Ligonier Valley Railroad - Passenger Service

Passenger Service

Passenger service was available between Latrobe and Ligonier up to the cessation of service in 1952. Stations in order from west to east were as follows. Distances shown are measured from Latrobe in miles:

• Latrobe (0 miles): Connection with Pennsylvania Railroad
• Oakville (1.5 miles / 2.4 kilometres)
• Osburn (2.1 miles / 3.4 kilometres)
• Kingston (3.2 miles / 5.1 kilometres)
• Long Bridge, Pennsylvania (6.5 miles / 10.5 kilometres)
• Idlewild (originally Idle Wild): Served the railroad-owned Idlewild Park, an amusement park.
• Darlington (7.4 miles / 11.9 kilometres)
• Milbank (8.2 miles / 13.2 kilometres) (originally Coal Pit)
• Bells (9.1 miles / 14.6 kilometres)
• Ligonier (10.2 miles / 16.4 kilometres): Headquarters, with connection to Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad. The old depot and headquarters building now serves as offices for the Ligonier Valley School District.
• North Ligonier (on the Ligonier-Wilpen-Fort Palmer extension)
• Hannah’s Run (on the Ligonier-Wilpen-Fort Palmer extension)
• Wilpen (on the Ligonier-Wilpen-Fort Palmer extension)

Some sources show slightly different mileages. For example, a 1941 timetable shows Ligonier as 10.5 miles (16.9 km) from Latrobe.

Passenger service was quite frequent, considering the small populations of the communities along the line. The railroad-owned Idlewild Park was a substantial draw for passenger traffic, reflected in the fact that extra passenger trains were run on Sundays.

In 1941, there were five trains per day in each direction between Latrobe and Ligonier. Four of the five stopped at all stations, while one train per day served only Latrobe, Kingston, Darlington, and Ligonier. In addition, three extra trains ran Sunday only, and yet another train ran daily except Saturday.

The 1941 timetable shows no passenger service on the Wilpen branch. However, the June 1916 edition of the Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States shows two trains per day in each direction serving (in order from south to north) Ligonier, North Ligonier, Hannah’s Run, and Wilpen.