<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 5:24 PM, Edward H. Lybarger <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:trams2@comcast.net" target="_blank">trams2@comcast.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">You have to wonder how many other companies nationwide were built, like the<br>
Harmony Route, to satisfy the gigantic ego of the guy behind it. It went<br>
the long way to Butler (and probably drew just enough traffic from the Short<br>
Line to render it insolvent); New Castle was a long way off and although it<br>
had people, not enough of them wanted to go to Pittsburgh. In between was a<br>
lot of nothing, plus Evans City and Ellwood City. Oh, yes, there was also a<br>
nice camping area along the Connoquenessing that Mr. Boggs favored. He also<br>
favored the most expensive construction that could be had...only the best.<br>
<br>
Mr. Boggs built the line with the expectation that everyone adjacent to it<br>
would come to his department store. This just didn't happen. David<br>
McCahill compounded the misery by acquiring the Short Line out of<br>
receivership in about 1919...now he had two companies that couldn't earn a<br>
living, and when the bonds came due, there was no money. Some of the<br>
bridges sat for years after abandonment because no one could earn enough in<br>
scrap value to justify the labor cost of dismantling them.<br>
<br>
Just another company that never should have been built.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>While today, a fast rail route to at least Cranberry would be fantastic. <br></div></div></div></div>