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Lewistown & Reedsville Electric Railway
The L&R was
chartered three months prior to the KV,
but it was seven long years before any work was done on it. One reason for the delay was
trying to secure the right-of-way; the other was money. The latter was solved by
James Erwin Quigley, Founder, President and General Manager of the
L&R. He managed
to convince a group of Philadelphia investors to financially back his project while he maintained complete
control over it! In 1899, the right-of-way was secured when the railway purchased the stock of the
Lewistown & Kishacoquillas Turnpike company, a toll road which connected Reedsville with Lewistown.
Edger Tennis, who built the KV,
was hired to build the L&R
on May 11, 1899. Ten months later, when the tracks stretched three miles (4.8 kilometers) from Lewistown to
Burnham, the trolleys rolled for the first time. Four single truck (four wheel) trolley cars,
with a seating capacity of 28 passengers each, were purchased from the Brill Company of
Philadelphia. These were some of the smallest trolleys built and were referred to as
"Bobbers" reflecting their wobbley ride. Schedules called for one car each way
every half hour. Around 29 cars, mostly Brills, would run over the tracks of the
L&R during its
three decades of operation.
Due to legal battles with the Logan Iron & Steel Company, and with the Pennsylvania Railroad, it
was another year before the trolleys reached Reedsville. And by 1903, extensions were
built--one to the Pennsylvania Railroad depot at Lewistown Junction, and another, a branch line to
serve the Standard Steel Works in Burnham. The total trackage of the trolley line was
about 12 miles (19 kilometers).
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An early photo showing the three competing methods of travel through the narrows; the trolley, the highway and the railroad. However, the trolleys were replaced by buses in 1932. (Forrest Kauffman collection)
Click Image to Enlarge
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In order to generate revenue during the weekends and between rush hours, the
L&R operated an
amusement park. It was known as Burnham Park and was located at the end of the extension to
Standard Steel in an area known as Birch Hill at the foot of Jacks Mountain. It reportedly
had a dance pavillion, skating rink, restaurant, penny arcade, shooting gallery and a
carrousel. In 1916, the park was relocated to another site south of Burnham Junction along
the banks of Kishacoquillas Creek and was renamed Kishacoquillas Park. It eventually sported
a swimming pool, a small roller coaster and bumper cars. The park wasn't far from the tracks
of the Milroy Branch of the PRR, so
in the 1930's the KV railroad made up
special trains to transport Lewistown students to the annual school picnics held at
Kishacoquillas Park. (See how Kish Park looks today at
www.defunctparks.com.)
What killed the L&R,
eventually killed the KV -
the automobile. The L&R
however, had the foresight to form a subsidiary bus line called the Lewistown Transportation
Company in 1923. At first, buses were used to operate feeder lines to the trolley system from
outlying areas, but eventually encompassed the entire
L&R route.
In 1932, when trolley service dwindled to only morning and evening trippers, the
L&R
received permission from the Public Service Commission to suspend operations.
A year later the trolley company was disolved.
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