 |
 |
 |
On the back of this photo reads "First KV train 1893." The photo is mislabeled since the new 50 by 25 foot (15.2 by 7.6 meters) Belleville station was only a foundation when regular service started. From left: Cyrus Staley, fireman; George Middlesworth, station agent; T. S. Gibboney, brakeman; William Thompson, conductor; and John Ross, engineer. (Forrest Kauffman collection)
Click Image to Enlarge
| |
Go back to Construction Started
Regular Train Service Begins
During construction, when a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) of rail was laid, the directors bought a
secondhand locomotive (engine No.1)
and hired John Ross to run it. He held the job of engineer, fireman and master mechanic, and
was paid a princely sum of $40 a month. A former PRR
employee, he was praised by the Belleville correspondent, who said, "It seemed to us a thing
almost impossible to get the locomotive over the track in the condition it was, without
completely wrecking it, but Mr. Ross accomplished the feat."
The KV Railroad finally became a reality in
June of 1893. Due to an extremely bad winter
the rails reached their destination in Belleville, not in the predicted three, but after
eight months of construction. Although regular passenger service could not start until
the first coach arrived, engine-man Ross was kept busy hauling loads of freight, such
as cattle and bark. The first shipment reported was a carload of lumber from Israel
Kauffman's sawmill to Reedsville in early April, before the road was even finished.
In the middle of June a quaint little wooden combine coach
(combine No.1) arrived in
Belleville, from
the Mont Alto Railroad. At one end it had slat seats for 40 passengers and at the other,
space for mail and express. The road was now ready for passenger operation. The directors
cut Engineer Ross's workload by hiring Cyrus Staley as fireman, T.S. Gibboney as brakeman
and John Gemmill, from Stewartstown, as conductor.
On Monday, June 26, 1893, regular service commenced, ending the stagecoach era. Usually,
the train made three round-trips daily; but for the first seven months of operation only
morning and evening trains were run. Wyes (turning tracks) at both ends of the road were
staked out during the preliminary surveys but, to conserve money, were not built. Since
the train had no way of turning around, it ran in reverse from Belleville, stopping
along the way at Union Mills, Gibboney Station, Kishacoquillas, Taylor Station, Hooley
Station, and the KV Junction. At
that point the track connected with the M&CC
Branch of the PRR. The train backed out onto
the Pennsy track and moved forward across
Kishacoquillas Creek and into Reedsville, a distance of .30 mile (0.48 kilometers). The
KV rented trackage
rights, and use of the PRR station there,
for sixty dollars a month On its return trip,
the train backed away from Reedsville station past the junction switch, then ran forward
up the valley. (See Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad Route
for a timetable.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
