Bellefonte Central Railroad
Claims to Fame
(Above, an H9s-powered freight rounds the Waddle horseshoe curve circa 1947, J. Butler photo)

The Bellefonte Central was in many ways a typical shortline railroad. Yet it can claim some important distinctions that helped to give it a unique character. Did you know that the BFC . . .

Had a governor as its president? Pennsylvania Governor James A. Beaver of Bellefonte served as first president of the Buffalo Run, Bellefonte, and Bald Eagle Railroad, later reorganized as the Bellefonte Central.

Carried the President of the United States? President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, and their party rode to the Penn State campus over BFC rails aboard their private car, the Ferdinand Magellan on May 9, 1953.

Had an employee who was the first to receive benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act? In 1935, retired BFC car repair foreman William Billett received Railroad Retirement Board Check No. 1.

Originated more lime and stone than any other shortline in the nation? It originated approximately 14 million tons of quarry products during its corporate lifetime, including 383,737 tons in the peak year of 1925 and 381,183 tons in the second-highest year of 1955.

Had a locomotive that was designated the “All American Short-line Diesel”? Trains magazine bestowed that singular honor on BFC SW1200 No. 5624 in 1987.