ALL ABOARD: “The final chapter of a long and colorful history
will be written here this afternoon at 5:45 o’clock when the last
scheduled passenger train to pass through Bradford leaves for
Buffalo, N.Y., taking with it memories from an entire era.”

That was how The Era began its story about the last passenger
train to roll through Bradford in 1955. The story appeared in the
Oct. 15 edition, and we hope to share its contents with readers
today and tomorrow. On Monday, a followup.

“A wave of nostalgia will envelope the valley south of here
through which the last car of the last passenger train to serve
this area will disappear. Train No. 252 of the Pittsburgh-Buffalo
Division of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad will roll off into
the distance and an era will die,” according to staff writer Joe
McCarthy.

“Gone will be the weekly excursions to Pittsburgh and Buffalo
that live now only in the memory of the older generations as do the
‘Peg Leg Line’ from here to Gilmore and the weekend trips to Rock
City by rail.”

The story went on to tell of the “final engineer” – “James
Sprague, a former Bradford resident now living in Salamanca, N.Y.,
will have the distinction of being the engineer on the last two
trains carrying passengers to stop here. He will take No. 251 to
Salamanca to Ridgway where he will switch to No. 252 coming back
from Pittsburgh.”

“It wasn’t too many years ago that Bradford was in demand for
passenger franchises. One by one, the small lines – feeding the
competition of the large companies – withdrew their passenger
service and now, the last large road, feeling the competition of
bus, auto and airline, is leaving for good.

“Railroads which have served Bradford and McKean County were
conceived 118 years ago when the Assembly passed an act permitting
the incorporation of a railroad to run from Sunbury at the Junction
of the north and west branches of the Susquehanna River up the west
branch of that river and on to Erie.

“A short time later, the plans were revised to include
Driftwood, DuBois, Brockway and Warren. Fortunately for McKean
County, the influence of Gen. T.L. Kane and the Philadelphia owners
of extensive holdings of land in McKean and Elk counties led to the
final revision of the route as it now stands.”