Wheeler and Dusenbury Lumber Company

Between 1887 and 1938, railroads built and owned by the Wheeler & Dusenbury Co., Endeavor, Pennsylvania, formed one of the largest logging rail networks in Northwest Pennsylvania. A logging railroad network sprawled over Warren County, Pennsylvania and Forest County, Pennsylvania fed two large band mills at Endeavor, Pennsylvania, hosted rod and geared steam locomotives, and for a time, even connected the Collins Pine empire to the outside world as the Hickory Valley Railroad.[1] The railroad featured an entry in the Official Railway Guide, a formal timetable, and the only rail bridge across the Allegheny River between Oil City and Warren to connect the empire to the Pennsylvania Railroad at West Hickory.[2]

W&D's policies of widespread selective tract cutting resulted in the logging railroads being active until the 1930s, supplying the Mayburg Chemical Company with chemical wood on second-growth tracts, and contributing to the survival of the Sheffield & Tionesta Railroad until World War II. W&D's legacy can also be seen at Hearts Content National Scenic Area, where a tract of virgin timber was saved and is a public recreation area today.[3] Even in 1906, W&D was known for saving virgin tracts of timber.[3]

See also

References
  1. Casler 1977, p. 10.
  2. Wheeler 1960, p. 45.
  3. Casler 1977, p. 17.

Sources
  • Casler, Walter C (1977). Allegheny Valley Logging Railroads: locomotives, sawmills, pine timber ; Warren, Forest, Venango, Crawford, Erie Counties. Logging Railroad Era of Lumbering in Pennsylvania. Warren, PA, US: Lycoming Printing Co. OCLC 1018152386.
  • Wheeler, W. Reginald (1960). Pine Knots and Bark Peeler: the story of five generations of American lumbermen. La Jolla, CA, US: Ganis and Harris. OCLC 1179483326. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
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