Milepost 44 Mifflin Junction
By Gene P. Schaeffer
I hope you all don't mind taking a peek back at a small section
of trackage at Mifflin Junction.
As stated in the Montour RR book, the property at Mifflin Jct. was leased from
the Union Railroad. The Montour had a small terminal there for many years where
both diesel and steam locomotives were kept.
In
the attached scene, were looking west from on top of Delwar Road overpass which
was just below the scale at Mifflin. Each day and night, crews arriving Mifflin
Junction would divert onto Montours own trackage that is now part of the scrap
yard, pulling their train up to the scale here the engine(s) would cut away, run
around the train and shove over the loads over the scale for weighing.
Car load by car load would ease over the live rails of the
scale, and from inside the scale you could watch the weighmaster stamping the
weights of each car onto their respective bills.
The weighmaster during my time riding into and out of Mifflin Jct. was a
pleasant gentleman by the name of Gene McCuen. Gene lived in Bridgeville and
would receive his nightly telephone call from the train dispatcher advising him
when the estimate arrival time of the crew in Mifflin.
Mr. McCuen told me many times his arrival at Mifflin usually ended up hours
before the Montour crew did and he would as best as possible, take a
"un-official" nap during the wait.
So vividly, I remember those nightly rides into Mifflin. Coming out of Salida,
the Flagman would announce the car count till the caboose was off Montour
trackage so the connection switch there could be lined and locked back for the
N&W main.
When the highball was announced over the airwaves, the
SW-9's came back to life, throttling up restarting the train...the gentle hiss
of sanders accompanied the constant flashing of the wheel slip light, and the
un-mistakable whine of the EMDs loosing their footing echoed throughout the
engine cab.
Years after that last train of coal was delivered to Mifflin Junction, now
living just 2 blocks up the street from the crossing on the Mifflin Branch, I
would take the dog for a walk and re-explore that Mifflin Branch trackage,
stopping occasionally to examine the burn marks in the rail head near the end of
that tangent coming out of Salida, where those SW-9's from years earlier,
sometimes with me aboard, would leave permanent scars that only a few would
understand.
30 years and millions of tons of steel coil, coal, auto parts, miscellaneous
freight, coke and a wide variety of newer EMD products later, those scars left
behind on the rail head by those elderly SW-9s have been gently erased. Here and
there a few rail burns still remain, but today who would understand. Only a
devoted few understood the significance of keeping record back then, even at
such a young age.
Those trips to Mifflin during those God awful night time hours of the early 70's
were offset by thrill and adventure of being part of the Montour RR. The
feeling...the participation...the experience of being aboard those multiple
unit consist of SW-9's...with 40...50...and as much as 89 loads of Mifflin
coal...out on N&W's Mifflin Branch...the roar of the diesel engines... the cab
atmosphere...the darkness of the night time hours...seeing homes and
businesses fast asleep as the Montour moved another train load of Champion Coal
closer to destination...
There was always one household inside that last mile coming into Mifflin, that
no matter what hour it was, the bedroom television reflected itself outside
bringing attention to the rider back in the locomotive consist. I often wondered
if the train crews found amusement as I did, finding themselves looking for that
same residence to see if that same t.v. was still on, trip after trip over the
N&W into Mifflin Junction.
Arrival at Mifflin...engines cut away and back through #14 track to the rear of
the coal. Sometimes the train had to be cut in half for weighing. With the
engines behind the caboose and each car bled off, weighing would begin.
Standing in the doorway of the white brick building, directly above the
doorway a black metal plate, paint faded in time, identified this place as
Mifflin Jct.
A few car lengths to my right, a darkened figure gripping a railroad lantern,
cuts away each car load of coal for the trip over the scale. Gene McCuen paced
with experience, jockeys each waybill into position for stamping. Those railroad
cars, just a few feet from the buildings threshold where I stand, are
frightening in size to a teenager as each eases itself over the scale.
To my left, where the attached photo was taken from, a gathering of MONTOUR and
B&LE hoppers loaded with Champion coal, rain down a shower of coal from each
cars coupling after the trip over the scale.
The photo was taken 4 years after the last Montour coal train was delivered to
Mifflin Junction. On the ground in the photo, witness the excess Champion coal
still there from all of those hard couplings....
Delwar road overpass has since been retired. The Mifflin scale is a distant
memory. The red brick building over to the left is now a Target store, the Union
RR switchers are no longer kept at Mifflin...but the Memories of the Montour
Railroad delivering Champion coal to Mifflin Junction linger on with time.
Montour
Railroad 
