Monongahela Connecting

Company History: The MCRR opened in 1887 with a 7 mile line connecting the Jones & Laughlin Eliza Furnaces with the firm’s South Side Mill on the other side of the Monongahela River. In addition to the steel mill traffic, MCRR also served other customers along the route. This line is affectionately know by locals as the Mon Con. J&L and their successors owned the MCRR until 2003 when it was sold and merged into the Allegheny Valley Railroad.

Successor/Parent History: This line started up in 1995 to operate 77 miles of former PRR and B&O lines radiating in three directions from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One line runs north to a connection with the Buffalo & Pittsburgh at Gibsonia. A second runs southwest to Washington, PA and a third runs northeast along the river to New Kensington. They are owned by a small shortline group called Carload Express that runs four shortlines in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The AVL roster includes four GP11's and three SD40-3's.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.