Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad
Jamison City station on the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad
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| Locale | Columbia County, Pennsylvania |
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| Dates of operation | 1888–1928 |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | Reading Railroad (Bloomsburg Branch) |
| Length | 29 miles |
| Headquarters | Williamsport, Pennsylvania |
The Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad, (e.1888-d.1972) also called the B & S Railroad, was a long-lived independent shortline railroad that existed under that name operating independently from 1888 to 1928 in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, when it was made a subsidiary of the Reading Railroad, which closed it in 1972. The shortline railroad was 29 miles long, running from south of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania past the town, then northwards to Jamison City, Pennsylvania, with 4.45 miles of yard tracks. The Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad was one of five railroads serving Bloomsburg near the turn of the 20th century. The Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad Company's headquarters was in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the managers of the company were James Corcoran and Thomas Wheeler. The Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad owned five locomotives and seven cars in 1917.
In the 1870s and early 1880s, a Bloomsburg newspaper, The Columbian, ran a series of articles promoting a railroad from Bloomsburg to Sullivan County. These articles told of timber, "soft coal", and "iron ore" in the area, and stated that communities along the railroad's route would profit greatly from the railroad. However, the idea to build the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad was first conceived by David Jewett Waller. In August 1883, a meeting was hosted in Benton to discuss the railroad, and the charter for the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad was granted in November 1883. The right-of-way for the railroad was secured by H.J. Connor and Silas McHenry.
Charles R. Buckalew was made president of the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad starting in 1886. In 1886, tracks were laid near Orangeville, and in 1887, tracks were laid near Bloomsburg. In May 1887, the Columbian started a column entitled "Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad Notes". The tracks reached Benton in 1887. The railroad was completed in 1888, and service began on November 30 of that year. The railroad was mostly built by fifty Italian workers overseen by John Bush. Approximately 0.75 miles of track were laid each day of construction. In 1889, there were plans to extend the railroad further north to Bernice, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley Railroad, if coal fields were discovered in that area, but this plan was never carried out. However, a route in this area was surveyed.
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