The Pittsburg
and Shawmut Railroad Company (AAR reporting mark PSR) also known as the Shawmut
Line, was a former short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on
standard gauge track in central and southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad is often
confused with the similarly named Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad
from which the P&S had its origins. Further adding to the confusion is the fact that
both were nicknamed the Shawmut Line, both operated in roughly the same geographic area,
and both used similar diamond logos during their history. In fact the two were separate
and unrelated companies after their 1916 split.
- The main
line consisted of approximately 88 miles (140 km) of standard gauge track extending from
Brockway, PA to Freeport, PA. The main shops were located in Brookville, PA.
The Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad Company began life on July
21, 1903 as the Brookville & Mahoning route of the Pittsburg, Shawmut
& Northern Railroad. When the Pittsburg Shawmut & Northern declared bankruptcy in
1915, the Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad was spun off into a separate
entity and was chartered as a separate company in 1916. Like its parent, the P&S was
also financially troubled in its early years. The company struggled until corporate
fortunes improved with the war mobilization of the 1940s. Coal was the principle commodity
for the line for its entire existence. Doodlebugs and passenger trains ran on the route in
the early years but had all been eliminated by 1939.
The company acquired a ten mile section of Conrail track
running from Sligo, PA to Lawsonham, PA 1989 and reorganized it as the Red Bank
Railroad. On December 31, 1991 the company purchased about 110 miles of "low
grade secondary" track from Lawsonham to Driftwood, PA from Conrail and organized it
as the Mountain Laurel Railroad.
The company operated under its own management until 1996 when
it was acquired by the Genessee & Wyoming, Inc. The Genessee and
Wyoming operated the Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad under its own banner until January
1, 2004 when it was absorbed into the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, another Genessee
and Wyoming company. Several portions of the main line were abandoned before the
absorption and several other since.