Pine Grove Railroad Station Explained

The Pine Grove Railroad Station was the end of the line for the 1870 South Mountain Railroad, which transported materials from limestone pits and three operating ore mines for the Pine Grove Iron Works.[1] The station had a roundhouse[2] and, by 1872, a depot with siding[3] (the 1877 South Mountain Railway and Mining Company's plan for an 1880 westward rail extension to an ore bed was never built.)[4] "Pine Grove" was listed on the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad's passenger schedule of April 21, 1884;[5] and the SMRR railroad offices and repair shops (Jno. H. Christman, Master Mechanic) were transferred to the 1891 Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad[6] with the station servicing the 1892 Fuller Brick and Slate Company south of the tracks (iron works production ended in 1895.) Despite a 1902 forest fire in the area that destroyed buildings, both "Pine Grove Furnace" and "Pine Grove Park" were listed as 1904 HR & SB RR railway stations,[7] and in 1912 new Reading Company track was laid to Pine Grove on "the former Hunters Run and Slate Belt Line".[8] The Pine Grove area was sold to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1913, the tracks and ties have been removed, and the station area is part of the Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

Notes and References

  1. Keefer, Horace Andrew. written after January 29, 1927 -- published October 1934 --> publication-date=October 1934 . Recollections, Historical and Otherwise, Relating To Old Pine Grove Furnace . Potomac Appalachian Trail Club Bulletin . 2011-05-14.
  2. News: December 7, 1954 . Iron Making At Pine Grove Is Meeting Topic . Google News Archives . . 2011-06-19.
  3. F. W. Beers & Co. . 1872 . Pine Grove, Penn Township . Atlas of Cumberland County . 2011-05-16.
  4. News: December 2, 1880 . News of Neighboring Counties . Google News Archives . Gettysburg Compiler . 2011-05-18 . It is reported that President Fuller, of the South Mountain Railroad, contemplates extending the road to the new ore banks about two miles west of Pine Grove Furnace in the near future. The new banks are very productive, the ore is of an quality, and should the road be extended, they will be operated extensively.. (from Echo newspaper) NOTE: Lesley (1892, p. 245) identifies the Wild Cat pits 2 1/2 miles to the west of Pine Grove contained too much phosphorus and were never developed.
  5.    April 21, May 26th (added "Laurel"), & July 3d
  6. News: 1893 . Poor's Directory of Railway Officials . RR listing 363 . Google Books . 2011-05-21 . Mast. Mach. & Car Repairs Jno. H. Christman, Pine Grove Furnace, Pa..
  7. Web site: 1904 . The Official Railway Guide: North American Freight Service Edition . Google Books . 2011-05-19.
  8. News: January 11, 1913 . Would Restore Pine Grove Park . Google News Archive . Gettysburg Times . 2011-08-09.

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