Montour Railroad

The Montour Railroad Company was organized in 1877 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Imperial Coal Co. to carry coal from mines near Imperial ten miles to a barge loading dock on the Ohio River. A connection with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR was made in 1879, and passenger service began, also carrying U.S. mail and local farm produce to market in Pittsburgh by transfer to P&LE. Passenger service ended in 1927. A shop complex at Montour Junction opened in 1900 to replace the small original shops at Imperial. Expansion began in 1913 with a 35-mile extension looping around Pittsburgh's South Hills from Imperial to West Mifflin to serve several newly opened coal mines, and interchange points with five other railroads established shipping connections with markets outside the Pittsburgh area. From 1918 to 1929, branch lines were added to mines in Library, Muse, and Westland, bringing track mileage to about 50 miles. In 1928, the Champion Coal Co. processing plant opened near Imperial and could clean, size, and sort 13,000 tons of coal each day. Although most rail traffic was coal, local businesses also shipped other freight. A downturn in the coal market in the 1970's reduced revenue and led to sections of track being taken out of service, and the Montour Railroad ceased rail operations in 1984, with total abandonment in 1986.

Hendersonville, Pennsylvania · United States