The NS Office Car Special descends 'The Slide' between the summit at AR Tower and Bennington Curve, passing the last notable remnant of the iron furnace town for which the (infamous) curve is named.
Bennington, PA began as a shantytown for Irish immigrant workers during the construction of the Allegheny Tunnel, which would pierce the ridge of the Allegheny Escarpment. The PRR and Blair Iron & Coal Company (later part of Cambria Iron), both maintained coal mining operations at Bennington for some time. Harsh winters would often block Sugar Run Road, meaning the only way anyone or anything got into or out of Benny was by rail. By the time the Red Arrow plummeted off the embankment at the bottom of the Slide on February 18, 1947, the town was all but abandoned. Today, little remains aside from the cemetery.
