| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Oakmont, Pennsylvania |
| Reporting mark | AVR |
| Locale | Western Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1992– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Other | |
| Website | carloadexpress.com |
The Allegheny Valley Railroad (reporting mark AVR) is a class III railroad that operates in Western Pennsylvania, and is owned by Carload Express, Inc.
AVR acts as a feeder line connecting its many and varied customers to Class I railroads such as CSX Transportation (CSX) and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), and regional lines such as the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad (B&P) and the modern Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WE). The AVR's mainline travels northward through Pittsburgh from an intersection with Norfolk Southern near Panther Hollow, before splitting in the Lawrenceville neighborhood. The AVR uses the P&W Subdivision segment of the line to cross the Allegheny River on the 33rd Street Railroad Bridge to interchange with the B&P in Bakerstown and/or Evans City. The other segment serves industries along the railroad's namesake valley between Pittsburgh and Arnold. The Glenwood B&O Railroad Bridge is utilized by it as part of its W&P Subdivision branchline from the city to Washington, Pennsylvania. A short spur line is the newest addition to the AVR's portfolio; it links the Allegheny Valley line with Sharpsburg via the Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge. Before this section opened in 2003, the bridge and stretch of track had sat unused since 1976.
The AVR owns the Glenwood Yard in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. They operate two GP11 engines, five SD40 engines (SD45 Carbodys), five GP40 engines, and now six SD60M (CLXX). AVR has also begun to conduct transloading operations within Glenwood Yard itself, handling limestone unit trains and also sand for fracking.