The Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad Historical Society started in 1979, during the Allegany County Fair, when the late Jim McHenry, an ex-employee of the PS&N and Bill Reddy, a railroad employee and railroad historian, got together to talk about railroads and especially the Shawmut.
On May 24, 1981 a meeting was held at the fair grounds to gauge how much interest there might be in forming a group to perpetuate the history of the railroad. Donations at the door amounted to $54.00 and the organizers were pleased that so many people showed up that afternoon. It was proposed to form the society. Also at the meeting were several former Shawmut employees, many of which are now deceased. As an informal group, the first set of officers were informally elected to serve until some plans could be finalized and a charter for the organization drawn up. Leslie Haggstrom, a recent law school graduate who had started practice in Angelica, did the necessary work for the charter at no cost to the organization and by October of 1981, the society was formally organized.
The original officers and trustees were McHenry as president; Bill Reddy, vice president; Laura Norton, secretary/treasurer; and Trustees Ed Faust, Terry Mott and Stan Howe. Norton also was corresponding secretary, and for a time was editor of "The Cannonball."
February of 1982 must have been without a doubt a banner month for the organization, swelling to 100 members. We had the opportunity to acquire our first piece of rolling stock, the body of the Car 278 which was built in about 1880, which had sat in a location near the old engine house for many years. It was used as a house but was now vacant. The owner wanted $400 for the car body and so through raffles and donations sufficient funds became available to make the purchase. In addition to this another $92.00 was spent on rails and ties to be placed on the Allegany Fairgrounds. It was through the efforts of Ken Raines from Olean that we were able to acquire the trucks from Lenard Ferguson, the general manager of the "WAG" (Wellsville, Addison & Galeton Railroad) from Galeton, Pennsylvania at an estimated cost of from $350 to $400.
The car body was moved to the fairgrounds June of 1982. At the time of the movement it was estimated that about 20 to 24 people assisted in the move. This included the Angelica Town Highway Department, local trucker Roland Gallman who offered the use of one of his trucks on the Saturday morning and at no charge to the organization. It was a circus like atmosphere as the car body was loaded on the truck, followed by several cars and trucks which traveled on a street that was formerly part of the Shawmut right of way, now called Railroad Avenue. The entourage went past the original brick Shawmut station on its way to its new home. Gallman used his air horn to attract the attention of the locals that day.
The car was on display during fair week that year. Everyone was impressed that the car was once again back in Angelica. During the fair the car was dedicated. Special guest was "Box Car Willie," the country and western star, who was performing at the fair. He along with 100 year old Bert Smith a retired Pennsylvania Railroad agent and operator were on hand for the event, which got considerable TV and newspaper coverage.
Over the years we've been fortunate enough to have had two writers who had both actually worked on the Shawmut. A.J.(Doc) Dornish, a section foreman from St. Marys and Vince O'Leary who was retired from the railroad and resided in Cooperstown. Vince was the son of the chief train dispatcher in St. Marys.
Long time president, the late Jim McHenry, held raffles as a fundraiser, which were well supported and provided us with the extra income needed to purchase items for the Coach No. 278. Member Terry Mott from Bradford Pennsylvania had, in 1985, taken measurements of the former Shawmut depot at Farmers Valley, Pennsylvania prior to it being torn down. These measurements were eventually used to build the station on the Allegany Fairgrounds to use for artifacts and a place to have meetings and visit with old railroaders. We had a close relationship with the Allegany County Fair board, which made it easy to get the Board to approve the building of a 16' by 30' station building at the fairgrounds. During a meeting on Oct. 26, 1985 the society officers discussed plans for fund raising to complete the construction of the station. It was decided it would be a replica of the one at Farmer's Valley. The interior of this station houses many artifacts from the railroad's history.
The society maintains steam engine No. 88, built by the members using a real steam boiler and a chassis and tender trucks donated by the late Mike Cleary. The members had hoped to have a live steam engine for the train, but realized there was little area to run it. They completed the engine in 1989. This engine and its coal tender toured the country in 1997 to promote a McDonald's Monopoly game and the kids reading program.
The car "Clara", officially Coach No. 99, joined the display in 1998. This coach was the private business car of Receiver Frank Sullivan Smith who bought it with his own money and gave it to his wife Clara as a birthday present. After two years of hard work and restoration, it was officially dedicated in 2000. This car was never owned by the railroad but was numbered and lettered for it. The last piece of rolling stock is bobber caboose No. 175, originally built by the Shawmut in their Angelica shops in 1912. It arrived at the fair grounds in November, 1999 and is being restored.
So the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad Historical Society has quite a collection of railroad items all located on the grounds of the Allegany County Fair in Angelica. Without everyone's cooperation, this exhibit, with all the priceless artifacts, would have been lost.