One will never know what the future will bring for the old abandoned Buffalo, Bradford, & Pittsburgh railroad grade.

The 1864 Arch Bridge grade may again find a construction crew from the Tuna Valley Trail Association working on extending the Blaisdell-Emery Trail from Lewis Run to the Kinzua Viaduct. I hear that they have an interest.

I hope someday you will be able to make the wonderful trek to the marvelous 1864 Arch Bridge. If you can’t, I have made a map with the help of “Google Maps” - so you can visualize the path that you would need to take to arrive there.

It can be found on the internet at:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203694613551192842755.0004a69f5c33c5f4caf19&msa=0 

The historical value of the 1864 Arch Bridge is so important that I have contacted the National Register of Historic Places. The first step in determining that a resource is eligible is to complete an Historic Resource Survey Form (8 pages, with 22 instruction sheets) and submit it to the bureau for review. I hope to accomplish this task at a later date.

Some of the surrounding areas in Big Shanty are owned by the Collins - Kane Hardwood Company from Kane, PA. The Collins Company was started by a man called Truman Doud Collins, know as Teddy Collins. He started on the Binghamton & Syracuse Railroad in 1851. Maybe Teddy had the amazing opportunity to see the Erie’s “Orange” locomotive moving along the rails. Later on he took a job as a laborer in the woods of Northwestern Pennsylvania, near Hickory, PA. Then he invested in a “Saw Mill” in Turkey Run, PA. The wood industry was in the Collins family blood and continued for generations.

Today, the 1864 Arch Bridge grade is currently owned by SWEPI LP (Shell Western Exploration and Production), as part of the worldwide Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company. Oil producers have been in the Big Shanty area for 140 years. I am sure that SWEPI LP would not mind if you took the walk along the old railroad grade to view the 1864 Stone Arch Culvert Railroad Bridge, but they do mind motorized vehicles on the old abandoned railroad line. 

The fate of the 1864 Arch Bridge railroad grade is uncertain. It may become a walking trail, a logging road, or an oil lease road. Whatever happens, I am sure the 1864 Arch Bridge will stand for many years if we all take care of it and acknowledge its historic value.

A small side note from my research - the West Branch of the Tuneangwant was first known as the “Tunaette” creek.