Knox And Kane Railroad
The Knox and Kane railroad was built by General Kane in the 1800's for his railroad, the New York Lake Erie and Western. The railroad faced a major obstacle in crossing the massive Kinzua creek valley. The railroad had two options, either build several miles of twisting railroad through the valley or build a bridge to cross over Kinzua Creek. The Kinzua viaduct was built in 1882, in just 94 working days. The viaduct was at the time the biggest bridge ever built. The bridge is 2100 feet long and at the center 301 feet high. The bridge was rebuilt in 1900 to hold the weight of heavier trains. The railroad was used by the Baltimore and Ohio until they abandoned the line in the 1980's. The bridge and the surrounding forest were designated a State Park in 1963. The bridge is on the register of National Historic Places and is also a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The Knox and Kane Railroad was formed with the goal of running tourist trains over the Kinzua Viaduct. That goal became a reality on August 7, 1987. Steam has always been the motive power to the bridge, but the engine seen in these pictures isn't a historic engine from America's industrial age. This engine was built in 1989 in China and shipped here for service on the Knox and Kane. The engine is a twin to Susquehanna 142 . The railroad begins the run to the bridge in Marienville. the train picks up additional passengers at Kane before arriving at the bridge. The run from Marienville and back is a 97 mile round trip.
I have been here several times, it seems like every time I take a trip to Pennsylvania, I make a stop here. The trip is a real nice ride through the country side. The lines passes several small towns and cuts right through a golf course before making the turn around and lunch break at the bridge. I HATE heights but on a summer trip to the bridge I wanted to get a picture of the engine from the north side of the bridge, so I walked very fast across the bridge trying not to look down and now I can say I did it and I'm pretty sure I will never do it again!
Click here to see the Knox and Kane's base at Marienville from above on Terraserver. The turntable and roundhouse are in the upper center of the picture and the wye is off to the right and up a bit - across the street from the turntable, the wye is loaded with cars. Click here to see the Kinzua Viaduct from above on Terraserver.
Knox and Kane official web site