Rail being pulled at Ex-Corning Factory in State College, PA

In case you were holding out hope of any possibilty of rail service being resumed at the ex-Corning facility in State College, you can stop holding. The switch to the shipping section of the runaround track has been pulled, and a few pieces of stick rail have also been removed. This is the track that was not in use near the end of the facility's life, it is closer to Struble road than the receiving tracks that were next to the Centre Daily Times facility. Those tracks, and the corresponding switch were pulled long ago as part of the remidiation efforts.

I am chair of the Planning Commission in this township and we have been reviewing the master plan for the site under the ownership of the Dale Summit Group. Needless to say, it is just a bunch of retail and dining businesses, maybe a hotel, all surrounding the old Corning warehouse building. It is a true shame to see the loss of this manufacturing land to excess retail development, which will just cause some already built older commercial space to close down the road.

BWP

That is a shame. Isn't enough that you already have the mall on Rt.150, you have to have more shopping retail stores?

Len.

Len:

The problem is that the mall isnt really that great anymore, everyone (Retailers) want to to have freestanding space or space within a strip. What is happening locally is we have two major retail areas, The current Mall area around route 150 and then the North Atherton Corridor, Business Route 322. The business route 322 is the hottest location, so I think the attempt to build more freestanding retail at the ex-Corning facility is an attempt to help the mall area compete with the North Atherton St. area. Sad thing is, we are expecting that the mall will close up shop at some point.

BWP

Every shopping center these days want to compete with the larger ones. Where I live in Southeastern Pa. they are doing it around here. They build upon every drop of land they can just to compete with the next guy.

The builder don't care about history, rail service, or anything. I spent 2 1/2 years on our local Historical commission, I saw a lot .

I also know that it will bring more tax dollars in for your township.

Len.

Schuylkill Valley wrote: I also know that it will bring more tax dollars in for your township.

Len.

You hit the nail on the head!

Is this the Corning Inc site that was built but due to the downturn in the economy back in the early part of the decade never actually had anything produced in it?

joshuahouse wrote:Is this the Corning Inc site that was built but due to the downturn in the economy back in the early part of the decade never actually had anything produced in it?

No, they produced CRT's in it for some 35 years I believe. The equipment was all boxed up and shipped off to China where it was to be used in future CRT production. It was a joint venture between Corning and Ashai (SP?)

BWP

CRTs are so 20th century. The business growth is in flat panel displays but Corning will be producing LCDs in Asia:

Corning Breaks Ground on LCD Glass Finishing Facility in China
Company was first to announce it would locate a substrate facility on the China mainland
CORNING, N.Y., November 3, 2006 – Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary in the People’s Republic of China hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a new liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrate finishing facility

joshuahouse wrote:Is this the Corning Inc site that was built but due to the downturn in the economy back in the early part of the decade never actually had anything produced in it?

That Corning site was in Benton Twp, Lackawanna County near I-81. Corning bought the site of a former Grumman factory and remodeled it into a modern plant. And then never used it.

Brooks,

What's the extent of the use of these tracks now? Do they end short of Forster's at the Lemont station (I know this technically isn't the true station), or do they continue elsewhere? In the four years I was in State College, I unfortunately never took much time to railfan--though I often got caught by stone trains at Rishel Road!

AdamCKach wrote:Brooks,

What's the extent of the use of these tracks now? Do they end short of Forster's at the Lemont station (I know this technically isn't the true station), or do they continue elsewhere? In the four years I was in State College, I unfortunately never took much time to railfan--though I often got caught by stone trains at Rishel Road!

That is exactly where the tracks end. They haven't seen action since the Circus train of a few years ago and when there were scrap steel cars on site for the demo of the material processing portion of the glass furnaces. I don' thtink they will ever be used again, in fact I am almost 100% conifdant of that, although I would like someone to prove me wrong!

The sad reality is that this strech will probably become a rail trail in about 10-15 years.

BWP