After that fantastic private tour, I was going to have to wait until 11:15 AM to ride the train but then heard a whistle and saw the steam train approaching.
The train pulling into the boarding area to take on water.
Henry Coal 0-4-0ST 1, ex. Ashland Community Enterprises 1962, exx. Guadino & Brothers Hazelton, Pennsylvania, exxx. Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation 123 1928, nee Lehigh Valley Coal Company 1923 built by Vulcan Iron Works in 1927.
A mine car full of coal.
Pieces of coal and a piece of a petrified tree.
Hard coal rollers.
A mine lokey.
The rear of the steam train where I would be riding.
A coal miners' display.
The firebox of the Henry Coal.
The first group went into the Pioneer Coal Mine on their tour. I walked back to my rental car to get my laptop but first decided to walk up the hill to the mine train display.
The mine train.
Pioneer Tunnel 48" DDT built by Plymouth. I sat at a table under an umbrella and was able to transfer my pictures from the camera to the laptop before boarding time. I was the only passenger who opted for the caboose and took the last seat to take pictures.
The Steam Train TripAfter all the passengers boarded, we started to reverse down the tracks.
The train ran between the Lokey Shop and the Car/Mine Train Shop.
The Lokey Shop where we stopped here for a few minutes.
Our engineer shovelled coal onto the engine.
The switch to the car shop.
The Little Diamond Mine.
Views as we headed down the rails.
The train stopped at this viewpoint to look down on Ashland and the Centralia Fire was explained.
Note the wind-generating towers on the ridgeline.
More views as we travel down the rails.
We came upon the end of track and detrained to see the view and were given more commentary.
The train at the end of the track.
Henry Coal 0-4-0 1.
The caboose.
The view at the end of the line.
An example of a bootlegger coal mine.
The open air coal mine. Everyone reboarded the train which returned to the boarding area. I thanked everyone for the great mine tour and steam train ride then drove back down Pennsylvania 61 to St. Clair to stop at Walmart to pick up an item I needed then drove north on Interstate 81 all the way to Scranton.
| RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE |