RJ Corman Pennsylvania Line

Train ran on Monday, 4 SD40-2s + 65 cars.

Video of it at McGee's Mills Viaduct here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYGSNvqPPBI&t=83s

Can't see it, but a good sized deer ran across the tracks immediately in front of the train just as it came around the corner. Sorry, no deer strike this time.

It was posted earlier that there has been no traffic to Fallen TImber in at least a year. Is there any traffic Cresson to/from Mahaffey, or Clearfield down to Phillipsburg/Osceola? Or are the Clymer trains the only thing right now for RJ Corman PA lines?

Grain trains routinely run between Cresson and Clearfield (original trackage C&C/PRR Cresson to Mahaffey, P&E/BC/NYC Mahaffey to Curry Run, C&B/BCE/NYC Curry Run to Curwensville & C&M/BR&P/B&O Curwensville to Clearfield).

Coal shipments for REA and (I believe) Waroquier has shipped coal via Cresson. Coal from Clymer is run via the WBV to Keating.

Nothing out of Fallentimber, nothing out of Hillman. I believe the entire Hillman Branch has been sold to P&N Mining, and although some trees are now growing between the ties, the switch at PRR Junction on the Cherry Tree Branch is still in place.

Do the grain trains originate or terminate on line, or are they just a run-through short cut from NS to BPRR (or someone else)...

Clearfield is the site of a large ethanol plant. Loaded cars run from Cresson to Clearfield, empty cars back to Cresson. Don't know where the covered hoppers originate from, but its west somewhere, all NS cars.

Since I'm on the Cherry Tree end of the line, I have no idea what routinely happens on the West Branch Valley line.

2012 at http://gantdaily.com/2012/05/16/pgp-ann ... -facility/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fair use quote:

CLEARFIELD – Pennsylvania Grain Processing, LLC (PGP) has closed upon the purchase of a grain processing facility in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The facility can process up to 40 million bushels of grain per year into 110 million gallons of ethanol and 330,000 tons of dry distiller’s grain with solubles. Ethanol is a renewable, cleaner burning, high-octane,

Figuring 4000 bushels grain per covered hopper, 30,000 gal ethanol per tank car, and 100 tons DDG per covered hopper, at full capacity that works out to , per year, roughly 10,000 hoppers in, and if output goes by rail, 3500 tanks and 3000 hoppers out per year, or about 200 hoppers in and 70 tanks and 60 hoppers out per week. PLus empties the other way. Hope I did the math right.
That will keep the rails shiny!

It's likely some of that ethanol heads east on NS to come into NJ (my state) on the NS ex-LV "Lehigh Line" , then the ex-Reading (now Conrail ) Port Reading Secondary, to final customers like Motiva on the Conrail Chemical Coast (ex CNJ line from Elizabeth to Perth Amboy).

Based on observations, it appears that only grain shipments (loaded in, empties returning) run via the Cresson Branch (Cresson-Mahaffey-Clearfield), which would lead one to guess that ethanol and spent grain shipments run via the West Branch Valley line (Clearfield-Keating).

First half of the third train this month went up the hill for Clymer this morning.

There's a string of loaded coal cars at Cresson right now, so they're probably from the Leslie tipple near Osceola Mills.

Leslie coal to Cresson (Leslie-Philipsburg-Clearfield-Cresson) and Clymer coal to Keating (Clymer-Clearfield-Keating). Maximizes mileage on the RJCP. From Cresson or Keating running eastward one still ends up in Harrisburg.

Coal from the Rosebud Mining preparation plant just north of Clymer, Pa. runs to Baltimore, Md. for export - Clymer to Keating Jct. via RJ Corman, and Keating Jct. to Baltimore via Norfolk Southern.

Here's the most recent update of who originally owned what from Clymer to Keating (RJ Corman's portion):
* Clymer to McKeague's - Cherry Tree & Dixonville RR.
* McKeague's to BLS "CJ" - Cambria & Clearfield RR (Susquehanna Extension Branch). Transferred to CT&D upon its completion.
* Block Limit Station "CJ" to Clearfield/Indiana County Line - Cambria & Clearfield RR (Susquehanna Extension Branch). Built new for P&E access to CT&D.
* Clearfield/Indiana County Line to Dowler Junction - Pittsburg & Eastern RR (Cherry Tree Branch).
* Dowler Junction to Block Station "WJ" - Pittsburgh & Eastern RR.
* Block Station "WJ" to Curry Run - Beech Creek RR.
* Curry Run to CB Junction - Curwensville & Bower RR.
* CB Junction to BR&P Junction - Clearfield & Mahoning RR. BR&P Junction was renamed B&O Junction following the B&O takeover of the BR&P.
* BR&P Junction to Block Station "WB" - Beech Creek RR.
* Block Station "WB" to Karthaus - West Branch Valley RR.
* Karthaus to Keating Jct. - Karthaus RR. Originally a PRR company, sold to NYC's Beech Creek Extension RR.

Cherry Tree & Dixonville RR was a jointly-owned NYC/PRR company. Merged into Penn Central in 1971, some three years after the Pennsylvania/New York Central merger.
Cambria & Clearfield RR was a PRR company, eventually merged into the PRR.
Pittsburg & Eastern was a NYC company under its Beech Creek Extension RR umbrella, eventually merged into the NYC.
Beech Creek RR was leased by the NYC, eventually merged into the NYC.
Curwensville & Bower RR was a NYC company under its Beech Creek Extension RR umbrella, eventually merged into the NYC.
Clearfield & Mahoning RR was a BR&P company, eventually merged into the B&O.
West Branch Valley RR was a NYC company under its Beech Creek Extension RR umbrella, eventually merged into the NYC.
Karthaus RR was a PRR company under its Philadelphia & Erie RR umbrella, sold to Beech Creek Extension RR.

Some of the mergers are speculation on my part, but in the end, that's who ended up controlling that particular stretch of track.

Of course, the New York Central and Pennsylvania lines became Penn Central lines, which became Conrail lines, which became part of RJ Corman's Pennsylvania Line.

Still running roughly once a week, depending on availability of coal, cars and crew.

If they come down the night before they can start loading at Clymer first thing in the morning. Sometimes they come down in the morning and start loading later.

Nice schedule - they run when they run.

Saw new ties ready to be installed that were positioned along line to Osceola Mills near Philipsburg, Pa. Is mine reopened there or another business?

To the best of my knowledge that's the Leslie coal loader. How often it ships I can't answer since it's not in my neck of the woods.

Coal traffic for Leslie near Philipsburg runs down to Cresson for a hand-off to Norfolk Southern. Coal traffic for Rosebud near Clymer runs east to Keating for a hand-off to Norfolk Southern. Both routings maximize mileage on RJ Corman, thus more money for RJ Corman.

Still running roughly once a week between Keating and Clymer. Single 130-car train between Keating and Clearfield, two 65-car trains between Clearfield and Clymer (the 14-degree curve in Cherry Tree being the limiting factor). This week it was up on Tuesday to Clymer, coming back on Wednesday (first section), up and back on Friday (second section). 3 SD40-2s do the job for the 65-car sections.

Ok thanks that helps I appreciate it! I'll have to check it out and Hopefully I can get a picture next time I am through there.

Today they spotted seven carloads of rail on the former Kinport Industrial Track (former Susquehanna Extension Branch). Later in the afternoon a dump truck operating on the rails came through towing a string of track cars loaded with new crossties.

Gonna be doing some work on the line between Cherry Tree and Clymer.

Strange time of year to be getting ready for trackwork, what with snow in the forecast and all that.

Oh, the rail was brand-new 136-lb. rail.