Conemaugh Line

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title: "Conemaugh Line" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["norfolk-southern-railway-lines", "pennsylvania-railroad-lines", "rail-infrastructure-in-pennsylvania", "pennsylvania-railroad-through-freight-lines", "railway-lines-opened-in-1865"] description: "Rail line in Pennsylvania, United States" topic_path: "general/norfolk-southern-railway-lines" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conemaugh_Line" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Rail line in Pennsylvania, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox rail line"]

Field	Value
name	Conemaugh Line
image
caption	Map of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad, the predecessor to the Conemaugh line
type	Freight rail
system	Norfolk Southern
status	Operational
locale	Western Pennsylvania, U.S.
start	New Florence, Pennsylvania, U.S.
end	CP-PENN in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
open	1863 (independent), 1865 (PRR), 1968 (PC), 1976 (Conrail), 1999 (NS)
close	1865 (independent), 1968 (PRR), 1976 (PC), 1999 (Conrail)
owner	Norfolk Southern
operator	Norfolk Southern
tracks	1
gauge
map	{{routemap
title	Conemaugh Line
inline	yes
::

| box_width = | name = Conemaugh Line | color = | logo = | logo_width = | logo_alt = | image = | image_width = | image_alt = | caption = Map of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad, the predecessor to the Conemaugh line | type = Freight rail | system = Norfolk Southern | status = Operational | locale = Western Pennsylvania, U.S. | start = New Florence, Pennsylvania, U.S. | end = CP-PENN in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | stations = | routes = | daily_ridership = | ridership2 = | open = 1863 (independent), 1865 (PRR), 1968 (PC), 1976 (Conrail), 1999 (NS) | close = 1865 (independent), 1968 (PRR), 1976 (PC), 1999 (Conrail) | owner = Norfolk Southern | operator = Norfolk Southern | character = | depot = | stock = | linelength_km = | linelength_mi = | linelength = | tracklength_km= | tracklength_mi= | tracklength = | tracks = 1 | gauge = | old_gauge = | load_gauge = | minradius = | racksystem = | routenumber = | linenumber = | electrification = | speed_km/h = | speed_mph = | speed = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | elevation = | website = | map_state = | map = {{routemap | title = Conemaugh Line | inline = yes | map = \CONTg~Fort Wayne Line WCONTg\STR~Allegheny River CONTgq\hKRZWaeq\ABZgr\Fort Wayne Line CONTgq\hKRZWaeq\ABZgr+xr\Brilliant Branch \WASSERl\hKRZWae\WABZq+r\WCONTgeqFreeport Rail Bridge \STR\WASSERKiskiminetas River WASSER+l\hKRZWae\WASSERr WCONTfaq\WABZgr\TUNNEL1\~~Saltsburg Tunnel WCONTge\STR~Conemaugh River CONTgq\vSTR+r-SHI1+r~Pittsburgh Line \vÜST
\vSHI1l-STRl\STR+rSang Hollow Extension \ABZg+l\STRr \CONTf~~Pittsburgh Line The Conemaugh Line is a rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Conpit Junction, Pennsylvania (west of New Florence) northwest and southwest to Pittsburgh, following the Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas, and Allegheny rivers, on the former main line of the Conemaugh Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). At its east end, it merges with the Pittsburgh Line; its west end is where it merges with the Fort Wayne Line at the northwestern tip of Allegheny Commons Park. The line was used by the PRR as a low-grade alternate to its main line, which is now part of Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line, in the Pittsburgh area.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Western_Pennsylvania_RR_1882.jpg" caption="Share of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad Company, issued 15 december 1882"] ::

A short branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Torrance on the main line to Blairsville opened in 1851; only a small piece of this at Blairsville is still in use. The Western Pennsylvania Railroad (formerly the North Western Railroad) opened from Blairsville west to Saltsburg in 1863 and to Kiskiminetas (Kiski) Junction (near Freeport) in 1864 or 1865. The line from Freeport to Allegheny (Pittsburgh) opened in 1866. A new, more direct line east from Blairsville was built by the Western Penn in the early 1880s, meeting the PRR main line at Bolivar. The PRR's Sang Hollow Extension, now Main 3 of the Pittsburgh Line east of CP Conpit, opened east to Johnstown in 1876; the portion east of Conpit Junction was operated as a one-way line for westbound freight. All of the aforementioned lines became part of the PRR through leases and mergers, became Penn Central in 1968, and were taken over by Conrail in 1976. In the 1999 breakup of Conrail, the line was assigned to Norfolk Southern.

Around 1950, a (then double-track) 16.94 mi portion of the line was relocated to a higher elevation, as part of a flood control project on the Conemaugh River. The previous alignment (built in 1907) would later become the bulk of the West Penn Trail.

The Conemaugh Line is notable for being the recipient of a variation of the PRR's cab signal system in 1940, which eliminated the wayside signals between interlockings from Conpit Junction to Kiski Junction, requiring operation of trains by cab signal indication only. This system (whose visual NORAC Rule 562), modified by Conrail to operate bidirectionally. Until 2019, trackage from Pittsburgh to Kiski used wayside signaling in lieu of cab signals. By 2020, the line received Positive Train Control and upgrades to the signaling system. The upgrades to the signal system included a usage of cab signalling across the entirety of the Conemaugh and Pittsburgh Lines and the elimination of all wayside intermediate signals. Furthermore, all legacy signaling systems were discontinued, leaving only Safetran wayside signals at interlockings only. The line is dispatched remotely in Atlanta, GA by the Pittsburgh East dispatcher.

References

References

1. [http://www.pacerfarm.org/cgi-bin/sta01.cgi?div=CON the NS Conemaugh Line]
2. "Welcome".
3. (January 2020). "Keystone Crossings: Hobo's Guide to the Pennsy: The Allegheny Valley Railroad".
4. "PRR Chronology, 1851 }} {{small".
5. Wilson, William Bender. (1899). "History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company: With Plan of Organization, Portraits of Officials and Biographical Sketches". Henry T. Coates & Co..
6. "PRR Chronology, 1863 }} {{small".
7. "PRR Chronology, 1864 }} {{small".
8. "PRR Chronology, 1865 }} {{small".
9. "PRR Chronology, 1866 }} {{small".
10. [http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/rail/prr/Corphist/prr3.html PRR Corporate History: Pennsylvania Railroad] {{webarchive. link. (January 12, 2002)
11. "PRR Chronology, 1876 }} {{small".
12. "PRR Interlocking Diagrams: Altoona to Pittsburgh Main Line".
13. (1949-05-28). "Major Line Relocation". Railway Age.
14. (1955). "Report of the Chief of Engineers U.S. Army".
15. (October 1947). "The Railway Gazette".
16. (4 August 2013). "Old Industry of Southwestern Pennsylvania : Off of the West Penn Trail, Conemaugh River Lake Section/Bow Ridge Section".
17. "PRR Chronology, 1940 }} {{small".
18. [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2013-11-29/html/2013-28689.htm Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or Modification of a Railroad Signal System]

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