Dansville Express
August 26, 1927
Railroad Men Guarding Stony Brook Glen Bridge
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Reports from Hornell state that guards have been station at Stony Brook Glen Bridge by the Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad Company and that Erie railroad officials are taking careful precautions against possible damage to railroad property, buildings, railroads and brides by sympathizers of Sacco and Vanzetti, who were executed Tuesday at Charlestown state prison.
It is said that all railroad detectives have been called back from their vacations and that extra men have been employed for guard duty and that he precautionary measures will be continued for a period of two weeks.
Elmira Sunday Telegram
April 18, 1948
Last Days of High Bridge: 245-Ft. Dansville Span Being Razed
Hornell—The second highest railroad bridge in the United States, having outlived its usefulness, has but a few more days before facing total destruction at the hands and machines of wrecking
crews.
Spanning the deep gorge of Stony Brook Glen in the Town of Dansville, the bridge has served the
Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern Railroad since its inception in 1886. The first bridge was of iron—
not of wood as so many people think—but was found to be too light for traffic. It was replaced in 1907 by the present structure.
Designed by a firm of New York engineers, the bridge was constructed by the American Bridge Co. of Elmira Heights. Seven hundred feet long, containing 1,300,000 lbs. of steel, the bridge hangs 245 feet above the precipitous gorge.
From the station where picnic parties alighted from the frequent excursion trains, a long steep stairway wound down to the foot of the gorge. In time this became too dangerous, and was closed some time
ago. Twelve years ago the station itself was removed.
Today the gorge and the park below are part of the New York State Park system, with all the
modern-day improvements—walks, railings, stone steps, swimming pool and picnic grounds near the
parking space for hundreds of automobiles. The entrance to the glen is from the bottom of the gorge, however.
No longer may venturesome youths climb down from dizzy heights, nor, in a spirit of bravado “walk the trestle,” or even the guard rail where a strong breeze would threaten headlong descent to the rocks below.
John N, Thompson of Angelica, 40 years in the employ of the P. S. & N. R.R., recalls walking those
rails, and recalls, too, that when he was in charge of maintenance of way, he sometimes found it hard
to employ trackwalkers for that part of the road, because it was “too high.” In fact trainmen insisted that a walk be constructed beside the track.
Mr. Thompson, who has been chief engineer and general manager, remembers how Eugene Clapp,
one of the bridge designers, visited the glen while construction was going on, and though in middle
years “ran up that tower like a squirrel.”
The span is laid on concrete foundations and is of steel tower construction, with the girders on
top of the towers. Giving the structure its frequent and necessary coat of paint was another problem for workmen. With one man at the rope controls, the painter would be let down over the side of the bridge, and work there with little space between him and the rushing torrent below.
The last passenger train rolled over the Stony Brook bridge just 10 years ago today—
April 18, 1938, Later, by permission of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the property of the
road was put on the market.
Now the rails have been taken up, and within a few weeks the ironwork of the bridge will be cut loose and slipped fro its foundation. Back in 1907 when the first bridge was demolished, it was cut loose to fall into the gorge and be carted away piecemeal.
Gone is the pride of yesteryear when this narrow steel life-line was of sufficient importance during the First World War to be under constant 24 hour supervision of the U. S. Army, lest harm befall it.
The railroad itself has had an erratic history, being known by many names. Among them was the Central New York and Western, the Rochester, Hornellsville and Lackawanna.
The latter was chartered on June 9, 1886, and John McDougall of Hornell was its first president. It
has had no corporate entity for some time, having merged with several other short lines, with the
Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern.
Probably the portion of the line from Hornell to Moraine Park, near Canaseraga, once owned by
Frank Sullivan Smith, vice president of the P. S. & N., left by him to his widow, Clara Higgins Smith,
and by her willed to the American Red Cross, will never be forgotten.
In fact it is the only part of the line still in existence—the “Red Cross Railroad” was purchased by
the Erie Railroad Co. in October 1947, and is still maintained as a spur line to serve Hornell business
firms and industries.
Work of razing the bridge, started last week, was hampered by high winds. The Dansville Pipe
and Supply Co., engaged in dismantling for scrap the 73 bridges of the abandoned 170 miles of the
Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern, sold the Stony Brook bridge to Samuel G. Ball of Scio, and
Wakelee Pielow of Friendship. Acetylene torches will be used in cutting the steel, as it is impossible to use dynamite for demolition.
The “new” bridge was thoroughly tested for safety before a passenger train crossed. Two loco-
motives and ten heavy cars were pulled onto the bridge, brakes were set, then the train got under way
again. According to railroad officials, there has never been a train accident on the bridge, but two Hornell women were on the stairway at the time of its collapse.
On Dec. 3, 1907, the Dansville Breeze carried the following:
“The first train to pass over the new bridge at Stony Brook Glen crossed last Friday. After every test known to engineers the bridge was pronounced satisfactory. This bridge is the highest in the state and was begun nine months ago. It has cost the Shawmut $110,000. Trains now run over the bridge regularly.”
Dansville Breeze
October 7, 1947
Pipe & Supply Co. Begins Removal of 73 Shawmut Bridges
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The Dansville Pipe & Supply Co. last week was busy demolishing for scrap the first of 73 steel bridges on the abandoned 170-mile Pitsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railway.
Aggregate weight of the 73 spans is 2,637 tons. Smallest bridge is at Garwoods Run and weighs 4,502 pounds; the largest is the Stony Brook Bridge near Dansville, the second highest in the United States, which weighs 1,207,537 pounds.
Fifty of the bridges are in New York Stagte, 23 in Pennsylvania. Using acetylene torches, workers will cut girders and supports and let them fall into creeks, from where they will be shipped by truck to steel mills, it was said.
Extra Help Involved
The biggest job ever undertaken by the local company, and a new venture, it will be completged with extra help sometime next year. Contract for the work has been held since last June.
Bids will be taken from oursiders on scrapping of the historic Glen Bridge at Stony Brook State Park, since dynamite cannot be used. A landmark in New York State history, it was built in 1907 and is a familiar site to area residents, majestically spanning the creek which curls through the state park. It will probably be torn down next June.
In days past it was the mecca of tourists on Shawmut excursion trains. There were rumors last Spring that the bridge might be preserved by the State as a landmark.
Nothing Left
Tracks of the railroad were ripped up some time ago by another salvage firm. A Livonia company is at present uprooting the track’s more than 1,000,000 ties, which have been purchase by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Ties will be separated into four different grades for use by the latter company.
The railroad suspended operations last year after bankruptcy court proceedings, ending the 50-year history of the railroad that served coal and oil districts of New York State and Pennsylvania and the rich valleys of southern New York.
Meanwhile, disposal of Shawmut buildings continues. One in Smethport, Pa., is to be used for a refrigerator locker plant. Others in Perkinsville were recently offered for sale.
Forty years ago, in the Oct. 1st edition of The Breeze, a news item read: “We are informed that the iron work will be completed today on the new bridge crossing Stony Brook Glen.”
