Bird's eye view of Rockville Bridge near Harrisburg Pa....

[southpennrailroad]

YOU FIGURE THIS OUT.





I'll let you study these two pieces of South Penn surveyed sites. It will show you where the South Penn and the turnpike would have been built. In the picture I AM STANDING SOUTH OF THE BUILDINGS LOOKING NORTH Study them close and you will see just what I had to do to find where the turnpike should have been built. Imagine this for all sites not built such as this area between Breezewood and the Allegheny Mountain where not a section of dirt was worked on.

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The map showing exactly where the Everett station yards were to be built.

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Everett Cemetery Tunnel

The Everett Cemetery was almost a path into Everett, however the cost of purchasing an acre f property in that town was between 1000.00-1500.00 dollars. The instead decided to remain on the south bank only to cross the river at the base of the cemetery twice. A freight office and yards were to be built just south in te town of Earlston. Look howlong te tunnel should have een uilt. I c just see them working and as the got beneath the graves the bodies just dropping from above.

In this picturethe east is to the right







Notice the Harrisburg & Western letter head placed above the South Pennsylvania Railroad letter head.

[southpennrailroad]

Another shot just to the east of the Negro Mountain Tunnel at mile post 118.0. Look just above the evergreen trees to spot this well blended in grade. West is left.

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The north slope of the railroad grade is seen in this shot covered in fresh snow. This is on the Fisher property on Tunnel Road. The fill is almost three stories tall. If you present yourself with respect they may let you explore this on your own. Up grade is to the right.

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The Pennsylvania turnpike abandoned the South Penn Railroad leaving it for exploration as I did on this date marked on the photo. The faint turnpike tunnels are seen through the trees in the distance. The grade is directly in the foreground.

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Here is a comparison map showing the South Penn compared tot he Turnpike climbing the mountain.

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On the contrary, the house is older then the railroad and is found on their maps. And studying the maps and site itself, seems to reveal had the expansion into two tracks have taken place te second track would have just missed the back door.

[Modelcar]

...Yes, see it Russ....Seems it would have been very close to the house but I'm sure the house was not there at that time.

[southpennrailroad]

Look just inside the tree line to see where the South Penn work farthest from the Allegheny Tunnel is seen. This is on Tunnel road at the 340 address. Notice by the fence that I took this from the turnpike at mile post 128.0 at Three Lick Run Valley

[Modelcar]

...Happen to think about some years ago several of us were roaming around in the mountain east of Allegheny Tunnel and found this very large fill of the South Penn....and remember it had a culvert down at it's center, etc....I seem to remember of it being an exceptional big fill.....Must not have been too far east of the tunnel. Perhaps you have been to it Russ....

[Modelcar]

...Ok, understand.....Wasn't quite enough map to work with.
That valley up to Manns Choice and then from outside of Manns Choice where 31 rises up slightly along the ridge above the river with cabins on the northwest side of the road....the valley continues all the way up through that area until we start up towards White Horse. That is a beautiful valley all the way up thruogh there...Have looked at it hundreds of times with our testing and always liked to travel up through there. Especially very pretty in the summertime. And then it was the long drag up White Horse to the summit...especially with trucks we were testing....Of course where we started up grade the Turnpike swung off to the right heading to the New Baltimore area and I'm sure the South Penn would be doing the same......There is where the surveyors had their work cut out for them to get up through that area and then to the location where they had to bore the Allegheny Tunnel.

[southpennrailroad]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

...........Or is it the Rt 30 bridge just east of Bedford.....At least it would be on the south side of the Juniata there....?? But there should be a steep elevation on the north side if that's the location.....??

It's actually the Bridgeport & Bedford Railroad bridge crossing the Juniat River that is now removed.

[Modelcar]

...........Or is it the Rt 30 bridge just east of Bedford.....At least it would be on the south side of the Juniata there....?? But there should be a steep elevation on the north side if that's the location.....??

[Modelcar]

....I wonder if I am identifying the right location re: The location of the bridge in your above post and showing the S P passing near it's one abutment.....Not very much map to go on and if it is the covered bridge I related to....that {steep}, embankment shown at the lower part of the map would be the northeastern side....?? You'll have to go a bit farhter with that one.....
Surveying instrument is a thing of beauty.....and it would be well over 120 years old if it is of the type the surverors used on the S P.
If you ever get into the Westmoreland Arts Museum at Greensburg, the painting..."Closed For Duration" is there and if it's on display {they rotate paintings}, that would be "Mong's Esso Station".......Painted while closed for WWII.

[southpennrailroad]

A surveyor from Somerset County has this survey equipment and said this is most likely the type of equipment they used on the South Penn.

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I've been meaning to send this up. Notice the date is after the 911 incident. This is very mportant to me. It also gets me onto private property as well.

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The letter which brought in the biddng process o the South Penn Railroad.

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The South Penn was already planning onring in rails andties. This B&B bridge w where they were going to supply the east to Sideling Hill and west to the top of the Allegheny Mtn. The South Penn would be beneaththe B&B algnment just west of Everett.

[southpennrailroad]

You should know where this ridge islocated. Look at the South Penn alignment passing just behind the ridge abundment. This is on the south bank of the river.

[southpennrailroad]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....That is really amazing of the work finally being starting at Bedford Springs...Just difficult to see how that place ca
n be brought back to life.....

I look at the place (Bedford Spring) as well and wonder what amount of tourism will bring that area back to what it was or similar. As for the ESSO I never was up in that area. I don't recall anything about route 30. Tat would be OFF TRACK to me. HA HA!

[Modelcar]

....That is really amazing of the work finally being starting at Bedford Springs...Just difficult to see how that place can be brought back to life.....

[Modelcar]

....Interesting stuff on the maps Russ. Thanks for sharing. I pretty much can follow all on these two maps as I've been in these areas many, many times. Used to run engineering tests {for my Co. of employment}, on some of those routes, particularly on Rt. 31 over White Horse mtn. down through the valley {east}, to Rt. 30 and then west up and over several mtn. ridges to Jennerstown...our base of operations and then over to Somerset and on out 31 to top of white Horse which completed the loop. We ran several loops but that was a main one in the area. Russ, do you ever remember in years past of seeing Mong's Esso Station there on Rt. 30 at Stoystown....Was my family.

[southpennrailroad]

An old topographic map that I drew both the turnpike and the South Penn right of way onto. Green for the turnpike, Red for the railroad. Notice I have the green arrows facing east as that is the way I always travel to explore the South Penn. The South Penn arrows are traveling west as I found this is the best way to explain the route in my CD. I tried to explore from my home eastward, but that was like working against the grain. If you read the 1884 report, it runs from east to west.

[southpennrailroad]

Here is the 1883 South Pennsylvania Railroad survey map of the Manns Choice area you are mentioning. Look for the thinner lines drawnmore towards the center of the map as the dark one or more noticable one is the Pennsy B&B line from Bedford to Hyndman. For those who don't know the area, or just know that theturnpike was built here as well, The turnpike is notusing the railroad right of way but is just north and alongside of it.

PS if any of these are not viewable or hard to look at please contact me and ask for a e-mail version. My photo host, Photo bucket compresses them to this size. I can send you one in a larger size.

[southpennrailroad]

Covered bridge is still there at Mans Choice. On the same note, New Baltimore Covered Bridge was destroyed but rebuilt in 2000.

[southpennrailroad]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

...Oh Yes, in fact was to it just a few years ago. Stopped there and parked and walked around the buildings and grounds. Yes, I've been hearing for years it was to be renovated and the last time I was there nothing was any different and from the condition it was in I wondered if it ever would be brought back to life. It just seemed to be too far gone to try to bring it back....Money, cubic money to do it...
You think they are really going to do it this time....If so, a surprise to me. I can see it was a beautiful place at one time....Believe they kept Japaneese / Americans there during WWII for some time....That is a pretty narrow valley there but I'm sure there would have been room for the S P ROW up through there.
On the S P ROW near the turnpike near that area where 30 and 31 meet I have seen what looks like a "cut" up on the Pike near that overpass for the Turnpike over Rt. 30 and was thinking for years that is what it looked like to me....Wasn't sure....But again at that location, there was plenty of room in the valley for the S P to have been directed up through there towards Manns Choice. Have you ever noted the old covered bridge just north of Manns Choice that carried a dirt road over the Juniata....If so, that is one place we used to park the car when we fished in that area.

That cut is not he South Penn it would more then likely have been built by the B&B. The South Penn at that site was still across route 31as well as the Juniata River in that site just east of Manns Choice. When I was just learning about the South Penn and before I had the maps, I to though that cut was South Penn. No work was done from just east of the Everett Cemetery to west of New Baltimore.

[southpennrailroad]

Map from the South Penn surveyors. This was not done with survey equipment but eyes only

(Letter was the surce that gave this info).

Work being done at the edford Springs Hotel

Letter talking about the value of reaching this historic site.

All photos and information is catagorized on two sets of CD's with over 3,700 documented sites and letters and maps and any other items needed to make a walk across the state from Harrisburg to Pittsurgh or any where else the South Penn was to have built on.

southpennrailroad.com

[southpennrailroad]

I'm up loading it to Photo bucket now. It will be up by tomorrow. It shows work crews at the siite. Dozers and ther material.

[southpennrailroad]

Tomorrow I will up load the photo I took of the work being done.