Cactus Jack wrote:Ok, to clear up confusion on my part ....
from Ormsby the BB&K went where (towards Smethport) ? - south of Route 59 - where in today's terms was the Ormsby Jct.?
I haven't seen a map, but here is what I infer from what I see in topo maps, and a local link from a Smethport trails site that shows where the BBK entered town, and "putting 2+2" together.
Take a look at this map link:
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.80145,-78 ... hport%20PA
Coming south from Bradford , point A is the BBK just north of McKean. Between A and B, the Kushequa crossed it , coming up from the south, then turning east and then southeast after crossing the BBK. YOu can then follow the BBK as points C D E.... with a slow steady descent after D which leads me to believe it was a RR ROW. In the map in Topo mode, you see a dotted line, which is missing between G and J, but if you switch to satellite view and zoom in you can pretty clearly see it 100+ years later. I think it is now a snowmobile trail. Down near Smethport between M and N, in satellite mode you clearly see a wavy ROW in a field that corresponds exactly to the dotted line. The BBK was a narrow gauge, so the wavyness does not surprise me.
The Kushequa was north of Route 59? so then that would be the ROW to be seen up on the hillside that drops down by the golf course ?
Yes
Then was there not a ROW continuing on the hillside above Smethport (north side) that went over towards Farmers Valley ?
Actually I think there was such a line, but it didn't live as long as the Smethport section. By "Ormsby Jct", I am not sure but am assuming you mean where the Kushequa RR forked, with one branch to Smethport and the other to Farmer's valley. The junction is at Point A in the map link I posted a few days ago here. In the link I posted today, this junction is about 1000 ft north of Point B. From there you can follow in Topo mode as a jeep trail (double dotted line) which winds and then descends most of the way down into the valley of the SOuth Branch of Cole Creek, on its way to Farmers valley. If by Ormsby Jct you mean where the Kushequa and the BBK crossed, that would be at the location between A and B I mentioned earlier in this post.
Hope this helps, JS