While expected, the abandonment of the old Williams Valley Railroad was announced and reported on November 20, 1969, by the West Schuylkill Herald. Passenger service had been abandoned years before, leaving only freight service and gradually deteriorating tracks on this once heavily used freight line.
WV RAILROAD ABANDONED
The former Williams Valley Railroad has been abandoned. This was made known this wee by an official of the Reading Railroad who stated that traffic from Keffers westward to Lykens has been embargoed. The reason for the closing of traffic is that track conditions are no longer safe and the falling off freight shipments in recent years has diminished. It was also stated that the tracks will be removed. This announcement, while a regrettable one, had generally been expected by residents of Tower City, Porter Township and Upper Dauphin. Passenger transportation had been discontinued many years ago and that left the railroad to the west end dependent upon freight haulage.
In recent years most of the freight has been the hauling of coal from the independent mines of the area and car loads of lumber and building supplies to the Williams Valley Lumber Company at Tower City. The Underkoffler Coal Company at Lykens was the largest shipped of coal. They were notified three weeks ago that any further shipments are embargoes. That was officially verified on Tuesday of this week by notification from the Philadelphia office of the railroad company.
The Pennsylvania Railroad, whose branch line extended from Millersburg to Lykens, has also served notice that the branch from Millersburg in the future will extend only from Millersburg to Elizabethville and that the tracks from Elizabethville to Lykens will be abandoned.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
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