Who Are We?
The Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society is an all-volunteer historical society dedicated to promoting, preserving, and fostering a public appreciation of the railroading heritage of Bellefonte and Centre County, Pennsylvania. We own several historic pieces of rolling stock including two BUDD RDC self-powered passenger cars, a wooden caboose and snow plow on static display, and three speeder cars. Currently we host two annual excursion weekends, in October and December, with the support of the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority and the Nittany and Bald Eagle RR using restored 1920s era passenger equipment from Jeff Pontius' Penn Valley RR. BHRS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with no paid employees or administrators.
News
May 15, 2013
BHRS will be participating in the 2013 Centre Gives 36-Hour online donation campaign on May 22 – May 23.
Starting at 6:00 am on Wednesday, May 22 until 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 23, you can donate to BHRS by visiting www.bellefontetrain.org or www.centregives.org. All donations to the participating non-profits will be matched with up to $100,000 from the Centre Foundation and each donation makes BHRS eligible for cash prizes, as well!
In 2012 BHRS was one of many Centre County non-profits that participated and with your generous donations plus the matching grant from the Centre Foundation, we raised $809 that was designated toward the Caboose and Snowplow Restoration Fund.
As you may know, our Caboose #103 and Snow Plow have endured a fair amount of weather damage over the years, although through fundraisers like Centre Gives and our dedicated volunteers, we have been able to start weatherproofing and restoring them.
We again will be designating all donations to continue the restoration process of the Caboose and Snowplow.
This year, the minimum donation amount is $25 which is tax deductible.
Please consider participating in the event to help us continue our efforts in preserving these important pieces of Bellefonte railroad history.
May 9, 2013
BHRS is pleased to announce our 2013 Fall Foliage and Santa Express Schedule.
Fall Foliage weekend will kick off with a new event this year.
On Friday night October 18th we will offer family friendly Halloween train rides!
These trips will be 1 hour long, round trip from Bellefonte to Axeman (Fish hatchery) and will feature fun Halloween characters on board the train. Costumes are encouraged! On Saturday and Sunday October 19th and 20th join us for our traditional Fall Foliage excursions.
This year's trips will be round trip to Lemont, Sayers Dam and Tyrone.
For more information please visit our Ticket window.
Santa Express returns on the weekend of December 21, 22 & 23, with our traditional out and back, family oriented trips to Axeman.
Tickets for Fall Foliage will go on sale, on our website, in late August.
May 8, 2013
After many years, we have finally reinstated "Marker Lights" — the newsletter of the Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society — which will be published quarterly.
Hightlights from this edition include:
The 2013 Centre Gives Campaign
Updates on the RDC and Caboose Restoration projects
News from the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad
Volunteer opportunities
Membership reminders
Here is the Spring 2013 edition of Marker Lights. Happy reading!
Upcoming Events
- Centre Gives Online Donation Event | Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:00 AM – Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 6:00 PM | BHRS Website
- General Meeting | Monday, June 03, 2013 at 7:00 PM | Bellefonte Train Station
Note: Meetings are generally held the first Monday of every month at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted.
How You May Help
BHRS is vital to the tourism industry of Bellefonte and has brought several thousand people annually to the community of Bellefonte and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Donations to BHRS support the restoration of the historic caboose and snow plow on display near the train station in Bellefonte, the RDC cars that we hope to return to service, and maintenance on the track and speeder cars owned by BHRS.
We need volunteers with a variety of interests: Photographers, historians, grant writers, administrators, graphic designers, web site designers, fundraisers, marketing and many other areas that are not specifically railroad related. Of course we also need members willing to "work on the railroad" doing maintenance-of-way, rolling stock maintenance, wood working, engine repair, painting and many other hands-on jobs.
When you join BHRS you will have a chance to help preserve history, learn new skills, discover the past, and share your experience with future generations.
Meetings are held at the Bellefonte Train Station the first Monday of each month at 7pm. All are welcome to attend.
We are now accepting donations through Paypal. Your donation to BHRS (a 501(c)(3) corporation) is tax deductible.