Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company

Construction

The Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company was chartered on May 6, 1852, and organized on January 10, 1853. The purpose of the line was to provide a rail link from Huntingdon to Bedford, and to provide a competitive alternate route to local coal producers to break the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's monopoly on coal that was being shipped from the Cumberland, Maryland, area. The existence of high quality semi-bituminous coal in the Broad Top Mountain region was known since colonial times. Before the railroad, wagon or pole barge was the only practical method of bringing the coal from the remote region to market.

The 31 mile portion of the main line from Huntingdon to Hopewell, via Saxton and Riddlesburg, was completed in 1855. On February 3, 1859, the Bedford Railroad Company was chartered to provide a railroad connection for Bedford, and was incorporated February 19, 1859. This company, with financial assistance from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), built a line from Mount Dallas to Hopewell in July 1863, connecting with the H&BTM. It was merged into the H&BTM on August 17, 1864. Total track mileage at the company's height was just over 72 miles.

Coal branches

A number of branches were built to serve the Broad Top coal fields, beginning as soon as the railroad reached the area in 1853–1855.

Shoups Run Branch — from Saxton to Broad Top City via Coalmont and Dudley. It was extended to Barnettstown, near Dudley, in 1856. Passenger service was operated on this branch between 1859 and 1917, from Saxton to Dudley only.