Good morning,
The Town of Bethany and Bethany College have such a rich history, including many accounts of Bethany’s past that some have not heard. For example, those driving to the nearby town of Wellsburg undoubtedly have noticed the opening through the hill that is marked by a historic sign. This spot was the location of tunnels that were once along the route of the Wellsburg, Bethany, & Washington Railroad.
The railroad was actually a trolley line, designed in the early 1900’s to bring students to Bethany, thereby increasing enrollment, and to open the area to further economic development. Not only was the railway a convenience for students and other passengers, who often enjoyed it for an excursion, but it also delivered milk, cattle, and food to the College and surrounding areas.
The first trolley rolled into Bethany on Sunday morning, June 7, 1908, during the College’s Baccalaureate. The event was celebrated by President T.E. Cramblet (an early booster of the railway), students, faculty, and town residents as a “great day for Bethany.”
Viaducts and trestles had been constructed for the trolley cars to run on, including framework that ran along the current Coal Bowl area. Remains of the elevated portion of the trolley line can still be glimpsed along Route 67. The trolley ran for some 17 years until a bus line was established and the costly and increasingly unreliable rail system was retired.
Although the name of the railway was “The Wellsburg, Bethany, and Washington Railroad,” the line never actually made it to Washington, PA, despite the hopes of its founders. Yet it continues in history and local legend as a prominent part of the Bethany College story.
