Jan 27, 2020 2 min read

Railroad spike hammer and spikes

In 1875 a charter was signed to construct a railroad line between Waynesburg and Washington. In August of that year construction began with the line fully completed by 1877. The track was a 3-foot-wide narrow-gauge track. Narrow gauge was used because it was cheaper to build, and since it was an independent line, it would not meet any of the larger gauge-tracks. Connecting the county seats of Greene and Washington counties, the railroad line was just over 28 miles long.

The track curves its way through the Pennsylvania countryside and stations such as Dunn, Vankirk and West Amity would become well-known stops along the line. The railroad became the major form of transportation between Waynesburg and Washington. Many people rode the train every day – maybe traveling to their jobs or attending one of the colleges at each end of the line. Passenger service would end in 1929. The last passenger car rain on July 9 of that year. Freight service would continue until 1974 when Conrail bought the assets of the bankrupt Penn Central Railroad, which had bought the line years earlier. Conrail decided to abandon the line rather than make costly repairs.

The path followed by the train can still be seen today, with a few sections of trusses from bridges still standing. The image pictured is a railroad spike hammer and railroad spikes from the construction of the rail line. These were donated to the historical society in 1982 by Sunda Cornetti.

Charles Edgar is research librarian for the Washington County Historical Society.