Little Schuylkill Railroad
| Lua error in Module:Mapframe at line 311: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). A visual of the rail line | |
| File:Tamaqua Railroad Station.jpg The main station in July 2010 | |
| Locale | Tamaqua, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1831–Present |
| Predecessor | Built |
| Successor | Still in Operation |
| Electrification | Disputed[1] |
| Headquarters | Tamaqua Station |
Lead
Little Schuylkill Railroad is a 21 miles (34 km) railroad located in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. It was constructed by the Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company in 1831. It connects Quakake Junction with Port Clinton. It is still in operation today and is currently owned and operated by Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad.[1][2]
Construction
After the discovery of a coal deposit in Panther Creek Valley,[3] Friedrich List was looking to build a connection between the coal deposit and Philadelphia. He worked with Isaac Hiester to acquire 18,000 acres of land. 1000 acres were used to build the towns of Tamaqua and Port Clinton with 500 acres each.[4] One would be built where the railroad would begin and the other would be built at. The railroad project now needed 300,000 dollars (Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US (parameter 1) not a recognized index. dollars in 2021) to go through, however Friedrich and Isaac’s money was tied up in the land purchase.[5] After many failed attempts, the duo was able to obtain the needed cash from Biddle's Bank.
List recruited Moncure Robinson to manage the construction.[5]
History
Little Schuylkill Railroad was opened in 1831. It was created by the Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company. It was built to connect the coal mines of Tamaqua with Port Clinton.[2] The railroad received a charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 28, 1826.[6] Construction began in 1830. The tracks were constructed with strap iron on wood rails.[7] Beginning with horse-drawn cars in 1831, [6] the railine purchased two steam engines from Edward Bury Co. named Comet and Catawissa while List was in Liverpool. The engines arrived in the winter of 1832/1833.[5]. They were purchased for a total of 5000 dollars (Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US (parameter 1) not a recognized index. dollars in 2021). They arrived in the Port of Baltimore and were pulled by oxen to Tamaqua.[1]
Current Operation
IN PROGRESS
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Tamaqua Railroad Station -History". Tamaqua Railroad Station. Tamaqua S.O.S. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "GOVPUB-RRd9d2d93aa53aa4668c54916deaa4aff7" (PDF). govinfo. US Government. July 3, 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ↑ Korson, George Gershon (1950). Black Rock: Mining Folklore of the Pennsylvania Dutch. North Stratford, NH: Ayer Company Publishers. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-405-10607-1. Retrieved 2023-03-28. Search this book on
- ↑ "Friedrich List and the Little Schuylkill Railroad". GoReadingBerks. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wendler, Eugen (2021). "The Construction of the Little Schuylkill Railroad". Friedrich List as a Railway Pioneer in the USA: The Little Schuylkill Railroad in Pennsylvania -- a German-American Pioneering Achievement. SpringerBriefs in Economics. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 47–60. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-34526-6_8. ISBN 978-3-658-34526-6. Retrieved 28 March 2023. Unknown parameter
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- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Poor, Henry V. (1860). Poor's History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. New York: John H. Schultz and Co. p. 454. Search this book on
- ↑ Heydinger, Earl J. (April 1963). "GROUP VI: The Little Schuylkill". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. Railroads of the First and Second Anthracite Coal Fields of Pennsylvania. 108: 19–28. JSTOR 43518064. Unknown parameter
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