USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 20
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Mr. Gay resigned his connection with the work at this time. While the tracks were in a condition to be run over, the most important parts about the planes were unfinish- ed. The chief engineer of the company began at once to make the needed alterations and improvements of the work, and in the course of the next two years the whole was remodeled upon plans that have been successfully used ever since. The first hoisting machinery was im- perfect in design and construction, and after many ef- forts to adapt it to the wants of the trade it was aban- doned, and that in present use was designed and patented by Mr. Wilder. The hoisting wheels of the Mahanoy and Broad mountain planes, and also of the Wilkes-Barre planes belonging to the Lehigh Navigation Company and operated by the New Jersey Central Railroad Company, are of the same construction. The pushing cars 'Bar- neys) attached to the wire ropes had at first telescopic axles to enable them to be drawn together, after descend- ing the planes on the same rails as the coal cars run, to enter the pit at the foot of planes, while the train passes over them. Frequent accidents rendered it necessary to lay another track of narrow guage between the main rails, and run upon it a "pusher," or "Barney," with wheels made fast to a shorter axle, that would enter the pit without danger of getting off the track. A new method of ballast for the tail rope was also devised. Ow- ing to the length of the planes the method of signals in common use to communicate between the head and foot of the planes was found to be impracticable, and a simple electro-magnetic bell signal was arranged and put in use successfully in 1856. This has worked so well since that not even the telephone has supplanted it. The various new devices introduced cheapened the cost of movement over the planes to such an extent as to reduce it to the sum charged on any other part of the road, viz., two and a half cents per ton per mile. The blocks of wood in- serted in the perimeters of the wheel, in which the groove for the wire rope to run upon is made, will last from two to three years, and the wire rope has elevated more than 3,000,000 gross tons before removal.
In 1856 an extension of the Tremont branch was made to Mt. Eagle under a charter creating the Mt. Eagle and Tremont Railroad Company. This road opened the lands owned by Hon. Henry K. Strong, who procured
the authority to build the line while he was a member of the Legislature. A large amount of coal was transported from the property, but in this case, as in many others in the anthracite coal fields, the cost of the road was too great for the tonnage supplied, and taken by itself it never was profitable to the company. Indeed, all the branches running into the lands in the vicinity of Tre- mont never paid a large percentage. As a rule, land- owners and operators are sanguine men, and lavish in promises which are seldom fulfilled. In the same year (1856) the Big Run branch was built as far as Locust Dale, about three miles from the foot of the planes, to open new mines at that point. In 1860 the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company made application for an extension of the Big Mine Run branch to the basin north of the Locust mountain. The elevation of the valley was three hundred feet above the terminus of that branch; and as the only method of overcoming the height by a graded line was through a long switch-back, involv- ing heavy and very expensive work, it was deemed ad- visible to make a self-acting or gravity plane, where the descending load raised the empty cars. This was done at a comparatively small cost, and a new system of ma- chinery, specially adapted to heavy and rapid working, was invented and put in use, and it is still in good order after twenty years of heavy service. During the same year the Big Run branch was extended from the termin- us of the portion constructed from the foot of the planes westward through the Big Run valley to Locust Gap, where it connected with the Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad. By this line the railway system of Schuylkill county was connected with the western and southern railroads through the Philadelphia and Erie and Northern Central railways. The opening of this branch, on the 18th of October, 1860, was celebrated by an excursion train from Philadelphia to Sunbury, par- ticipated in by the Schuylkill Navigation Company, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, and the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad Company, and their guests. Six passenger coaches, with over five hun- dred persons, were hauled by a single locomotive, weighing thirty tons, across the Broad mountain at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour. This was considered quite a feat at that time, and probably no engine of equal weight has ever done better on ascending grades of one hundred and ten feet per mile. The train was taken down the planes (two cars at a time) without delay or accident.
An extension of the Mill Creek branch of the Phila- delpha and Reading Railroad into the Mahanoy basin, via the old Girard line, or the immediate vicinity of it, by the Mahanoy and Broad Mountain Railroad Com- pany, was put under contract at this time, with George B. Roberts as chief engineer. The road was intended to be a rival of the Mine Hill Railroad in that region, and the charges for transportation over it were reduced below those of the latter company, to the serious detriment of its aggregate income. As was perfectly natural under the circumstances, a conflict began between the rival
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HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.
interests, and litigation of a very unsatisfactory character continued for more than a year, resulting in nothing more than a confirmation of what had been suspected from the beginning, that the Philadelphia and Reading Company had been the instigator of the whole movement, for the purpose of obtaining ultimately a control of the Mine Hill road, and through it crippling the canal as a coal carrying line.
The next movement was to withdraw the eastern ton- nage from the Reading company, which had previously received more than one-half the coal passing over the Mine Hill Railroad, and send it to New York by a new connection with the Lehigh Valley and New Jersey Central railroads. A charter had been granted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania for a railroad, entitled the Schuylkill Haven and Lehigh River Railroad, in 1856, and in October and November of that year a preliminary survey of the line was made by Alexander W. Rea. At the session of 1859 the charter was extended and amended to include members of the Mine Hill Company among the commissioners to open books and organize the company. On the 15th of July the books were opened at Franklin Hall, Philadelphia, and 8,000 shares, or a majority of the stock, were taken by the Mine Hill Company. The commissioners met on the 5th of August and completed the organiza- tion of the company. The surveys were rapidly made, and the work placed under contract on the 5th of December following. The grading and masonry were pushed ahead as fast as possible through the winter, which was favorable for the contractors, and by spring had advanced so much as to convince the managers of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company that at an early day they would have to encounter a competition for the eastern traffic far more formidable than they had thought it possible to effect; and when they learned that the whole superstructure and rolling stock had been con- tracted for, they sought at once to stop the construction of the road by opening negotiations for the lease of the Hine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad and its de- pendencies for a period of 999 years. As a preliminary to this the new company was to be merged in the old, under a general law providing for such action between corporations, after which the terms of the lease began to be discussed by committees of the two companies. A meeting was finally held on April 24th by the directors of the Schuylkill Haven and Lehigh River Railroad Company at their office in Philadelphia to take action upon the Reading offer, and they resolved to accept it, stop all work upon the line, go into a liquidation of the contracts, and settle all claims for damages that had been incurred during the progress of the work. In the mean- time an appraisal of the rolling stock and loose property of the Mine Hill Railroad Company was made, and the property scheduled in the lease, with the option by the Reading Company to take it at such estimated value. Many things occurred to retard the final transfer of the property, and the officers of the company continued to operate the line all through 1863 and during the early
part of 1864, dividing their time and energies between the transportation of coal and movement of troops sta- tioned at various points for the protection of the region, and to aid the enrolling officers to make the draft for the army.
Few will ever know the extent of labor and anxiety involved in the railway service of this period, not to say anything of the personal peril that daily and nightly followed the movements of officers. The loyal men and youths of the mining population were in the field doing noble work for their country, whether by birth or adop- tion; the disloyal remained at home, and they far out- numbered the former, and carried with them everywhere the means of destruction to properties of immense value in themselves, and of still greater value to the govern- ment in its hour of greatest peril; because from the anthracite mines came the power of supremacy over the blockade runners that used bituminous coal, the black smoke from which signaled their presence from long distances to their foe, unseen save perhaps by a doubtful wreath of steam rising upon the frosty air. To guard these properties, and keep the reckless population in check by kindness, by vigilance that knew no rest, and, when necessary, by the dark mouthed cannon and glitter- ing bayonets, was a work of no ordinary character, and could have no recognition, and no reward but the con- sciousness of duty.
At length the contracts were signed, and on the 16th of May, 1864, the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Rail- road was formally transferred to the officers appointed by the lessee to receive it. The chief engineer and superintendent was retained by the old company till January Ist, 1865, when he asked to be relieved, and closed his connection with the road, after a continuous service of nearly seventeen years, during which time he had never been absent from duty for any purpose except when absolute necessity called him away.
A general review of the status of this company results in an impression of profound regret that the stockholders ever permitted the control of it to pass from them They had always received large dividends on their in- vestment, and had they availed themselves of the recom- mendation of those fully qualified to judge the condition of things impartially they would have found no cause to apprehend financial difficulties in the future. The terms offered by the Lehigh Valley Company and the Central Railroad of New Jersey were such as would have given them all the benefits of a through line, and would also have put those companies in a position to defy competi- tion; and the crisis through which each has since passed, bringing disaster to one and great reduction in the value of the other, would probably have only been a temporary embarrassment. If, at the meeting of the committees of the three companies to arrange the terms of the con- nections between them, the contracts had been drawn and executed at once, as suggested by the chief engineer, all these resulting evils would have been avoided, and the region would have remained in a comparatively flourishing condition. The great corporation which to-
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RAILROADS IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.
day is floating, an unwieldy wreck, on a sea of trouble, Though the work was commenced early several acts were passed extending the time for its completion. In 1833 its completion was extended to 1838, in 1842 till 1847, and in 1847 five years from the date of the act. threatened with utter ruin by every financial wave sweep- ing over it, would have been the safe investment its pa- trons believed it in years gone by. At the time of the change the road had a reputation abroad for its progres- Locomotives were placed on this road in the spring of 1833. Of one of these the Miners' Journal said at that time: "It is able to travel at the rate of ten miles an hour, leading a train of fifteen cars, each carrying three tons. Now, allowing two trips a day for an engine, this would be equal to 90 tons a day; or 540 tons per week." sive spirit, and on no one were greater advances made in the department of machinery and road fixtures. Its hoist- in gmachinery for inclined planes was excelled nowhere in this or any other country; its locomotives were the most powerful of all then constructed, and the accommodations furnished the numerous collieries on the various branches have never been equaled. In This company were transporters only, at first, but sub- sequently, like many others, they came to be owners of coal lands, and operators. An act passed in 1832 gave exclusive privileges of transportation; and at a public meeting in McKeansburg, in 1833, a resolution was adopted recommending the circulation of petitions for the repeal of this act. The resolution stated that this "monopolizing policy is daily practiced to the great in- jury of individuals in that section of the commonwealth." At that time there existed a strong feeling of opposition the local management great vigilance was exercised: no trains collided, no engines exploded, and few men in the long term of years were killed or injured. And yet in the very midst of a prosperous career, with a full corps of energetic men to aid them in an expansive policy, with a prestige that would have commanded any amount of capital, and the co-operation of men whose views of our railway system were constantly widening, they suffered a work that cost $4,000,000 to pass away from their con- trol, and became the passive observers of the decline of a to the creation of chartered companies, with exclusive
system they had created, to the mere shadow of corpor- ate authority. All the elements of a greater system still exist, and may be combined in the future to make the road what it should have been in the past, ere the desire for personal aggrandizement and corporate greed had paralyzed its energies. The present organization is no more than a mere agency for the distribution of the semi-annual rentals among the stockholders.
UNION CANAL RAILROAD.
This was the first railroad chartered in the county. It was incorporated by a supplement to the several acts in- corporating the Union Canal Company, which supple- ment was approved March 3d, 1826. It authorized the company " to construct a railway or railways branching from said navigation to any point or points which may be required for the communication between the said Union canal and the coal mines of the Swatara and the country west and northwest thereof."
In accordance with the provisions of its charter it was constructed to the junction of Lorberry and Swatara creeks, and used mainly for the transportation of coal. It was operated by horse power till about 1848, when motive power was brought into use on this and the roads that had been built beyond it.
LITTLE SCHUYLKILL RAILROAD.
A supplement approved on the 14th day of April, 1828, to the act incorporporating the Little Schuylkill Naviga- tion Company, empowered that company to construct a railroad in place of the canal and slackwater navigation which the original act authorized; or in lieu of any part of such canal and navigation, from a point at or near the junction of the Big and Little Schuylkill to a point near where the Wilkes-Barre state road crosses the Little Schuylkill, or to a point at or near the foot of Broad mountain.
privileges.
By the connection which was formed with the Cata- wissa railroad this road became a link in the through line between Philadelphia and Buffalo and Niagara Falls; and thus became an important passenger road.
A branch of this road was extended west from Tama- qua about a mile and a half, connecting with the Moun- tain Link railroad. Other short branches were con- structed to different collieries along its course.
SCHUYLKILL VALLEY RAILROAD.
This was chartered March 20th, 1827, as a navigation company; and on the 14th of April, 1828, a supplement was passed which authorized the construction of a rail- road from near the mouth of Mill creek to a point at or near the mill of George Reber, Esq.
An extension of six miles was authorized by a supple- ment passed April 12th, 1844. January 24th, 1845, the time for completing the second track between Middle- port and Tuscarora was extended till the annual tonnage of coal over the first track should amount to 1,000,000 tons; and in 1849 it was extended to the 24th of March, 1853.
March 8th, 1859, a road from Tuscarora to Tamaqua, to be completed in eighteen months, was authorized; and April 2nd, 1860, the time was extended twelve months from the date of the act.
The progress of construction of this road is indicated by the supplements to the charter, passed from time to time, as above stated.
It is noteworthy that the supplement of April 12th, 1844, provided that the company should charge no more than one cent per mile for transporting loaded cars, and should return them empty without charge; and that it should make no charge for the locomotives of others, used for this purpose, on its road.
Near Tamaqua this road connects, by means of the
12
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HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.
Mountain Link Railroad, with a branch of the Little Schuylkill; and through it with the system of railroads running out from Tamaqua. A number of short branches run from this road at various points along the Schuylkill valley to the collieries on the southern slope of Mine hill.
MILL CREEK RAILROAD.
An act authorizing the incorporation of the Mill Creek and Mine Hill Navigation and Railroad Company was passed February 7th, 1828. This highway was to extend from near the mouth of Mill creek to a point on the Center turnpike near the foot of Broad mountain. The time for its completion, which had been fixed at Febru ary 7th, 1863, was, by act of May 28th, 1840, extended to February 7th, 1845. It was partially built in 1829, and at that time only connected with some coal mines and the head of Schuylkill navigation. It was a 40-inch sin- gle track road, built with wooden rails covered with strap iron, and operated by horse power. It was an im- portant avenue of coal transportation, and continued to be used mainly for that purpose many years.
In 1847 a supplement to its charter empowered it to build branches to accommodate its business, and another in 1857 authorized it to construct branch roads to the Mahanoy coal region.
MOUNT CARBON RAILROAD.
This road was incorporated by an act approved April 29th, 1829. Its location, according to the act, was to be from "the lower landings at Mount Carbon, in the coun- ty of Scuhylkill, thence up the river Schuylkill to the mouth of Norwegian creek, and the west branch thereof, to the south side of the Broad mountain in the said county; and also a single or double railroad from the forks of Norwegian creek, up the east branch thereof, to the south side of Mine hill."
April 8th, 1833, the time for completion of this road was extended to April Ist, 1838; and on the 17th of March, 1838, it was further extended to April Ist, 1848. April 11th, 1848, it was empowered to construct laterals, not to exceed one mile each in length.
The road was constructed in accordance with the pro- visions of its charter, and in the style of early railroads. Many branches to collieries were built, but the company never extended the main lines beyond their original chartered limits.
About 1848 the wooden track was superseded by the T rail, but, although the locomotives of other companies occasionally passed over it, mule power continued to be used till February, 1862, when the road was leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company for the period of 999 years. It has been operated since by the P. and R. company, and it is used almost exclusively for the transportation of coal. In 1868 or 1869 a switch- back was built at Mount Laffee, the terminus of the west branch of this road, in order to reach the Beechwood colliery.
CATAWISSA RAILROAD.
extend from the terminus of the Little Schuylkill Rail- road, as designated in its charter, along the valleys of Messer's run and Catawissa creek to a point on the north branch of the Susquehanna, at or near Catawissa, was incorporated March 21st, 1831.
In 1833 the time for commencement was extended three years, and for completion six years. By a supplement of February 26th, 1846, the time for completion was extended five years, and the construction of lateral branches to mines authorized ; the owners of those mines to have the privilege of transporting the products in their own cars, with their own motive power.
March 20th, 1849, the name was changed to the Cat- awissa, Williamsport and Erie Railroad, and the time for completion further extended to December Ist, 1855. In 1860 an act was passed concerning the sale of the road; and in 1861 the time for completion was further extended to 1871, and branches and connections to coal mines and iron works authorized.
This road was commenced not long after the date of its charter; but by reason of financial embarrassments the work was suspended during several years. It was afterward resumed, and the main line completed about 1854.
The road has two tunnels; one under the Mahanoy mountain at the summit of grade having considerable length. The other is a shorter, curved tunnel, which passes under a spur of the mountain jutting into the Catawissa valley. This road constitutes a link in the chain of roads between Philadelphia and the great lakes.
A peculiarity of this road consists in its uniform grade of about 30 feet to the mile from the Susquehanna to the summit tunnel. This uniformity necessitated the erection of seven timber viaducts, from 90 to 130 feet in height, and of various lengths up to 1, 100 feet.
SWATARA RAILROAD.
This was chartered as the Swatara and Good Spring Creek Railroad, April 2nd, 1831. It was to run " from the northern end of the Union Canal Company's rail- road, up the Swatara river to its junction with the Good Spring creek, and thence up the said creek to a point most suitable in the heart of the coal region.
" March 25th, 1841, its name was changed to the Swa- tara Railroad Company."
By supplements to the charter the time for construc- tion was several times extended, and by other supple- ments the company was authorized to construct branches, make extensions and form connections. By a supple- ment passed April 6th, 1848, the use of locomotive power on the road was authorized, and locomotives were soon afterward placed on the road.
In 1863 the road was leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, and afterward purchased by that company. About six miles had been built when it was leased, and a branch from Tremont up Middle creek partly graded. The road has been extended by the Phil-
The Little Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad, to | adelphia and Reading company.
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READING RAILROAD AND BRANCHES.
PHILADELPHIA AND READING RAILROAD.
On the 20th of March, 1838, an act was approved em- powering the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Com- pany " to extend their said railroad from its present ter- mination in the borough of Reading to some suitable point in or near the borough of Pottsville in the county of Schuylkill," or to connect with the Mount Carbon road if deemed expedient. The act required the work to be commenced simultaneously at both termini of the road within a year, to be completed between Mount Car- bon and Port Clinton within two years, and through its entire length within four years.
The road was constructed in accordance with the terms of the act ; and the first train of cars passed over it on the roth of January, 1842.
By a supplement, approved March 29th, 1848, the company were required to extend their road into the borough of Pottsville and establish a depot there. The required extension was made through the Mount Carbon Railroad. Previous to the completion of this road the net work of railroads in this county had been used for the transportation of coal from the mines to the Schuyl- skill navigation. The establishment of this through line to the city of Philadelphia not only furnished an outlet for the products of the mines during the winter season, but relieved the navigation of a portion of its tonnage during other seasons of the year. By reason of in- creased facilities for transportation the development of the coal trade was more rapid, and other avenues were opened. In order to maintain itself against the rivalry of these, the Philadelphia and Reading Company inaugu- rated and carried out the policy of absorbing, by lease, purchase, or otherwise, the control of the various lines in this portion of the coal region. In this they succeeded; and all the principal roads in the county, except the Lehigh and Mahanoy, came under their control. By lease of the Schuylkill navigation their control of the means of transportation to Philadelphia became com- plete.
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