This volume by Jerry Hartzler, subtitled 'A History of the Kishacoquillas Railway' could be one of the classic shortline history sleepers of our time. It encapsulates all of the rich warmth of an old diary rescued from a musty trunk in the attic of an historic Victorian mansion... <more>

A well written and carefully researched history of a "backwoods" short line in the heart of Pennsylvania. Ample attention is given to finances, passenger service, personnel, anecdotes, disasters, trackage rights, the K.V. Studebaker rail car and the final abandonment in 1940 after 47 years of life. One of the most enjoyable railroad histories that we have seen.

This seems to be a good year for new books on vanished Pennsylvania short lines. The H&BTM RR series is started, the Bellefonte Central RR will be getting a book-length treatment, and now the story of the Kishacoquillas Valley RR is in print. No, it was not narrow gauge, but the "Ol' Hook & Eye" was hard to beat for shortline charm. <more>

Over on the other side of Jacks Mountain, in Big Valley, the 9 1/2 mile Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad connected Belleville with the outside world at Reedsville and Lewistown from 1892 to 1940. Now, 48 years after the 48-year-old standard gauge road was abandoned, a new 170-page six by nine inch booklet provides a thoroughly informative and entertaining look at the KVRR. <more>

From the backwoods of Pennsylvania comes The Ol' Hook & Eye - A History of the Kishocoquillas Valley Railroad. Author John G. Hartzler begins by teaching us how to pronounce this railroad's Indian name, then waxes wonderfully nostalgic about the KV... <more>

When the passengers of Amtrak's Pennsylvanian or Broadway Limited pause at the Lewistown, Pa. station west of Harrisburg on the old Pennsylvania Railroad mainline, no train of the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad is waiting at the station, nor has one been for many years. But from 1928 to 1940, the KV ran passenger trains over the PRR branch that joined the main line at Lewistown, and before that, its own trains connected with Milroy branch trains which in turn met the through trains there.

The Kishacoquillas Creek Valley lies to the northwest of Lewistown, on the other side of Jack's Mountain, and from 1893 to 1940 the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad joined the two area towns of Belleville and Reedsville. The latter formed the junction between the KV and the PRR Milroy branch. Only nine miles long, the KV was a typical backwoods Pennsylvania shortline, serving a number of Belleville industries plus others along the way. Lumber and agricultural products and implements provided the backbone of freight revenues, but passenger service remained important to the railroad to the end.

This book tells a folksy, homey story of the railroad from birth to death. It was run its whole life by Dr. John P. Getter, a Belleville physician, who seemingly single-handedly pulled Belleville out of the past by his determination to see the railroad through to completion. Alas, two years after the KV died the good doctor's life also came to an end.

Written largely as a contribution to local history by a Belleville native, the book succeeds in being a railroad history as well. Although the text is light on details of operations and statistics. several appendices include overviews of the towns, locomotives and rolling stock rosters, passenger and freight tariffs and employee lists. A chapter of reminiscences by past employees adds a human touch to the story, as does a chapter devoted to Gibboney Park. Although the latter does not help to tell the story of the railroad, the park's existence helped swell rail passenger revenues, and few could have enjoyed the old-time picnic grounds and pavilions without traveling there by rail.

Pictures are numerous and, given their age, quite clear. The book gives an excellent flavor of not only the shortline, but the people and the area which gave it birth, patronized it, and ultimately watched it die. <less>

"The Ol' Hook & Eye," subtitled "A History of the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad" is an interesting new (1988) book by John G. Hartzler. The book has 170 9"x6" pages, printed on good quality coated stock. It is professionally typset, with an attractive typeface and 110 very well-reproduced photographs... <more>

The Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad was a shortline that ran in the state of Pennsylvania, northwest of Harrisburg, Southeast of State College. It ran from Belleville to Reedsville, a distance of nine miles and existed from 1893 until 1940. <more>

The nine-mile Kishacoquillas Valley served agricultural, forestry and later manufacturing needs of the small central Pennsylvania town of Belleville, near Lewistown, connecting with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Reedsville. <more>