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.
BHRS News
- BHRS will have our Second Saturday Work Party for May in Lemont. We will continue clearing the right of way of brush and overgrowth. This month's work party will run from 9am to 4pm. Feel free to join us for any or all of that time as your schedule allows. We will meet at the Lemont Post Office around 9am on May 12th. If you come later, you will find us along the tracks. Please bring clippers or other hand tools if you have them. If not, some will be available on site. Remember to bring gloves, work shoes and eye protection for safety. Hope we will see you there!
- A very special thank you to Sue Swain of SPE Federal Credit Union for her generous donation to our Caboose and Snow Plow Restoration Fund!
- BHRS will host our annual Fall Foliage excursions October 20 and 21, 2012. This year we will offer 4 trips. All rides are round trip departing from the Bellefonte Station. At 10:00 am on Saturday we will depart for Pleasant Gap. At 12:00 pm we will run to Lemont (this trip has not previously been offered). And finally at 2:30 pm we will depart for Sayers Dam near Howard, PA. On Sunday we will have a single trip departing at 1:00 pm for Tyrone. This year's trip will have an extended stopover at Tyrone so passengers should have time to visit the Historical Museum and, hopefully, see a few trains pass by on the nearby Norfolk Southern main line.
The Santa Express will also return this year: Friday, Dec. 14 – 6:00 & 8:00 pm; Saturday. Dec. 15 – 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm; Sunday, Dec. 16 – 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm.
On-sale dates will be posted this summer. 
BHRS hosted a track work party on April 14th. Turnout was limited, but we were able to clear about 1/4 mile of track from overhanging trees and bush, and to chip several large brush piles that had accumulated in past years.
There is much to do to have the track ready for a fall excursion, but we hope we can make that happen.- BHRS recently had several hundred board feet of new siding and roof decking milled. This material will be used for replacement work on our former Bellefonte Central caboose #103. The siding was milled locally from old barn timbers. Starting in the spring, we will be making structural repairs to some rotten beams on the caboose and then installing the new siding and roofing material. We hope to have the entire roof and siding project completed by the end of 2012.
- All remaining windows have been ordered for 9167. There are only 13 left to be installed.
- On August 13, a BHRS work crew started removing the roof of Bellefonte Central Caboose #103. This is the first step in the full restoration of this historic piece of equipment. Ten members of BHRS participated in the work day and good progress was made. BHRS continues to raise funds for this conservation effort and is always looking for both sponsors and folks who are interested in becoming active participants in the restoration process. Donations can be made to BHRS at Bellefonte Train Station, 320 W. High St., Bellefonte, PA 16823.
Upcoming Events
- General Meeting | Monday, May 07, 2012 at 7:00 PM | Bellefonte Train Station
- Work Day | Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 9:00 AM | Lemont track, Post Office Lemont
- Caboose Committee Meeting | Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 7:00 PM | Bellefonte Train Station
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.