"....when the great Pennsylvania R. R. was projected and surveys were made to ascertain the most eligible route, the gap between the mountains where the Little Juniata cleaves its way through the ridges, changing its course abruptly from northwest to southwest, was recognized as the natural gateway between the populous East and the undeveloped West. At this point, midway between the capital of Pennsylvania and its western metropolis, being 117 miles by rail from Harrisburg and 131 miles from Pittsburg, was started and has grown up the embryo city of Tyrone....Situated near the center of the state, at the most northern point of the main line of the P.R.R., nature and the contrivances of men have united to make it a convenient distribution point for commerce. The coal fields of Clearfield and adjoining counties are reached by the T. & C.R.R. and through Bell's Gap by the Penn'a & N.W.R.R. The Bald Eagle Valley R.R. leads to the valley of the Susquehanna, connecting there with other lines of the P.R.R. extending to the Hard Coal region on the East and the Lake country in the North and West. The main line of this system gives access to the great cities of the Atlantic coast and to those of the middle states, being the highway of travel between New York and Chicago and St. Louis...Tyrone lies spread out before the eye, though not all of it can be seen from any one place. It stretches in an oblong shape, nearly north and south, along the river and creek, having an average width of about half a mile within the borough limits, reaching out toward the suburbs of Greensburg on the north, Northwood on the northeast, Nealmont on the southeast, and Thomastown
and Grazierville on the southwest."
("Tyrone of To-Day, The Gateway of the Alleghenies" By Rev. W. H. Wilson, Tyrone, PA., Press of THE HERALD, 1897)
Walter L. Main’s Great Circus Train Wreck
"On the morning of May 30, 1893, a heavily loaded train bearing Walter L. Main’s great circus, while descending the curves of the T. and C.R.R., three miles above town, was hurled from the track and wrecked...an unreported number of animals wild and tame were either dead or missing. Four of the employees of the circus were killed and two of our citizens.."
("Tyrone of To-Day, The Gateway of the Alleghenies" By Rev. W. H. Wilson, Tyrone, PA., Press of THE HERALD, 1897)
The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum maintains an exhibit on this incident.
Tyrone
Tyrone Station
The former PRR Tyrone Station was demolished in the 1970's. Its replacement was an Amtrak "bus shelter" (as seen below). At the interchange, you will observe an Amtrak "bus
shelter", which served as the "station" for several years. Although Amtrak does not have scheduled stops here, passengers occasionally request to de-board at Tyrone. A new transportation center (bus and train) was constructed during 2000
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Postcard view of the Tyrone Station, 1912 |
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Postcard view of the Tyrone Station, 1907. |
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The
"Station" at Tyrone 6/11/98 |
|
|
"The architectural detail and embellishments being incorporated in this structure are definitely old PRR design...Although
it does not resemble the prior 2 + 1/2 story brick edifice (which should have
been preserved and fell to the wrecker's ball immediately after the Penn Central
merger), the new passenger station is, nonetheless, being constructed in the
best example of PRR architecture. The new station is rectangular, with a
striking hip roof design in Vermont Green with vertical seams. The windows have
definite PRR architectural details and are painted in three colors: Hunter green
, trimmed in tan, and outlined in maroon (we'll say Tuscan Red). The exterior
walls appear similar to wainscoting from floor to roof in light cream. The west
end of the building has an extended platform canopy with an expansion on the
extreme west end. The east end of the building has a circular drive/turn around
for vehicles. The entire area is referred to locally at Railroad Park and has
two cabooses (actually, a Conrail Caboose and a PRR Cabin) across the street
from the station, as is a nicely designed oval gazebo with seasonal flowers
planted around the perimeter. While the station boarding area is far from complete, the
two single tracks passing the site are a far cry from the 5 that dominated the
area pre-1968. It's still a great place to watch trains. Tyrone will, no doubt,
continue to be a flag stop, but, at long last, there is a suitable structure to
garner community pride and, perhaps, increase boarding's at this location. "
Dave
Seidel, 28 Aug 2000
Tyrone Station
Dedication
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8-27-00 View of west end of new Tyrone
Station. Photo by David Seidel |
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8-27-00 View of east end of new Tyrone,
PA station. Photo by David Seidel |
-
The borough of
Tyrone held dedication ceremony at 10:00 AM Monday (September 11, 2000) for
the nearly completed "Tyrone Historic Railroad Park and Bud Shuster
Intermodal Transportation Center". According to reports in the Altoona
Mirror, "the project had been delayed for several years because of lack
of funding. It has been greatly scaled down from the multimillion-dollar
project first proposed in the early 1990's." "When first proposed, the project was to include a
historic station, an observation tower, a museum, shops and outdoor recreation
facilities. However, the scaled-down version includes the station, two
historic cabooses, a gazebo, a brick memorial wall covered with a canopy,
fencing, benches and landscaping for train enthusiasts." "U. S. Rep.
Bud Shuster, R-9th District, was instrumental in providing about $400,000 for
the project through the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
Act." (David Seidel, 9 Sep 2000)
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"Tyrone, PA's new
passenger station has now been officially dedicated and is a fine example of
such a facility in the best traditions of PRR architecture. However, the
building, though seemingly complete, is not yet released to the Borough of
Tyrone from the contractor, pending final inspections. While the building is
complete, to include reproduction PRR style station signs, additional funding
is required to construct the boarding platforms. The building features a large
room on the west half of the structure, complete with perimeter track lighting
on the ceiling, which will be used for Tyrone community memorabilia,
especially relating to the old station and the railroad's influence on Tyrone.
The community is currently receptive to donations of Tyrone related
memorabilia in this regard via the Tyrone Chamber of Commerce (1012 Logan
Avenue, Tyrone, Pa., 16686, or, via Mayor Pat Stoner, Municipal Office, 1100
Logan Avenue, Tyrone, Pa., 16686 (814) 684-1330).... The Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Tyrone offices
are expected to be relocated to the building in the near future. Another
feature of the new station are two brick memorial walls with names of groups
and local citizens who have or will contribute a donation of $40.00 to the
Tyrone Railroad Park and Transportation Center. Applications may be obtained
via the Tyrone Chamber of Commerce also. " (David Seidel, 12 Sep 2000)
- (Bennett Levin, September 23, 2000) "I stopped at the new Tyrone Station this past Wednesday afternoon and would encourage those with $40.00 to spare to send it off to buy a brick. With some reservations as to the station's close proximity to the high banked curve on the north side of the R-O-W and the history of at least two wipeouts, it is a splendid place to watch and photograph mainline action. The S curve to the west of the station is just spectacular and when they finally remove the AMshelter the sight lines will be terrific. The head-on shot of westbounds leaving the narrows at FORGE and turning southwest to GRAY is hard to replicate in an environment that his open to the public and not subject to trespassing restrictions. Burger King is a block away as is I-99. The people in Tyrone are to be congratulated! It is a perfect railfans hang out. Since the community has had the foresight to provide the facility, the railfan community should chip in to help finish the project."
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"At the (Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS) meeting we voted to purchase a "brick" engraved with Chapter's name for the Tyrone RR Park/Station. The Lancaster Chapter already has one." (David Seidel, 23 Sep 2000)
The Station Park
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The Gazebo at the Rail park
at Tyrone. This is located across from the New Transportation
Center Construction. Looking West. 5/18/99. |
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The cabooses at the Rail park
at Tyrone. This is located across from the New Transportation
Center Construction. Looking NE. 5/18/99. |
The Mainline at Tyrone
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|
On Tuesday, 5-18-99, I
trekked to Tyrone, PA to view the Final Office Car Special (OCS-401-18).
According to the schedule (below), the train was one and a half hours late. I
got some great |
photos of the train as it headed
east towards Harrisburg. The
consist, powered by E8a 4020, featured office cars 5, 4, and 10. Car #10
departed 30th St on Amtrak #91 Thursday, 5-20-99, bound for Jacksonville,
Florida. |
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An Eastbound
Intermodal Train approaches the grade crossing at Thomastown Road.
Looking West. 6/11/98 |
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A Conrail local drops
off loaded cars at the yard / interchange at Tyrone. The Nittany
Bald Eagle RR will pick up the cars for delivery. Looking
SW. 3/24/97 |
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An Eastbound Freight
passes the Station and Grade Crossing at the Tyrone Interchange.
Looking East. 3/24/97 |
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A Westbound Coal
Train approaches the Station / grade crossing Tyrone. Looking
SE. 5/18/99 |
There are various grade crossings and many viewing
opportunities exist with most of them being at the " wye
" (only one of the tracks on the wye are in operation). Note that
the "Wye" is constructed on bridges.
The Wye
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Looking NE to the
active leg of the "Wye" at Tyrone. 3/24/97 |
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The inactive leg of
the "Wye" at Tyrone. Looking North. 3/24/97 |
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A Nittany Bald Eagle
RR "local" is traveling West on the Bald Eagle Secondary (on
the active leg of the "wye" at Tyrone. It is approaching
the interchange tracks. Looking North. 3/24/97 |
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A Nittany Bald Eagle
RR "local" is traveling West (left) on the Bald Eagle
Secondary (on the active leg of the "wye" at Tyrone. It
is approaching the interchange tracks. Looking North. 3/24/97 |
The Secondary to the left is the
former PRR
Bald Eagle branch, now owned by SEDA-COG, and operated on by the
Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad. A limited number of NS trains operate on this branch as well. It has also been used by NS
as an alternative route to Harrisburg (via the Buffalo Branch) when derailments
have blocked the mainline.
The Secondary follows
the Bald Eagle Creek and runs right through the heart of
Tyrone, PA's business district, through a residential district, and past a park (located North of Rt
453 near Lincoln Ave).
For further information on the Bald Eagle Branch, see
The
Hobo's Guide to the PRR - The Bald Eagle Branch on Jerry Britton's
Keystone
Crossings website. Also see the Hobo's Guide to the
Bellefonte,
PA Branch (which exits the Bald Eagle Branch at Milesburg, PA) and the
Clearfield,
PA Branch (which began at East Tyrone).
Located along Rt 453 to the East of Tyrone is a portion of a
dismantled Railroad Bridge which had crossed over the road. Underneath
that bridge is a bridge which leads to a private grade crossing.
Opportunities exist for viewing the mainline operations on the interesting
"S" curve.
TYRONE STATION RE-VISITED By
Dave Seidel
The community of Tyrone follows the maxim: "nothing is constant as change". And this is true of not only the core business district, but also of Tyrone Station Park, and mostly all for the better.
A recent addition at Tyrone Station Park is a memorial granite slab installed on a large boulder, memorializing the railroad workers of this community of Tyrone. During the steam era, when the original station stood, a brass plate Roll of Honor of Tyrone's veteran war dead graced this boulder, but was re-located to the Tyrone American Legion Post many years ago. The boulder was conspicuous with the rectangular space vacated by the veterans memorial, especially because of it's prominent position in the park setting of the Tyrone railroad station, even during the era post-Penn Central when the station structures were razed.
The erection of the 'new' Tyrone Station has once again made this park setting a focal point of community pride. The new station, while not resembling the old, as reported on previously, does convey the type and style of architecture of the original Pennsylvania Railroad. With the landscaping enhancements, and the installation of two caboose cars (PRR and Conrail) to the property on what was once the easterly 'wye' at Station Park, both of which are recently restored by local scout troops under adult supervision, the station park gleams with the invitation to visit and watch the trains roll by.
However, thanks to the generous contribution of Mr. and Mrs. William N. Duey, a granite memorial, designed and produced by Richard Stever of Mayes Memorials, has been installed on the boulder which is still the focal point in the park opposite Tyrone Station. This granite rectangle, thanks to modern computer technology, carries a carved scene depicting the 'old' Tyrone station with its station structures and four-track main line, circa 1920. The granite memorial reads:
DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF
P.R.R. WORKERS FROM THE TYRONE AREA
Presented by Mr. & Mrs. William N. Duey
(P.R.R. Penn-Central 1942-1975)
So, if you're out doing a day of railfanning as we call it, or just out for a Sunday afternoon ride, drop by the Tyrone Station for a little relaxation, especially in-season. Flowers grace the boulder and gazebo adjoining, or the blaze of autumn foliage will dazzle your eyes (they won't be around much longer at this writing). And, downtown Tyrone has been in a renaissance of renewal with new streetscape enhancements. Sadly the ornate Jones Building (aka First National Bank Bldg) has not survived due to deterioration over the years; however, Tyrone is a great place to visit for the antique shops, a visit to the Gardner Candy store and museum and ice cream parlor, a great sense of community, and train watching.
Still to be accomplished once all the 'interested parties' can agree, is the construction of a new station platform for Amtrak passengers and the citizens of Tyrone.
But, stop by and enjoy.
"
