Mauch chunk switchback railway wikipedia republished. In the 1950s in an effort to kick start its dragging economy the town started a nickel a week campaign to. The mauch chunk and summit railroad was a coal hauling railroad in the mountains of pennsylvania that operated between 1828 and 1932. Like nearly all models built in the uk, our ho model of mauch chunk, pa is built on portable baseboards. In the mid1850s, packer took control of a railway line from mauch chunk to easton and connected railway lines to the coal mines in luzerne and schuylkill counties. The station was added to the national register of historic places on january 1, 1976. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods. The coal was mined at summit hill, then transported nine miles via the mauch chunk switchback railway, just the second railroad constructed in the united states. Jim thorpe, pa, formerly mauch chunk, is a small picturesque pennsylvania town with a fascinating history. It is located in the old mauch chunk historic district. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. In april of 1912, the mauch chunk, summit hill and switchback railroad was renamed the mauch chunk switchback railway company under asa p. Switchback railway, near mauch chunk, pennsylvania, usa.
The mauch chunk, summit hill, and switchback gravity railroad. Historic mauch chunk photos photo, historical, jim thorpe. Getting to the core santa ana unified school district. Current transit system since 1972 lehigh and northampton transportation authority. Due to the nature of our artifacts and the layout of our space we are sorry to note that we will be. This item is a hard cover souvenir with eighteen views of sights in mauch chunk, the switzerland of america. The study investigated all aspects of the sites value, especially its history and cultural. Central railroad of pennsylvania the central railroad of pennsylvania reporting mark crp was an attempt by the central railroad of new jersey to avoid certain new jersey taxes on their pennsylvania lines. Mauch chunk trust company was incorporated august 25, 1902 as the successor institution to the second national bank of mauch chunk, established in 1864.
The library of congress does not own rights to material in its collections. One of the cars laden with coal, which was on the rail road, broke loose from the ropes and ran with immense velocity down the declivity of the railway, until it came to a precipice, over which it fell, killing and. We remain a locally owned and managed independent community bank. Miscellaneous news paper articles from the past carbon. An 1875 property map locates james zellner at 158 west broadway, between j. But packers sights were set even higher on finding ways to use technology to transport the regions rich coal resources. Exploring the mauch chunk inclined plane jim thorpe pa duration. The name mauch pronounced mock chunk was derived from the term bear mountain in the language of the native lenni lenape people.
It was interesting to see the mauch chunk which i thought was still firmly called jim thorpe at the. The track, originally built to send coal to the bottom of a hill, relied on mules to haul the empty cars back to the top of the hill. From 1827 to 1932, it carried first coal and later passengers from summit hill to mauch chunk. For one dollar, tourists got a leisurely ride up to the top of the mountain followed by a wild, bumpy ride back down. Outlying transit history lehighton mauch chunk 18931908 carbon county electric railway co. Mauch chunk, now known as jim thorpe, is situated on the west bank of the lehigh river in carbon county, approximately four miles north of lehighton.
The train pulled into the middle of town, and we could see the mountains all around us. A gravity narrow gauge railroad at the summit hill coalmines, used by the company to transport coal in trucks to the village across the mountains, later used for tours and excursions to the top of mount pisgah. The remains of the railroad lie within the mauch chunk ridge barrens. Mauch chunk is situated at a bend in the lehigh river about 90 miles northwest of philadelphia. Chunk mauch i summit kolej byla kolej ciagniecia wegla w gorach pensylwanii ze eksploatowane miedzy 1828 i 1932. Mauch chunk and lehigh valley classic trains magazine. He died at his home in the fairview hill section of mauch chunk on november 2, 1897 and was buried in mauch chunk cemetery.
Mauch chunk means bear place in the native munseelenape native american language. Mauch chunk switchback railway railway, pennsylvania, united. The central railroad of new jersey station known as the jersey central station and jim thorpe station, is a historic railroad station located at jim thorpe, carbon county, pennsylvania. We have mounted these on trestles and this makes it easier to transport the model to model railway exhibitions. Before being renamed to honour legendary athlete james francis thorpe, the town was formerly known as mauch chunk. Kirstler, though it is not specified whether this is a storefront or a residence. Not a bad legacy for a railway originally designed. Mauch chunk h0 at the warley national model railway exhibition. The name is a reference to the round mountain on the east. The thing is, other than material that is found in private collections, the selection of photography for mauch chunk, east mauch chunk, and jim thorpe from the 1950s to 1970s is r.
The subjects include identified scenic views, railroad cars and passengers on the inclined planes, and multiple views of mauch chunk. The town changed its name in 1954 from mauch chunk to jim thorpe, a story that has to rank as one of the most unusual in american history. It was also the first operational us railway of any substantial length to carry paying passengers. The mauch chunk switchback gravity railway shown above was built in the mountains of pennsylvania in 1827. Mauch chunk switchback railway railway, pennsylvania. There are views of the lehigh valley railroad depot and the mt. Mauch chunk palmer museum of art previous exhibitions. The canal enabled the lehigh river to be navigable to easton, on the delaware river, specifically for the transport of anthracite coal to philadelphia and other eastern cities. Switchback railroad trail pennsylvania trails traillink. Established in a wilderness on the banks of the lehigh river in 1818, mauch chunk became a bustling coal transportation center, tourist mecca, and the esteemed seat of carbon county by the middle of the 19th century. The 1947 arrival of cnjs first road freight diesels, five aba sets each of emd f3s and baldwin dr441500 baby faces, bumped many 282s, and on july 1, 1948, ashley planes closed as diesels handled all freight on the back track at half the cost. The mauch chunk and summit railroad was a coalhauling railroad in the mountains of pennsylvania that operated between 1828 and 1932. Switchback gravity railroad mauch chunk to summit hill pennsylvania railroad rolling stock.
The switchback gravity railroad, built in 1827, was only the second railroad built in america. Mauch chunk h0 at the warley national model railway. See the progress, exhibition and project on the old site pages for photos and modelling activity. Media in category central railroad of new jersey station jim thorpe, pennsylvania the following 14 files are in this category, out of 14 total. Details about original 1906 eastern pennsylvania railway system map pottsville, mauch chunk pa. It was the first operational us railway of any substantial length to carry paying passengers.
We have mounted these on removable legs to make it easier to transport to model railway exhibitions. See more ideas about jim thorpe, jim thorpe pennsylvania and places. When it began operating, the switchback railroad was the second railroad in america and the first in pennsylvania. It is owned by the lehigh gorge scenic railway and served as a visitor center.
In less than two years the railway was attracting so many visitors, it began charging fares, and then added and operated special tourism excursions on. A hard cover souvenir with eighteen views of sights in mauch chunk, the switzerland of america. Americas first roller coaster began as a railway for. During this time, it was still only 50 cents for a round trip and a whole nickel from bloomingdale to summit hill. Cnj at mauch chunk our model ho prototype modelling in. On the day of the rope, as it became known, michael doyle, edward kelly, alexander campbell, and john yellow jack donahue were hung by the neck until dead at the carbon county prison in mauch chunk. The track, originally built to send coal to a railway, was reconfigured as a scenic tour. A dreadful accident happened a few days since at mauch chunk. Easton centinel business slate industry history july 7 1826 the ark experiment first of its kind to pass easton on the way to philadelphia loaded with slate easton centinel. One of the finest award winning model railway layouts made in the united kingdom duration. Mauch chunk switchback railway project gutenberg self. There is earlier precedent of roller coasters for russia royalty, but its mauch chunk that really popularized the thrill of gravity in america.
It ran nine miles, hauling coal from summit hill down to the town of mauch chunk and the lehigh canal in east central pennsylvania. Mauch chunk is a leni lenape indian name which means bear mountain. See the progress pages above for recent photos and. The first american roller coaster was the mauch chunk switchback railway, built in the mountains of pennsylvania in the mid1800s. Switchback gravity railroad preservation planning study. Mar 15, 2017 given that i grew up there, one thing that ive been asked a few times is, why dont you have more material on mauch chunk and jim thorpe.
The attempt to reduce new jersey corporate taxes failed, and crp operations were merged back into those of the cnj six years later. Mauch chunk station central railroad of new jersey. Trials of labor activists in mauch chunk and pottsville through 1876 resulted in a group of executions on june 21, 1877. Built to haul coal from the summit mine to the lehigh canal, the railroad evolved from a gravitypowered system the down track and mulepowered. Its origins were in gravity road, which mining company entrepreneur josiah white built in 1827 to haul. For a shorter ride, pick up the trail in mauch chunk lake park, which has. The first american roller coaster was actually a railway. As the name implies, it relied on gravity, with mules hauling the empty cars back up the hill. Chunk and summit hill switchback railroad worlds fair, local history, train. Timeline of united states railway history wikipedia.