Coal mining storys by Jack
The Old Lehigh L C N started minind in 1820s by quarry strip mining in Summit Hill Pa .Early German farmers dug the coal .Oxen and mules pulled the coal from the pits .To the surface .Muscle bound men Broke The Lumps with sledge hammers .These guys were called Breakers .So Called daylight miners .Josiah White the owner knew the market was Get The Coal To Philadelphia ..White laid out a railroad By Transit from Summit Hill The quarry toMauch Chunk where there was a river .After clearing the rail path from trees white and his men laid Oak Wood Raills Covered withaHalf inchMetal covering .It seems T rails only were available from England .The Height from the quarry was approx .a mile . LoadedCoal cars would then drift by gravity to Mauch Chunk .Now read the following .To prevent the coal cars from running too fastThey came up with this design .As the care gained the fastest speed The Cars Hit A Switch and Click clickAnd would leave the rail path and run To A Siding .The cars Would stop dead since they Ran Uphill .next gravity let the cars slide back and AgainClick Click get backon the tracks and continue to Mauch Chunk .There were Arks Waiting at docks to be loaded with coal .This trip from The Qurry was some 3 miles .After loadingthe arks Mules pulled the empty cars back to the mines .I forgot the following The Mules Road Down In There own cars on The back Of the Trip .As business And coal demand was greater a steam engine at a Fixed Point pulled the emptys back to the mine .Story By Jack
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Very interesting story Jack. Thanks! I've wondered how they got the coal down to the Lehigh river in the real early days. Those mules got a nice ride going down, but not so much fun the other way.
The area I'm in had a good bit of iron ore mining for a very long time. Some forges as well. The honey hole of all honey holes was just over a hill from me. Each guy that owned it got rich in 3-5 years and then doubled the price each time it changed hands. The last big forge was down the road from me. They had to use charcoal for forging from the mid 1700's to about the 1860's. A lot of guys worked as "coalers" round the clock in the forests, axing trees and burning down into charcoal. In the 1860's, a rail spur was built from Shoemakersville and across the creek. So, they then had Anthracite from the barges on the Schuylkill river canal. When it shut down, 1880's I think, they had 400 employees with 1100 wives and kids. Most left but some were stranded.
The area I'm in had a good bit of iron ore mining for a very long time. Some forges as well. The honey hole of all honey holes was just over a hill from me. Each guy that owned it got rich in 3-5 years and then doubled the price each time it changed hands. The last big forge was down the road from me. They had to use charcoal for forging from the mid 1700's to about the 1860's. A lot of guys worked as "coalers" round the clock in the forests, axing trees and burning down into charcoal. In the 1860's, a rail spur was built from Shoemakersville and across the creek. So, they then had Anthracite from the barges on the Schuylkill river canal. When it shut down, 1880's I think, they had 400 employees with 1100 wives and kids. Most left but some were stranded.
- freetown fred
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Nice Jack----thanx!!!