Following the American Revolution, the Allegheny River Valley quickly became a primary supply route for Pittsburgh and points west. River travel flourished. The first commercial use of the Allegheny River was in 1806, when lumber was floated down to the Ohio River. Oil iron and other bulk cargo along with passengers traveled the river in canoes, keelboats, rafts and steam boats. In 1865, 380,200 pounds of iron, 3.5 million feet of lumber and 441,570 barrels of oil (from Oil Creek) were transported down the river to Pittsburgh. The last trip of a steamboat carrying passengers was made by the “Ida Rose” in April 1868.
Native walking trails along the banks of the river were eventually developed for use by the railroads to haul goods. The first railroad line along the banks of the Allegheny River was authorized in 1837 and eventually was named the Allegheny Valley Rail Road Company (AVRR).
On April 4, 1837, a charter was granted for the construction of the Pittsburgh, Kittanning and Warren Railroad. Fifteen years later, in 1852, construction of the railroad began and its name was changed to the Allegheny Valley Railroad.
On December 11, 1855, the Allegheny Valley Railroad opened for business as the Rosston Station at the mouth of Crooked Creek. The railroad began hauling iron ore, coal, lumber and farm products, and providing passenger service in 1855.
Kittanning Station was opened on January 23, 1856, followed by Kelly Station in 1860.
The first telephone lines were erected in Armstrong County in 1863. These lines were built along the rail line. At a later date the lines became absorbed by Western Union. In 1865, AVRR extended service to Monticello Furnace with ore to make iron that is of better quality.
In 1867, the AVRR extended its tracks to Phillipston, 3-miles north of Redbank Creek. Phillipston became the main service for the locomotives along the line. William Phillips urged immediate construction on the extension of AVRR to Brady’s Bend. The track was extended and completed to Venango City, where it opened for business in December 1867. On February 2, 1870, AVRR was completed from Pittsburgh to Oil City.
In 1874, at the mouth of Redbank Creek, the “Low Grade Division” also known as Redbank Junction was completed and branched off the AVRR and traveled to Driftwood, PA, where it was known as Bennett’s Branch. The Low-Grade Division also branched down to Redbank Creek to Lawsonham through Rimersburg to Sligo. The Sligo Branch was constructed to transport lumber & coal from Clarion County. This corridor is now known as the Redbank Valley Trails.
In 1886, Phillipston service station along with other businesses burned down. Due to its importance the station was quickly rebuilt. Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the bankrupt Allegheny Valley Rail Road in 1900.
In August 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company took over operations of the Allegheny Valley Railroad changing the name of the railroad to the Buffalo & Allegheny Division. Track was extended to Buffalo, NY. New stations were built at Johnetta, Kittanning & Templeton and built modern steel bridges over the Kiskimenitas River, Redbank Creek and Mahoning Creek.
The construction of the Brady Tunnel began in 1913 and was completed in 1916. The tunnel cut off 6-miles and the high degree of bends on the line through East Brady. Service along this line continued through the first half of the 20th century and into the 1970’s. In 1984, the line was abandoned by Conrail.
