Miller's Spring Trestle Disaster (Centre County)

Looking across what remains of Miller's Spring Trestle after the collapse

Safety and progress are forever in a race against each other. However, when progress outdistances safety, only disaster awaits at the finish line. On June 11, 1878, that is exactly what awaited a passenger train bound for Bellefonte.       

Of Dominoes and Dams: The Rise and Fall of the Bayless Paper Mill (Potter County)

The ruins of the infamous dam that caused the Austin Flood

    Remember playing with dominos? We all probably at some point in our lives made a long line of neatly stacked dominoes. If you did everything right, once you toppled that first domino the entire line would follow suit in a spectacular chain reaction. If the alignment was off even by a little bit, the line would come to a halt. At this point, you could either start over, or simply topple the next domino to continue the effect. Regardless, in the end there was quite a mess to clean up.  However, for a small town in the heart of the Pennsylvania Wilds, the mess that resulted from a domino chain of disaster that occurred over a century ago changed the community forever. 

Bombs and Broken Promises: The Tragic Story of Alvira (Union/Lycoming Counties)

Welcome to Alvira: Population 0
Author's Photo

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    Bizarre concrete domes and crumbling foundations stand as monuments to the sacrifices made by an entire town and a broken promise that erased it forever.

Danger On The Rails: The Axemann Curve (Centre County)

The 1908 Wreck

    The completion of the Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad from Bellefonte to Lewisburg in 1885 was a monumental transportation achievement for the region. Passengers and freight could now move faster than the steep and winding turnpikes had allowed them previously. The age of the iron horse had arrived. However, this new age would not come without dangers.

Revelton Ghost Town (Clinton County)

 

    

Revelton Iron Furnace
Author's Photo

    Hidden behind a curtain of hemlock and pine lies a portal to the past, a time when Central Pennsylvania’s vast industrial potential was being realized. During that era, much of the region was still relatively untamed. Extracting these sought after resources would require the determination and expertise of a unique breed of men. In the wilds of Clinton County, a short broad gentleman known as “The General” would exhibit all of those qualities, along with many more colorful ones, while taming this rugged country.

The Wreck of the Red Arrow (Blair County)

 

The jumbled wreckage of the Red Arrow
Image Retrieved From: https://www.gendisasters.com/

Seventy-eight years ago today, the Red Arrow, a premier passenger train of the Pennsylvania Railroad, crested the summit of the Allegheny Mountains at Gallitzin, Cambria County on its sprint to New York. From here, the entire 12 miles to Altoona would pit the train against gravity. Engineer Billig leaned out the cab window into the foggy night. Behind his engine were fourteen cars full of  passengers, many of whom had been lulled into slumber by the gentle rocking of the train. Ahead was Bennington Curve, the first of many that snaked the tracks down the mountain. Engineer Billig had taken many a train around this curve, so it was to his surprise when he felt the engine begin to heel over, followed by the earsplitting sound of the train being ripped apart. 

Howard Brick Works (Centre County)

    It's remarkable how something so unassuming like an old worn brick could tell such a fascinating story. Many of these bricks show a great deal of character, much like the community that is stamped upon them.