Studying some maps and the interesting profile of some buildings in Cassandra PA its clear a RR spur circled through town from off the main line...and this spur is tied into the existing spur further west that serves a coal loadout. Of course the Cassandra part is long gone. Can anyone provide any background on this? Perhaps this was an old curvy alignment of the PRR?
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That looks like the alignment of the original Allegheny Portage Railroad.
The townsite of Cassandra had 2 separate roadbeds curving through, the New Portage line occupied what is now Portage Street. It was built in 1855, 1 year after the original line of the PRR was built just to the east. The NPRR was abandoned in 1858 by the PRR, their original line lasted until 1898, when the current PRR/PC/NS main was built on a series of cuts and fills, eliminating the S-curves of PRR's original line from Lilly to Portage.
The current fire station in Cassandra is built on x-PRR grade, this original grade is also the Ben'sCreek branch between Sonman and Portage.
The Allegheny Portage roadbed and Plane #3 between Lilly and Cassandra is now occupied by PA RT 53.
With no less than 4 intertwining roadbeds through this area of the West slope, it can be hard for a casual observer to understand.
This book explains with maps/photos far better than I can...
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