Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad

Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad

The Oil Creek and Titusville operates over tracks that were originally built as the main line of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad in the 1880s; trackage in Titusville was originally owned by the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad. The Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia was reorganized in 1887 into the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, which was eventually acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1900. The Pennsylvania was merged with the New York Central Railroad in 1968 and became Penn Central. In 1976, Penn Central went bankrupt, along with several other railroads, and was combined into Conrail.

In 1986, the line was acquired from Conrail by the Oil Creek Railway Historical Society, with the first tourist trains running on July 18; freight operations began on September 25, 1986. Briefly, from December 2, 1995 to August 1996, the Oil Creek and Titusville operated over the former Conrail main line between Meadville and Corry. The operation and ownership of that line reverted to Conrail before being turned over to the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad.

Infrastructure

The OC&T is notable in that it operates the only working Railway Post Office in the United States. For income, it may carry a few freight cars at the end of the passenger cars. The trackage was formerly Conrail and was out of service in 1986 when it was purchased by the founders. The inaugural excursion came in July of that year.The railway travels through the Oil Creek State Park on its journey over 13.5 miles (21.7 km) of track. It hauls over 1,000 carloads of freight and 15,000 passengers each year.

All scenery has been placed using Google Earth.

Author: Robert Cooper

Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad
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