Lehigh and Mahanoy Branch near Mahanoy City Question?

Hi All:

Did some railfanning around Delano/Quakake/etc this past Sunday and have several questions about the area.

I followed part of one of my favorite LV lines - the Lehigh & Mahanoy from Delano down to Mahanoy City.
It was easier than usual to find traces of the line, what with snow on the ground & leaves on the trees.

Having said that, it's not exactly the easiest line to follow anymore. Parts of it seem to have been dug up
for the underlying coal.

Questions:

1. Just as you're headed west out of Trenton headed for Park Place, there are a set of bridge abutments crossing Park Place Road.
They are very easy to find and they run at a 90 degree angle to the L&M. Anybody know what this spur served (coal mine, most likely)?

2. Following the line to Mahanoy City proper and still on Park Place Road, I found a bridge still standing over North Mahanoy Creek and the remnants of a coal loader?
This is on your left as you head south into Mahanoy City. It's not too far south of the intersection with Robinsons Road.

Can anybody confirm this was the LV proper?

The reason I ask is because a Reading branch seems to have run parallel to the LV on the west side of Park Place Road, and I found at least two bridge abutments
on that line. One is in the SW corner of Park Place Road & Robinsons Road, and another was further south of there not too far from the LV bridge I mentioned.

3. I'm guessing that the LV and Reading lines crossed on a diamond somewhere near the brewery on the north side of Mahanoy City. Anybody know for sure?

4. There appears to have been a wye right at the brewery and the eastern leg ran parallel to the Reading main and then went to a coal mine? Anybody know for sure,
and if so, what mine and when did service stop?

5. What would the LV have served in Mahanoy City - what industries? I'm guessing the brewery, and anything else?

6. When did the LV cut the line west out of Mahanoy City? The line made a big loop from Kehley Run Junction to Barry Junction and reconnected to the L&M at each end.
So the part I'm asking about is from Mahanoy City to Barry Junction.

7. Is there anything to see from Mahanoy City to Barry Junction? I've been up there at least 5-7 times and can't seem to find even a trace of that part of the line.
Was it entirely mined out after abandonment?

8. In Yatesville, did the L&M and the Reading coal spur up from Saint Nicholas ever connect or cross each other on a diamond etc?

Many thanks to anybody who can help. I find this part of the country fascinating, and have been following abandoned lines up there since the early 1980's.
I'm still nowhere near figuring out where all the different lines were, lol!

Thanks,

Frank
frankgaron2

Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 1:31 pm
Location: Breinigsville, PA

I looked at the high resolution aerial photos at http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , in the 1937-1942 era.

Your question 1: You can see the abutments you mention coming out of Trenton clearly, and another set crossing the L&M RR just the south. It doesn't look like any coal mine or other industry right there. Perhaps they were for a trolley route coming up from the south (from Mahanoy?), which was already long gone by ~1940. With some imagination you can see a cleared ROW continuing from the abutments north of Park Place which winds around the backside of the town of Park Place, then heading west parallel to the RR on the north side of it a bit. There was a "Schuylkill Transportation Company" and a related "Schuylkill Railways Company" in the Mahanoy area that ran trolleys, but I don't know if they got that far northeast.

Regarding 6 and 7: The same pennpilot photos show the area of the track west of Mahanoy up to Barry Junction totally dug up for coal mines, or culm banks etc. No trace of any ROW already even by ~1940, so that explains why can't find anything now. It really looked like the moon in the photos I saw -- must have been not such a fun place to live in some of the patchtowns you see - one or two dozen houses surrounded on every side by culm banks, etc.
JS

Regarding trolleys, googling came up with the following entry from a business publication about bonds from trolley companies in 1896, for "Lakeside Railway" , and projected to extend through Shenandoah, Fowler, Yotisville (their spelling, not mine), Jackson's, Robinson's, Bowman's, to Mahanoy City, and then to Park Place, Trenton, Delano, Lakeside Park, East Mahanoy Junction. I'm don't know exactly what they built, and I'm not sure this route would have headed south from Park Place/Trenton (using the abutments mentioned above), but there were at least plans for streetcars in that neck of the woods. http://books.google.com/books?id=YUY_AQ ... ey&f=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

JS