest
trending syncline which crosses the Youghiogheny River approximately here. The younger eroded rocks in the center of the syncline
are the Permian-aged Dunkard Group, and the older rocks exposed on the limbs of the syncline are the Upper Pennsylvanian Monongahela
Group sedimentary rocks.
180 Pass through Smithton. Smithton's early industry was in coal mining, coke ovens,
and shipping goods produced in the valley of Jacobs Creek. Stoney's Beer was brewed by the Jones Brewing Company in Smithton
until 2002 when the brewing operation was moved to Pittsburgh. In 2007, Country Music Television taped an episode of My Big
Redneck Wedding during a demolition derby at Smithton Hole. The wedding was held at the Hunker Fire Hall.
The sedimentary rocks above Smithton are the Lower Pennsylvanian Monongahela Group.
181.5 Pass through Jacobs Creek. The sedimentary
formations in this small lowland are the Casselman Member of the Monongahela Group.
182 wCross Jacobs Creek and enter
FAYETTE County. Fayette County was established in 1783, and was broken out of Westmoreland County. It was named
after Roche Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis de la Fayette, a French nobleman who was commissioned by the young United States Congress
as a Major General in the American Revolution. The young Frenchman spent $140,000 of his own funds to fight for American causes. On May 26, 1825, General de la Fayette was invited to the Fayette County seat of Uniontown, along with his son George Washington de
la Fayette, and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds.
182.5 Pass through Banning. Pennsylvanian-aged Monongahela Group still holds
up hills along railroad route.
185 Across the river on the right (eastbound) is the borough of Perryopolis, named
after Oliver Hazard Perry for his victory on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The townsite was originally purchased by George
Washington, as a mill seat. The mill would eventually be completed in 1776. Once the mill was finished, the town encouraged
other business to come to the area to support and augment the business of the mill. Washington hoped to develop the remainder
of Perryopolis, drawing up plans for the streets to be laid out in the shape of a wagon-wheel. Washington's estate sold the
land after his death; in 1814 Perryopolis, previously known as New Boston, was officially laid out using Washington's plans. In the late 19th Century, the area around Perryopolis was first mined for coal. Until the 1950’s, the coke and coal industries
would be the area's primary economic activity.
186 Pass through Layton. Bedrock exposed above Layton is the
Lower Pennsylvanian Allegheny Group, which is here overlain by sandstones and shales of the Glenshaw and Casselman Formation members
of the Conemaugh Group.
186.5 As we round the bend here, you may see some sandstones and shales of the lowermost Pennsylvanian Pottsville
Group exposed along the river. The Pottsville Group is overlain by the Allegheny Group, described above.
188.5 We are now crossing
the approximate center of the Fayette anticline, developed in Lower Pennsylvanian Monongahela Group sedimentary rocks.
190 As we round the bend, the hills along the river are still composed of Lower Pennsylvanian Allegheny Group, overlain by the Glenshaw
and Casselman members of the Conemaugh Group. Most of the sedimentary rocks you see are sandstones and shales with numerous
coal seams intermixed through them.
193 Pass through Dawson. This borough was named after George Dawson, the
original owner of the town site. Dawson is the home of the Philip G. Cochran Memorial United Methodist Church, a gothic-style
structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Linden Hall Mansion, a 35-room Tudor estate, is also located
in Dawson. The Linden Hall Mansion was built in 1913 by Sarah Cochran, and was rebuilt with 19th-centiury period furniture.
194 Pass through Hulltown and Raineytown. Lower Pennsylvanian Monongahela Group exposed in hillsides.
196.5 Cross the axis of the
Uniontown Syncline, which was developed in the Monongahela Group.
198.5 CONNELLSVILLE station, North Water and West Peach Streets. Elevation approximately 885. Connellsville was officially founded as a township in 1793 by Zachariah Connell, a militia captain
during the American Revolution. Connellsville became a borough in 1806, and became a city in 1909 when it unified with the nearby
town of New Haven. Due to the city’s location in the center of the Connellsville coal field, coal mining became the major source
of employment and local revenue during the later half of the 19th century. Coal mining and accompanying industries brought a
great deal of wealth to the Fayette County region. However, this prosperity remained restricted to the wealthy elite. Many Italian and Slavic immigrants worked in the coal mines and coke ovens in a state of poverty.