Ligonier Valley Rail Road Newspaper Articles
We have compiled over 1,400 newspaper articles that mention the Ligonier Valley Railroad, or related subjects. The articles were originally published starting in 1873 and our collection runs through 1995. Enjoy!
Latrobe Bulletin
August 30,1952
Liggie To Make Last Run Tomorrow
To Present Program Here In Connection With Event
Ceremony Slated At Ligonier, Too
Seventy yards of black crepe will adorn Locomotive 807 as it hauls a trainload of Last Milers on the abandonment run of the Ligonier Valley Railroad Sunday afternoon.
One thousand souvenir tickets have been printed by the Ligonier Chamber of Commerce as keepsakes for those taking the historic last ride over the short scenic railroad. The last run will begin at 1 p.m. (DST) at Ligonier, proceed straight through to Latrobe where a program will be presented by the Latrobe Chamber of Commerce. At 2:15 the ride back to Ligonier will begin. Delayed stops, to permit photographs, will be made at each of the small stations along the way, with an extra period being scheduled at Idlewild Park for refreshments and a special program.
The schedule for departures on the last run from Latrobe to Ligonier will be as follows: Latrobe, 2:15 p.m. (DST); Kingston 2:45 p.m; Longbridge, 3:05 pm.; Darlington, 3:20p.m.; Idlewild Park 4 p.m.; Millbank, 4:20 p.m.; Bells Station, 4:40 p.m.; and arrival at Ligonier at 5 p.m.
B. W. Saler, Ligonier, president of Ligonier Borough Council (and, incidentally, Senior Deputy Supreme Tall Cedar of the United States, second in national rank) will be master of ceremonies of the Ligonier program, which has been announced as follows:
Selection, Ligonier High School Band; invocation, Rev. Walter Reed, pastor of Ligonier Presbyterian Church; remarks, Burgess A. J. McColly; remarks , C. B. Ruff, president of Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce; remarks, Joseph P. Gochnour Jr., general manager of Ligonier Valley Railroad; rail lifting ceremony in charge of Rev. Charles Price, pastor of St. Michaels of the Valley Episcopal Church, Rector; selections, Ligonier High School band, and benediction, Rev. Father Leander Pail, rector of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ligonier; selections, Ligonier High School Band.
Pictures of the ceremony and assembly will be made and orders received for them following the program.
An appropriate ceremony has been arranged by the Greater Latrobe Chamber of Commerce at the Ligonier Valley crossing at the Y turn on Depot St.., Latrobe. Ray B. Johnston, secretary of the Greater Latrobe Chamber of Commerce, will serve as master of ceremonies for this program, which will be as follows:
Selections, Latrobe American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps; remarks, V. L. (Doc) Wadkins, president of Greater Latrobe Chamber of Commerce; remarks, C. B. Ruff, president of Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce; remarks, Burgess Victor B. Stader Jr., Latrobe; remarks, Harry J. Whiteman, president of Latrobe Bulletin Publishing Company; remarks, Mark N. Funk, assistant manager of Radio Station WAKU, Latrobe; remarks, William D. Smith, associated with Penn-Ligonier Railroad Club of Latrobe; remarks, A. J. McColly, burgess of Ligonier, and remark, C. K. MacDonald, general chairman of Last Run committee.
The longest stop, to be made at Idlewild Park, will be featured with daylight fireworks and selling of the last ticket on the ride. Appropriate decorations are being arranged along the way and at the Ligonier station.
Locomotive 807, which will pull the abandonment train, was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Company in December, 1910. It was delivered to the Ligonier Valley on October 26, 1948, and has seen almost daily use since that time. It has a total weight of 213,000 pounds, and the tender weight is 147,000 pounds. Other moving equipment owned by the railroad includes two other steam locomotives, two gas-electric and one gasoline self-propelled passenger car, one passenger car and one caboose. When other equipment was needed the Ligonier Valley obtained it from the nearby Latrobe yard of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Several offers for the buildings of the railroad have been received but no announcement has been made yet of their disposition. Abandonment of the railroad means immediate loss of employment to 25 of the 34 members of the genial railroad family. A number are near the retirement age, having served for many years with the Ligonier Valley.
The committee in charge of arrangements for the occasion, has consisted of Mr. MacDonald, chairman; Phil Walters, Chick Nicely, all of Ligonier; Irvin Savior, McKeesport; and William D. Smith, Latrobe.