 Construction began in 1858, and it was completed in 1859, from the coal mines at Snow Shoe to Snow Shoe Intersection (now Wingate) in the Bald Eagle Valley.There it connected with the west end of the newly constructed Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, which ran up the valley to Milesburg and then south to Bellefonte, and over which it had trackage rights.The name of the company was changed to the Bellefonte and Snowshoe Railroad Company on March 24, 1859, shortly before a ceremonial opening on 21 June 1859, featuring a special train from Bellefonte to Clarks, then the terminus of the line.