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ABOUT BLRHS
In 1991 a small group of railroad
enthusiasts, employees, and hobbyists started the Beaver Valley Junction with
the idea of preserving railway history, memorabilia, artifacts, and historical
items in the Beaver Valley area. The group became a chapter of the National
Railway Historical Society.
In 1999 we acquired the “UN” switch
tower from the CSX Railroad. Built in 1899, UN Tower stood for many years at the
entrance to the Baltimore & Ohio (later, the CSX) rail yards in West Pittsburg,
Pa. UN Tower was moved to its present location on Cherry St. in Mahoningtown, PA
and underwent a badly needed restoration.
The BVJC was now beginning to fulfill
its mission, membership was growing, and we were becoming known in the railroad
and rail fan community. We have developed a strong presence in Lawrence County!
We now own and are restoring the 101
year old (1907) P&LE RR station in West Pittsburg Pa., a 100 year old railroad
crossing watchman’s shanty from Ellwood City Pa., a Brookville diesel powered
rail bus that was built for the U.S. Army in 1940, and a Pennsylvania Railroad,
steel, porthole window caboose built by the PRR in 1942. We also own three other
cabooses that are in operating condition, a Fairmont “speeder” section gang car,
a battery powered “locomotive mover” donated by the Conrail Corp., baggage
wagons, and numerous other railroad related items.
With such a strong presence in
Lawrence County, we decided a name change was appropriate. On May 1st 2008 we
officially became the “BEAVER-LAWRENCE RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY”
and ended our
relationship with the NRHS. It is no longer a requirement for our members to
join the NRHS. Anyone wishing to do so may do this on their own. Our members
felt this change would help us to better focus on our mission: the preservation
of railroad history in the Beaver Valley and Lawrence County area.
We are a “friendly bunch”, always
looking for new members. Our membership is made up of men, women, husbands and
wives, children of members and individuals over 18 years of age. We are not a
“men only” group!
The cost of a primary membership is $30.00 per year plus $5.00 for each
additional family member.
Membership\BLRHS Membership Application rev 2008-11-11.pdf
We do not have monthly dues, but many members, if they choose, buy or
sell monthly raffle tickets. We hold a number of fundraising activities during
the year which, along with donations and grants, helps provide funds for our
restoration and preservation projects.
We need people with varied skills and interests. We have something for
anyone not afraid to get his or her hands dirty and take pride in the results.
Some of our members are involved in all of our projects while others focus on
just one project.
We hold elections of our
officers and board
members yearly. The current list of officers and board members are:
Wes Maycock,
President
Don Harper, Vice President
Regis Kuntz, Treasurer
Sharon DeVite, Recording Secretary
George Alberti
Don Gee
Clark McKim
Our goal is to one day open the West Pittsburg Station to the residents
of Beaver and Lawrence Counties as a museum and meeting place for community
events and social functions.
The BLRHS is registered as a
Non-Profit Corp. under Internal Revenue Code 501(c) (3). Gifts and donations are
welcome and may be tax deductible. For more information on how to apply for a
membership and where to attend one of our meetings, please visit our web site:
www.blrhs.org
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