Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Railroad Notes

 Random Facts, Photos, Maps &  Other Resources
About The Railroads Through The North Central Susquehanna River Valley

Essentially, this is a collection of assorted Railroad Research that I keep in a One Note Notebook, made public.  Think of it as research, not a finished document.

Bloomsburg & Sullivan


  • 1826-
  • "earliest in this community"
  • Chartered April 8, 1826, to run from the ferry house opposite Danville to the Schuylkill Canal at Pottsville.
  • The portion between Shamokin and Ashland was never built, and the western terminus was changed from Danville to Sunbury.
  • The first passenger cars were the "Shamokin" and the "Mahanoy," each drawn by two horses.  Horses were used until 1852 
  • Principal Business - transportation of anthracite coal
  • 1842 - Declared bankruptcy, locomotives and rolling stock sold off in sheriffs sale in 1850.  Line lease by Fagely.
  • 1852 - company reorganized as the Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad Company
  • First rail line in the world to use iron T rails made by the nearby Danville Iron Company 
  • Became the Shamokin Division of the Northern Central Railway
  • Became Shamokin Valley Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad
  • 1938 - Passenger service ended


DLW - Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
  • Wenonah Falls
Elmira & Williamsport


 Lewisburg, Centre, and Spruce Creek RR
  •   Became Lewisburg & Tyrone RR
  •   Became Bellefonte Branch of The Pennsylvania RR
  •   Became Penn Central when PRR & NY Central Merged
  •   Became Conrail
  •   Became West Shore R.R.
  • 1908 Wreck

Muncy Creek Railroad


Pennsylvania R.R.
  • "The PRR/RDG had an interchange at Northumberland and just west of the Eagle Silk Mills at Shamokin. There might have been other circuitous means within the Shamokin Town itself but the Pennsy went to the North side of The Eagle Mill and the Rdg turned to the south, rt front side of that now gone mill.... The Shamokin Branch starts at the Sunbury Station MilePost 0. At MP1.2, the PRR and RDG connect, still Sunbury. Further east, they connect again in the Shamokin Yard MP19. "

Philadelphia and Erie

Pottsville & Sunbury

Reading R.R.
  • Chartered 1837, to build a rail line connecting towns between Sunbury and Erie, Pennsylvania.  Did not begin construction until 1852. 
  • Sunbury Station was mile 0 on the  Sunbury & Erie Railroad
  • The line reached Sunbury in 1855, a total of 40 miles (64 km).
  • The tracks reached Lock Haven in 1859
  • 1861 - name changed to Philadelphia and Erie Railroad 
  • Eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Susquehanna, Bloomsburg & Berwick
  • "In its early years they ran a passenger train each way. The service was not the best in the world. The SB&B soon took the names: Sour Bread and Bisquits or Sores, Bumps and Bruises."


Williamsport & North Branch
  • Historical Marker in Hughesville
  • The W&NBRR railroad was a short line railroad that ran between Halls and Satterfield Pa. The Philadelphia and Reading railroad routes connected to it via the Sunbury Station on south second street.
  • Nordmont

 Wilkes-Barre and Western Railroad (W.B.&W RR)
  • 1886-
  • On June 22nd 1886, the Wilkes-Barre and Western Railroad (W.B.&W RR) was formed. By Monday, December 13, 1886 the railroad opened for business with two round trips each day, except Sunday, from Watsontown to Jerseytown, and a third round trip in the late afternoon to Lethergo.
  • McEwensville Station



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RAILROAD MAPS

 

1918 Steam Railroad Map

 

A map showing the rail road connection between Pottsville & Sunbury through the Schuylkill Mahanoy and Shamokin coal fields, July 9th 1852

 

Current Day North Shore RR
Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

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RAILROAD BOOKS
& STORIES


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RAILROAD MUSEUMS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 






========================
MISC NOTES I HAVE KEPT 
BUT NOT YET PUT IN THE RIGHT SPOT
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The Shamokin Uprising
https://wynninghistory.com/2019/07/24/the-shamokin-uprising/

Building the North Central Railroad
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BfLuqQ5D3/
  • " The Philadelphia and Erie railroad was opened on the 18th of December, 1854, and the Wilkesbarre and Western on the 13th of December, 1886. The latter has its western terminus at Watsontown. The Philadelphia and Reading railroad, on the opposite side of the river, was opened in 1871."
Former Philadelphia & Erie Railroad DY Shops before it became Westinghouse and Celotex. Sunbury had two railroad yards, the Northern Central RR established Creek Yard south of Sunbury (current site of Weis Warehouses). The Philadelphia & Erie Railroad built the "DY" yard north of Sunbury. DY yard also served as the terminus for the Danville & Pottsville RR that connected at HORN. The Pennsylvania RR quickly

That became Millers furniture store warehouse and Clasters and Westinghouse/Barrett/Allied Chemical Barrett/Celotex
  • The PRR/RDG had an interchange at Northumberland and just west of the Eagle Silk Mills at Shamokin. There might have been other circuitous means within the Shamokin Town itself but the Pennsy went to the North side of The Eagle Mill and the Rdg turned to the south, rt front side of that now gone mill.

  • The Shamokin Branch starts at the Sunbury Station MilePost 0. At MP1.2, the PRR and RDG connect, still Sunbury. Further east, they connect again in the Shamokin Yard MP19. The PRR then shares trackage with Lehigh Valley RR at MP26.6 to the juntion with the LV at MP27.3 The above information is obtained from CT1000East 1945 pages 197-199.
  • Today, the Shamokin Valley RR uses the ex-RDG line from Sunbury to Reed, where a connection to PRR Tracks was obviously made after the CT1000East 1945 print. From Reed to Shamokin is on the ex-PRR line. Shamokin eastward to Locust Gap utilizes the ex-RDG again. From Locust Gap to Mt. Carmelex-PRR and ex-RDG tracks are used. xPRR goes into Mt. Carmel and xRDG run south of the xPRR to connect with the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern at Mt. Carmel junction ( Alaska)

STORIES:

  • The one derailment concerned the old wooden caboose. Typical of most PRR locals, they ran the cabooses in the middle of the train. One day there was a fire to which the local fire department was responding with their open cab Mack truck. When they were about a hundred feet from the unprotected blind crossing, the train came lumbering across. The fire truck with only rear brakes, t-boned the caboose (cabin car on the Pennsy) and lifted it off the track. The train soon stopped with the caboose tipped almost 45 degrees. The crew walked out unhurt. Two firemen on the back of the truck dropped with their butts on the pavement. Except for worn pants and a few brushburns they were unhurt. The firemen in the cab of the truck dove out each side. One ended up with a broken leg and bruises and the other unhurt. Next day the big hook, which probably came from Williamsport or Northumberland brought things back to normal. The caboose had little damage. The firetruck was totaled.  - John Krug (Former Chief Engineer at ACF Milton)


  • Another derailment of interest in Berwick on the Pennsy in the late '40’s. During some severe winter weather, the local hadn’t appeared for a few days. When it did, the crossings were all frozen and the consist was a long string of loaded coal hoppers with double headed H-10’s on the point. A few blocks from my house the front locomotive climbed on top of the ice and went off the rails, but since it was going slow it remained upright and only went about 50 feet on the ground. Since is was a slight downgrade, and all the slack bunched to the front, the second locomotive could not back up the loads and clear the crossings. The crossings were blocked for about a mile all night. The next morning the wreck train appeared and its task was to pull the cars back and clear the crossings. The second locomotive, now free from its loads was used to slowly pull the lead locomotive back as they build a hardwood ramp to guide it back on the rails. I about froze to death, but I had to watch the whole operation. - John Krug

  • The Horn - Sunbury
  • Part of Shamokin line which was supposed to run from Danville to Pottsville. Never the less it never reached both towns. All that remains of the Horn is the bed and some bridge supports on sixth st. The elementary school I attended sits on the old through way of that old railroad.

  • The PRR then shares trackage with Lehigh Valley RR at MP26.6 to the juntion with the LV at MP27.3




  • Guest Post on a railroad forum - no name given:
  • My folks were from Shamokin and I was very luck in that we spent a LOT of time at grandmas place. My moms moms place was farther into town, but if I went to the corner I could clearly see the Glen Bern colliery and those little culm carts going up and down that mountain. Dads moms place was rockin, they lived on Pearle street and it was 1/2 block to the rail yard that ran behind the F&S brewery. I got my butt tanned so many times for going up to that yard I lost count, but there is where I headed as soon as my feet hit the ground out of the car. I've walked extensively those tracks all the way up past the engine house and into the mountains at one point, and I do still have many photos from earlier walks. The yard at the time was unused except for a rail operation where they were making continuous welded rail sometime in the 1970's. We had a cottage at Knoebels just down the road in Elysburg, and one sunny day my brother and I stopped in Paxinos and tried to walk the old Pennsy. I remember as a kid seeing trains run on the old Shamokin branch and sometimes we'd get stopped at the grade crossing in Paxinos. We started to walk northward through fairly heavy brush along the PRR untill we came to a small back road. There was some sort of truck loading facility nearby. We could not go any farther on the PRR as the tracks were so over grown they were unpassable. We inspected the loading facility and decided to walk the RDG. We walked to Weigh Scales and back. The RDG line was very well preserved, up on the side of a mountain and still in use. The old PRR was left to rot and it ran along a creek and was heavily overgrown. I recall at some earlier time, I was hoofing it around the Glenn Burn colliery taking pictures, and we walked up the RDG for a few miles and back from the Shamokin side. As I said, this was at an earlier date and the tracks were in great shape and still used. It had been quite a few years since I was up to Shamokin as I had moved to Florida for a while and then on my return had no spare time or funds to go visiting. I also no longer had relatives living there as my grand parents had long ago past away. This past summer the family decided to rent a cottage at Knoebels, and some of us who are spoiled for A/C rented a room at the local motor lodge which was incidentally only a few feet from the old PRR line in Paxinos. One day we decided to take a trip to Shamokin to see what was happening. It was a trip of mixed emotions. I noticed immediately that the excellent condition RDG iron bridge that crossed Rt 61 in Paxinos was GONE as was the trackage all the way to Shamokin. I was deeply saddened as this line was in excellent condition. However, I then noticed that the old PRR line had been restored to service. What the...? For this I was was glad, but at the same time sad. On getting into Shamokin I was shocked yet again, the Glen Burn colliery was GONE. My goodness this was a landmark for me all of my life and the only hit of its existence was those old dilapidated culm cart tracks still clinging to that mountain side, and a crumbling shed at the top!! Wow. I wanted info! What the heck happened? What happened to the Glen Burn colliery? What happened to the excellent condition Reading line?? Why was the seriously deteriorated PRR line revived? None of this made sense. I wrote a letter or two, and got some answers. This is a response I got via E-Mail.
    • In 1984 the Glen Burn Colliery went on strike   never to reopen. In 1987 the colliery was torn down.  
    •  1984 conrail decided to abandon the Shamokin secondary   from Mt.Carmel to Sunbury including the Paxinos   industrial track(PRR from Shamokin to paxinos)and   Trevorton branch. This was finally carried out in   1988, when the Shamokin Valley Railroad was named   operator of the line. Shamokin Valley is part of the   North Shore Railroad family based in   Northumberland for the first year or two   the line was interchanging with Conrail at Mt. Carmel   Jct. then the shamokin valley scrapped the Reading   Line from Shamokin to Paxinos,the money made from this   was used to make a new connection to the PRR at   Paxinos. Now interchange with Norfolk Southern   (formerly CR)is made at Northumberland and Canadian   Pacific (formerly D&H) at Sunbury. Operations today is   a couple times a week from Northumberland. Most of the   companies shipping or receiving are in the paxinos   area (Fleetwood Motor Homes gets their chaises from   autorack cars). other companies are Anthracite   industries (near Sunbury),Clarks Feeds in Weigh   Scales, Shamokin Filler in Bear Valley(the Branch   thatgoes down the middle of fifth street in Shamokin).  
    •  From Mt.Carmel Jct south to Reading is now own by The   Reading&Northern   Railroad  .Supposely coal   trains are to begin operating between Tamaqua (R&N)   thru Shamokin TO the power plant in Shamokin Dam this   summer,but it didn't happen yet. it did last fall   though.   
    • The Clock is gone, it was too costly to put back   together. 
    • The Reading Track thru town was the Reading   main track from Reading to Newberry yard in   Williamsport. PRR line was a branch from Sunbury to   Mt.Carmel.
    • So there you have it including a tidbit on the old mill clock. If your familiar with the area, you understand why the PRR was revived and the Reading was scrapped from Shamokin to Paxinons as indicated in the response. All of those industries they mentioned are on the old PRR line. To have to make connections across Rt 61 along the old RDG route would have been cost prohibitive if not impossible. I am very saddened by the loss of the Reading line section from Shamokin to Paxinos. I loved the Reading equally as I do the PRR, and any loss of any line is sad indeed. So it seems that from what he is saying that just north of Paxinos is where the lines were merged, and from then on north to Sunbury and Northumberland the RDG was utilized and the old PRR was scrapped or left to rot some more. I think the SVR web page shows a map of the new and maybe the old lines.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Resources - Where To Find The Directories

Where To Find Town Directories

These have always been a great resource for genealogists, showing where families lived.  They are also a great resource when researching businesses, and they often include fun advertisements, photos and maps.  You really never know what you will find in a directory!  For instance, the 1890 Williamsport & Lock Haven Directory - approximately 600 pages - includes business listings for Milton and Watsontown, Some of Clinton County,  and Lycoming county "towns" that are no longer towns.  

Please note that this is VERY much "in progress".  I wanted to add my notes as I worked with the 1890 census today, but I am not taking the time to make a more comprehensive list right this minute.

U.S. City Directories 1822-1995 On Ancestry


Danville Directories
Milton Directories
New Columbia
Sunbury Directories
  • 1905

Watsontown Directories
West Milton

Williamsport Directories
  Ancestry.com has Williamsport Directories from 1866-1934 (but not every year in between.  There are a LOT of them.) 

1898 Williamsport

1890 Williamsport
  • Title - 1890 Williamsport Directory - Names of the citizens, street and numerical directory, a map, compendium of the government, and public and private institutions - Together with Lock Haven City and alphabetical directories of the Principal Towns Surrounding, by Boyd.  Cost was 3.50.  [approx. 600 pages]
  • On Ancestry
  • Pages 554-587 - In a Facebook Album (Principal Surrounding Town Listings)
  • Includes some businesses of Muncy, Montoursville, Watsontown, Milton..
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Don't Lend Your Directory
Almost every directory has this admonishment, in different forms, telling you not to share your directory!  Everyone should buy their own.  

$3.50 cents in 1890 is about the equivalent of $125 in 2026.


====================
Where To Look For Directories:

Industrial Directories

Ancestry.com
Family Search
Historical societies
Libraries
Google Books
Archive.Org


 

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Thursday, April 9, 2026

Roadside America, Shartlesville Pa

 

Roadside America, Shartlesville Pa  1953-2020

Laurence Gieringer began making miniatures as a young boy.  In the 1930s, he and his wife were displaying a large village for Christmas, in their home each year.  The display was then set up in a fire house, and then in an amusement park, before being shown at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.  In 1941, named "Roadside America", it was a 4,00 square foot display in the back of a gas station. 

 In 1953, Gieringer opened his own building on 80 acres in Shartlesville, with a zoo, miniature train, and pony rides.  


The Roadside America Indoor Miniature Village was a nearly  8,000 square foot building of miniature America - trains, hand built buildings, and scenes of everyday life, with walkways around the perimeter. There were buttons to push, and overhead observation deck for parents, and an "underground" portion depicting Luray Caverns, and a Coal Mine.

"There were hundreds of buildings – churches, farms, stores, diners and movie theaters. There were mountains and waterfalls and caves.  There were covered wagons, cars and canoes, tractors, trucks and trains.

And there were people, over 4,000 of them to be exact ranging rom pioneers and policemen to carpenters and construction workers to cowboys and cavemen.  There were kids at the circus, kids at  the candy store and kids on the playground.  "


A sign in the gift shop read:

“Who enters here will be taken by surprises—be prepared to see more than you expect! You will be amazed at Roadside America’s beauty and mechanical skill—over 50 years in the making by our family. You and your children can run the trains, trolley, etc. etc.”

Buttons would make a  windmill spin, a steam roller roll and the organ grinder play music. Visitors could control the cable car and how much oil the refinery produced.  Parents on the observation deck above could activate the buttons as well. 

The display included more than 300 structures, 18 trains and trolleys, 4,000 people,  600 light bulbs and 10,000 trees.  It involved more than 21,000 feet of electrical wiring. 

A "sound and light" show played every half hour, with images of the statue of liberty, American flag, Jesus, among others, shown on one wall while  a recording of Kate Smith singing God Bless America, played.

According to the family, Gieringer began building miniature items in 1899 - at the age of 5.  (Older newspaper articles, when Laurence was still alive for the interviews, place his age at closer to 8.)  The story of 5 year old Laurence says that he was enthralled by a "miniature" house on a hill a distance from his own home.  When his parents ignored his pleas to go see the toy house, he set off on his own, unbeknownst to his family. When it was realized that the 5 year old was missing, the town organized search parties, and he was located the following day - half way up the mountain.  His parents later took him to the drive way of the house, where he finally realized it was not a toy at all  - but an ordinary sized dwelling.

"As the official story goes, and one told often in the countless Roadside America brochures printed throughout the years, young Laurence Gieringer and his brother, Paul, once climbed up to the top of Mount Penn. As they looked down in wonder and amazement at the miniature-like city of Reading below them, nine-year-old Laurence said to his brother, “Say, Paul, wouldn’t it be swell to make little houses the way they appear from here? Future generations could see how things are now!”  Paul agreed.

They told their parents about the idea once they got back home, and seeing how enthusiastic they were about it, their father built them a little workbench in the family’s basement and even gave them some tools to start their new hobby with.  Over time, they got better and better at their craft; however, Paul would eventually grow up and move away, leaving Laurence alone in crafting his beautiful buildings. Nevertheless, by the time he was 14, Laurence had gotten so good at building miniatures, he would later include some of them in his Roadside America attraction.

Laurence would continue his hobby even after he had grown and gotten married. Soon, word got around about his miniature village that he displayed in his living room, and people would come from miles around to see it. "

In 1935, Gieringer’s living room display of miniatures won first prize in a Christmas contest. 

"Originally set up as a Christmas display in the Gieringer home for showing to neighbors and visitors, the miniatures were later exhibited in a Reading fire house and in a local park." - Perry County Times, 1947  

The first such display was set up for six weeks and brought 50,000 visitors. People stopped considering Laurence Gieringer a "nut." Through the depression, the family moved from house to house, yet even when sheriffed and bankrupt, no one took the little models. Roadside America remained in the family's hands. - June 1953, Wichita Falls Times



 In 1938, his work was displayed in the old carousel building at Carsonia  Park [an old trolley line amusement park 1896-1950].


In 1939, Geiringers display was shown at the Worlds Fair in New York.

In 1941, Roadside America Miniature Village opened in the Schlenker Service Station (with tourist cabins) in Hamburg Pa.

"The present Roadside America was established in 1941, a portion of the proceeds still going to charity.  Although wartime gas rationing shattered attendance, a record number of visitors viewed the displays last season and still larger crowds are expected this summer" - The Perry county Times, 1947

 "Less than a 2 hour drive from Bloomsburg is he world's greatest indoor miniature village, officially known as "Roadside America" - Morning Press July 1947

In 1952 A reader of the Philadelphia Inquirer inquired, "can you tell me where the exhibit of Roadside America can be seen?"  the Inquirer replied that it was located in the rear of Schenkler's Service Station, Route 22, four miles west of Hamburg.

The Philadelphia paper further described the display as a "4000 square foot miniature exhibit, which portrays the story of American life from pioneer days to present."


In 1953 Geringer  purchased a former dance hall in Sharlesville Pa.  The Lubbock Avalanche Journal wrote:

"Today Laurence Gieringer is entering upon the final chapter of his dream.  He is finishing a new, larger building to house Roadside America, on their own grounds, with a beautiful gift shop, a small zoo, a pony ride, and a little engine to ride the children around.  It is exactly 50 years after Laurence and his brother (now monsignor and record of the Josephinum College Seminary) first formed their boyhood vision."

In 1954, papers across the nation reported on the P&R Model Mine being added at Roadside America.  The scale model, built 3/16th of an inch to a foot, was of the Locust Summit Central Breaker, "the world's largest".

Sign for Roadside America

The Pennsylvania Dutch Gift Haus, next door to Roadside America

 

"What Gieringer didn’t make by hand, he purchased from various sources, including Britain and France. Most of the figures (mostly cast in lead or plastic) are bonafide antiques and many of the materials Gieringer sourced simply don’t exist anymore. "

 A 1952 Philadelphia Inquirer article said that Gieringer created his miniatures from "weeds, rags, wire, picture glass, tin cans and other scraps."

Gieringer died in 1963, but his family continued to operate the roadside attraction.

In 2020, the display closed, during covid.  For a number of years prior, the number of visitors to the attraction had been dwindling.  Dolores Heinsohn, granddaughter of  Laurence Gieringer, had fond it was becoming financially difficult for the family to continue to maintain the display, and had put it up for sale in 2018 (listed for 2.2 Million dollars), hoping someone else could continue the tradition. 

In January of 2021, more than 1,000 people came from as far away as Texas, to purchase a part of the display, as they  were auctioned off.

A ten foot tall fiberglass Amish couple that sat outside Roadside America was one of the many items sold.  The figures, the  work of Rodman Shutt ,  were purchased by Andrew King, who moved them to his business, Creative Crafts, 125 Reistville Rd, Myerstown, PA 17067.

In November of 2021, an arsonist set fire to the figures, destroying the head on "Amos".  A new head was constructed, and placed on the figure in 2023.  They are now displayed in a wire cage to help prevent further vandalism.

1961 Shamokin News Dispatch

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READ MORE
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See more photos in a facebook post here

A Souvenier Photo Book can still be purchased on Amazon









Roadside America is a 7,450 square foot miniature landscape located in Shartlesville, PA. Spanning over 200 years of American history, the massive exhibit created solely by one man, Laurence Gieringer, has stood in its current location since 1953. Completed in 1963 with Gieringer's passing, Roadside America stands as a memorial to this incredibly talented man as well as inspiration for all who pass through the display's doors. Maintained and open to the public year-round, Roadside America has long been considered one of the most incredible pieces of craftsmanship the country has to offer.










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