Larry mentioned Pittsburgh's Fineview Line (Appropriately named!) as having a 12% grade.

Philadelphia's 23 Route had a 9% grade on Negley's Hill up from Wayne Junction. A 2700-series GE PCC could accelerate smartly going up. In horsecar days, there was a booster team of horses for this grade.

Phil Mulligan

Either the Waynesburg and Washington or the Ohio River and Western would have been interesting saves, but both would be so wildly impractical that it would be very difficult to use them for tourism. I have to admit the W&W would have the better chance of survival because of the distance to Pittsburgh, but it would still be difficult at best.

Any other possible lines that could have been good for tourist railroads?

When it comes to revenue service, I do know the PRR Panhandle to St. Louis should have been saved.

The former Columbia River & Northern/SP&S/BN Goldendale branch. Even if you only saved the Lyle-Klickitat, WA portion, it would have made an excellent tourist operation. You could have sold day passes for fishing, with a few flag stops scattered along the line. Maybe even a one-way option for floating the river during the summer. A group was formed when it was about to be abandoned that made some headway in securing the line for a tourist operation, but, as I was told, backward county politics (they have a long history of resisting change or growth of any positive kind) killed it.

No votes for the former Catawissa Branch of the Reading? This line climbed some serious grades (helper territory in both directions in days of yore) through some beautiful forests, two tunnels, numerous high fills, passed farms, and crossed the North Branch of the Susquehanna River on a long truss bridge. Between East Mahanoy Jct. and West Milton, it was a favorite excursion route dating back to the 1930's.

Dating to the 1850's, in later years it was the by-pass route around the busy line through the coal regions. Its biggest fault was no on-line traffic to speak of. The interchAnge with the Erie-Lackawanna at Rupert was all that kept it going in the post-bankruptcy, pre-Conrail period.

Wonder how many would have been saved if we’d had Staggers 10 or 20 years sooner?

Back to the Philadelphia area again, my suggestion would be the READING former Chester Valley Branch. Bridgeport to Downingtown, with much of the line paralleling the always busy 202 expressway. Seems to me that as a commuter line, it could have been busy and useful.

Also, the lower part of Reading's former Perkiomen Branch could have become a busy commuter line. Running right through the heart of suburban Montgomery County, where no cornfield has been safe from development for the last few decades.

Just my .02c. Great thread.

The RDG Catawissa Branch was the bypass of the line through Shamokin. In its day, it was an essential freight line moving interchange freight from the Erie and NYC via Newberry, just West of Williamsport. NYC had a branch from Lyons NY on its Main Line that crossed the Erie at Gang Mills, just West of Corning and the Erie had trackage rights from Gang Mills to Newberry. NYC's coal lines in Pennsylvania were west of Newberry.

When RDG received its 10 FT A-B sets in February, 1945 they were assigned to Newberry for service over the Catawissa Br. pulling those interchange freights. They ran as ABBA consists with their 9' 4" truck wheelbase coming in handy on the multiple curves. Iron Horse Rambles ran on the Catawissa but behind diesel power between Tamaqua and West Milton as T-1's were banned West of Lofty. RDG used the time to turn and service the T-1's and run lite to West Milton, picking up the train there.

When Penn Central came in, the NYC traffic was moved to the PRR via Enola or Harrisburg. The NYC dispatchers delayed the Erie traffic so much EL and RDG changed the interchange to Rupert on the DL&W Bloomsburg Branch.

Both the NYC Pennsylvania Division and the RDG Catawissa Branch were spectacularly scenic. The NYC line was in the Pine Creek Gorge. It received new ties and welded rail under ConRail and was abandoned soon after that. It's now a rail trail.

The RDG line was not included in ConRail except between East Mahanoy Jct. and Lofty. This segment is now operated by RBMN and sees excursion trains. The part that was abandoned ran on top of the topography West to Lofty and had spectacular fills across deep stream valleys at Ringtown and Mainville.

Phil Mulligan

The Maine Central Mountain Division, hands down. From Cumberland Mills, to Redstone New Hampshire the entire line is abandoned. Most of it however, is not ripped up. I'm not sure what CSX wants with Pan Am, but I've heard that they may want something to do with the Mountain Division.

The Lancaster & Reading, later known as the "Quarryville Branch." A number of stations on this line are still extant.

There was a survey at one time to connect it to the SRC, and thence to New Holland, PA, which I have been unable to locate but which is easily cipherable using GIS.

Time Table No. 7, attached.

Three I can think of in my Eastern Kansas area would be Santa Fe's Atchison branch, from Topeka to St. Joe, The Santa Fe main line from Ottawa, KS to at Chanute & Tulsa, and the Santa Fe's Alma Branch (for tourism) from Burlingame, to Alma, KS.

Correction - NYC crossed the Erie at AQ tower in the city of Corning. Both RRs had yards and interchanged east of the tower. Gang Mills didn't come along until much later, when the Erie gave up the Erie Blvd routing of the mainline for the north side relocation.
http://el-list.railfan.net/new/sch16.jpg