Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad

Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad

Reporting mark	TCKR
Locale	Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation	1982–2014
Predecessor	Turtle Creek Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	10.7 miles (17.2 km)
Headquarters	Export, Pennsylvania

The Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad (reporting mark TCKR) was a short line railroad that operated in Pennsylvania. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dura-Bond Corporation of Export, Pennsylvania. The TCKR was created when Conrail (the successor to the Pennsylvania Railroad) abandoned the line in 1982. The line runs from Export down the Turtle Creek valley until it joins with the Norfolk Southern Railway at Trafford, Pennsylvania. Historically the line ran further up the valley through White Valley and Delmont, but the track section ends just outside Export Borough after it crosses old 22 at the Export Tire plant.

In 2009, the line was devastated by a flash flood, leaving the railroad in a state of limbo with only limited service.

In 2013, an agreement was reached to sell most of the railroad to Westmoreland County. As of June 2015, the tracks have been removed from most of the railbed, and work is in progress to make it into an extension of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail.

External links

• Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad at Dura-Bond