The Pittsburgh Southern Railroad. The ultimate underdog of a narrow gauge. Thirty some miles of basically a cheaply built roller coaster. Built with money basically hoodwinked from the parent railroad (Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon), only to break gauge with the 40" line, narrow its track to 36 inches, and head towards Pittsburgh on its own route, bypassing the P&CS. Engines never totaled more than five or maybe six, and by the end in 1886, the entire line consisted of one 4-4-0, and about a dozen freight cars, and three passenger cars. The B&O bought the terribly built little line for the charter, using it to get into Pittsburgh. Equipment was sent to W Va narrow gauges controlled by the B&O. Farmers hated the line; milk arrived in Pittsburgh too late for the teamsters to haul it to the creameries, and it went sour on the freight platform. Most surviving information is from depositions from court cases against the railroad. Photos are few, and today its very hard to see where it ran.
Someone has to like it, might as well be me.
brian b