Lest We Forget - Fort Vance Historical Society

Stories
and
Pictures
of the
Panhandle
Railroad
Research & Story by
June Campbell Grossman
Lest
We
Forget
Early Weirton settlers got first glimpse of new row n at this W eirto n PCC g St /_
Railway station. Ph o to was taken in 1911.
Dedicated to those in attendance at the "New Beginning" of the
FORT VANCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, October 10,2009.
Stories & Pictures of the Panhandle Railroad
Research & Story by June Campbell Grossman
for any person building a railroad within the limits of the state who did not
have their written consent.
But Wells and Edgington were not licked yet.
They went to Richmond, and being personable men with pleasing ways, they
convinced the legislature not to pass the bill.
They built their tracks and
operated their train for about six months until it proved to be not as feasible
as they had hoped.
People could now get from Pittsburgh to the Ohio River,
but there was still no sensible way to get across the water, and thus on the
train thatwould take them to Newark. And even the little 7 mile run they had
worked so hard to produce, was not very satisfactory.
Later developments of
course took the train easily from Pittsburgh to the Ohio, and in 1864, near the
close of the Civil War, the railroad bridge was finally built across the r i ver.
And on the now unused railroad bed of Edgington and Wells were laid the final
tracks which, in December of 1867, became the famous Panhandle Rai lroad .
Jessie Edgington was a very frail old man by this time.
At the dedication
service, the local world honored him by having him drive a gold spike into a
railroad tie to commemorate his years of work in trying to bring the railroad to
town.
But another man had to hold Jessie up while he pounded in the
glistening spike to the wild cheers of the entire population of Hollidays Cove.
The first passenger train went from Steubenville to Pittsburgh on the day
Lincoln was shot. Jessie died at the age of 84. It is said that his first and only
ride on those tracks was when they took his body from his beloved Hollidays
Cove to be buried with his family at Union Cemetery, high on the beautiful hill
above Steubenville.
The Edgington Home
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FROH COLLECTION or MARY
C A H P B E L L 8 0 'W HAN ,
H t 5 T 0 R IA N
The Three Arch Bridge over Harmon Creek
The structure known as the Three Arch Bridge near the Police Lodge area of Harmon
Creek Road is an overpass, permitting traffic to get across Harmon Creek from Upper
Cove to Colliers. At one time it was a necessary nuisance, being but a one lane affair.
The story is told that upon one occasion in those early days before the 4-lane
highway constructions, two vehicles approached the span, one from each direction.
Both drivers pulled onto the overpass and each waited for the other to back off.
apparently both were a little hard-headed, so neither moved.
But
No one knows how long
they waited for the other fellow to give in. In all probability the length of time
increased with each telling of. the incident.
But someone must have finally conceded
that it was his turn to back up, since when last viewed by this writer, not only was the
overpass clear of traffic, but it was also grown over with brush and grass.
The Three Arch Span over Harmon Creek
T h e Covered Bridge at Han lin Sta ti o n
A person traveling down the steep , wind i ng hill f rom Eldersvill e to H an lin S ta t i on in
Jefferson Township, Washington County, PA, i s greeted by the o l d Panhand l e Railro ad
Underpass.
Upon emerging from it at the other side, a choice o f direc ti o n t o pu rs ue
presents itself.
A right hand turn would take t he t rave l er t o Dinsmore, th e n Fra n c is
Mine, and finally, Burgettstown . I f, instead, the t rave l er o pte d t o go s t raig ht ahe a d, he
would
be
headed for Old
Steubenville
Pike and points
b eyond .
H ere,
his first
confrontation i n the old days would have been t he covered b ridge ove r Ha r m o n C r e ek
pi c t ured here.
The late Warren Columbia, historian of bye-gone days, recalled that i n 190 4 o r 1 905 ,
when he was circa 5 years of age, he was on the spring wagon with his f a t he r, haul i ng
empty milk cans from the station. Sprinkles turned t o torrents of rain as t hey p ulled o n
to the bridge. As the water became higher, his father whipped up the ho r ses a nd sai d,
This is not going to improve!"
cr-ash behind them.
Shortly after they pulled from t he bridge, th ey h eard a
Although the bridge had been bu i lt high above the wate r a nd wa s
reached by ramps, it was no match for the cloudburst.
Father and son esc ap e d w ith
their lives. No one alive today, of course, remembers seeing th is bridge.
Th e Covered Bridge over H armo n C r ee k at H anl in
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>
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Du ri ng
th e
buil d ing
of the
r ai l roa d
in
t he
H olliday s
Cove
int e re s ting thing s t oo k pla c e whi c h are worthy of pres ervati o n.
area ,
m a ny
P e r s o n s liv ing
t o day are, f o r the m os t part, t o tall y unaware o f r ailro ad life i n t hose early
tim e s.
In p io n ee r da ys o f railro adi ng , c o a c h e s w e re open , and p assengers
we re f orce d t o carry umbrell a s f o r p ro t e cti o n a g ain s t the s un or th e rain .
Cross beams o v e rh ea d were o ft e n so l ow th a t th os e ri d ing o n th e to p o f a c ar
had to s it d own quic kly t o p reve nt b e ing h i t. B raki n g wa s all d o ne by h an d an d
there w a s al w ay s d a n g er o f the brake m an l os ing a f ing e r or tw o . A t p l aces o n
the t rack where curves were sharp, it was n o t un usua l f o r the tra in t o j um p
the t rack.
When thi s occurr ed , fa r mer s were o ft e n coaxe d t o hitc h up t he
team and ge t t he tra in b ack in ope r at i o n .
The l oca l h i s t o rian o f t he Cove a rea , Ch arlie C ampbe ll, i s r espo n s ible fo r
thi s informatio n presen t e d here.
H is grandfather an d uncles were rai l ro ad
men and passed a l ong to Charl ie t he Jove o f a train.
T his author ha s r ea d
s e v eral articles written by him about the gen era l operat i on o f t he f irs t trains in
the area and the problems encountered b y the f aithful men who o p e rate d
th em.
It should therefore be the truth that the information presented h e re i s
fa c tu al, a n d not the product of someone's imagination.
One of Charlie Campbell's favorite railroad stories, which he swore to b e the
truth, was as follows.
Number 2 train frequently jumped the trac k near
W heeling .Junction (later known as Weirton .Junction).
It was the j o b o f an
I r i shman named Flanagan to report t hese i ncidents to the superi n te ndent .
Fl anagan was a very thorough soul, and wrote l engthy epistles t o his boss ,
giving all of the minute details of the occasion.
The ti me came w h e n h is
superi o r decided to p u t a stop to these l engthy repo rts . H e wrote a ters e note
t o F l anaga n , t e ll in g him t o h erea ft e r c ut thes e m ess a ges sh o rt .
Fl anagan
comp li e d . The nex t time th e mis h a p occ urre d, th e I ri s hman se nt the following
m ess age .
" Nu mber 2 .
O ff a g ain, o n again, g o ne again .
F l anagan."
Charlie
r e p ort e d th a t it w a s a t r u e fa c t that th e on ce p o pular "O n again , Off aga i n"'
p oe m w r i tt e n by S tri c kla n d G ill i lan, had its in ce pti o n in thi s rea l life in c ident
o n th e earl y r ai lro ad at H o llidays Cove.
T h e Ra i lro ad Bridge at W e irt o n Junc t ion nea r Ferr y G len
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