Altoona Northern

Company History: Altoona Northern began operations in 1913 with the acquisition of the Altoona Juniata & Northern, the 3’ gauge line that had been known as the Altoona Clearfield & Northern and later the Altoona & Beech Creek running between Altoona and Dougherty, Pennsylvania. The new owners hoped to standard gauge the line, convert it to an electric interurban operation and extend the north end to a connection with a New York Central subsidiary in Beech Creek. After three years, the new owner managed to reach none of these goals before selling the Altoona Northern to a group of investors. They did standard gauge the line, picking up a trio of ex-Pennsylvania Railroad moguls to work the line in 1916. The 2-6-0’s couldn’t make the grades and were replaced with a trio of Heislers. The operation continued to lose money and the last trains ran in 1919. The track was removed in 1921.

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