We look forward to the day when the waters of Auld's Run will flow clean again. This small mountain stream begins far up the mountain and as it tumbles downward it picks up acid mine water discharges from abandoned coal mines. Groups like the Blacklick Creek Watershed are working hard to clean-up abandoned mine discharges but it takes time and money to do so. Because of its location along the Ghost Town Trail Auld's Run is receiving renewed attention as a potential site of a stream clean-up project.
In 1904 the Ebensburg & Blacklick Railroad extended its rail line from Dilltown to Blacklick Station. Two different construction companies worked the line from each end to speed up the construction. The large rock formations that you see here, near Heshbon, were blasted out of the hillside by the railroad construction crew. The rail ine was used primarily to haul coal and coke to the steel mills near Lackawanna, NY. Some passenger service also ran on the line to connect with the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad at Blacklick Station junction.
Iron bridges are disappearing fast throughout Pennsylvania and in some ways are becoming rarer than covered bridges. This iron bridge is located in the small village of Red Mill along the Ghost Town Trail. The bridge is closed to traffic. The bridge was manufactured in 1895 by the Variety Iron Works from Ohio. It's a ninety foot long bridge that was assembled in parts like a erector set.
