10 years of negotiation, planning and construction came together on August 21 when the Montour Trail invited trail users, partners, volunteers, donors and more to the official opening of the brand-new Muse Branch of the trail.
Located near the McConnell Trails neighborhood in Cecil Township, the Muse Branch follows the former right-of-way of a 1.6 mile spur built by the Montour Railroad Company to service a coal mine in Muse.
The Montour Railroad Company was organized in 1877 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Imperial Coal Company, to bring coal from mines near Imperial to a barge-loading facility on the Ohio River at Coraopolis. It expanded to passenger service, mail carrying and even hauling produce to Pittsburgh before the downturn of the coal market in the 1970s slowed operations, officially grinding the railroad to a halt in 1984. The tracks were officially abandoned in 1986 after over a century of operation, and the process of converting it to a multi-use, public trail began the very next year.
The Montour Trail has expanded many times since conversion efforts began, and the Muse Branch is another exciting part of the ongoing process. The opening of the branch is the first of a two-phase plan to construct trail along the entire former right-of-way in the town of Muse.
Generous support from the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency, NVR/Ryan Homes, members and donors of the Montour Trail Council, and the Montour Trail's maintenance crew contributed to the successful completion of this project.
Parking for the new section of the trail is available at designated points in the McConnell Trails development.
23rd Annual Gateway Engineers Tour the Montour
2025 marks the 23rd return of the Gateway Engineers Tour the Montour, a non-competitive, family-fun bike ride beginning at mile marker zero in Coraopolis.
The tour is choose-your-own-adventure style, with 5 different out-and-back routes to follow ranging from 6 to 62 miles. Both semi-pros and casual bikers will enjoy biking along scenic early fall views of this former railroad line with friends and family all the way from the trail’s beginning to its turnaround in Washington County. Participants that register before August 31 are guaranteed a 2025 Tour the Montour t-shirt.
If riding isn’t your thing, don’t worry, because FUNction at the Junction kicks off directly after Tour the Montour riders head out. This community festival is open to the public from mid-morning until 5pm and will feature live bluegrass music, kids’ activities, food and beverage vendors and basket raffles.
For more information, and to register online visit Tour the Montour.
Photo Credit: Gene P. Schaeffer.
