| A brief timeline of the lifespan of the PW&S Railroad as learned during Phase I, follows:
1899 - The Byers-Allen Lumber Company is chartered on April 15, 1899 by several Williamsport , PA and Buffalo , NY principals. Captain Charles Nelson Byers, a lumberman from Williamsport , PA and minor shareholder, was charged with management of the company. The company organized the Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad on July 20, 1899 to reach 9,500 acres of timber purchased in Somerset and Westmoreland counties.
1900 - The Ligonier saw mill begins production and 15 miles of railroad is built to the top of Laurel Mountain .
1906 - Railroad reaches Somerset- Captain Byers dies.
1909 - Lumber operations close – sawmill at Ligonier is dismantled.
1916 - Passenger service to Somerset ceases
1917 - Railroad abandoned and dismantled |