Railroad Forums 

  • PRR branch in Pottsville (photos)

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania

Moderator: bwparker1

 #855601  by carajul
 
Wow I have got to see those pics from '72!!! Plz post them. What was the main reason the yard was closed in '63? Why did the RDG pull the plug?
 #855894  by RDGTRANSMUSEUM
 
After looking last night,the yard was closed because they (Rdg Co.)stated it cost a million dollars a year to operate. The local coal companys stored unbilled cars there,which made the railroad upset. The recieving yard became blocked ,and the trains had to go around the class yard to be parked. This ment pulling them back UP grade to reclass them,it was very expensive as it took 4 hours out of a shift to do this. So they just closed it down,and as letters stated the coal companies just switched to trucks. Conclusion....the railroad chased the biz away.
 #856043  by carajul
 
Not neccissarily that the RR chased customers away. By the 60s the anthracite mines were closing and the RDG was broke. With dwindling customer base and bleeding red ink, the $1,000,000 operating expense (a huge amount of money at that time) was a priority on the chopping block.

Post those pics if you got them.
 #856076  by RDGTRANSMUSEUM
 
There were so many coal companys still open at the time,it would boggle your mind. 50 percent of the Readings revenue was still coal! That tells me the RR did just not care to serve them anymore. They had big export coal customers in at least 5 countries out of Port Richmond. Remember, St Clair yard sat at the foot of a horrible grade. I have at least 3 protest letters stating that the RDG Co. will loose the biz to trucks if they close St Clair. They would not listen.
 #856376  by Bethlehem Jct.
 
RDGTRANSMUSEUM wrote:There were so many coal companys still open at the time,it would boggle your mind. 50 percent of the Readings revenue was still coal! That tells me the RR did just not care to serve them anymore. They had big export coal customers in at least 5 countries out of Port Richmond. Remember, St Clair yard sat at the foot of a horrible grade. I have at least 3 protest letters stating that the RDG Co. will loose the biz to trucks if they close St Clair. They would not listen.
It's a balancing act. If the yard was costing them $1Million to operate, was the revenue from the coal companies enough to offset that? I suspect not. I don't have the accounting records to verify anything, but I doubt the business from the coal companies was enough to justify maintaining the infrastructure required to serve them.
 #856542  by RDGTRANSMUSEUM
 
well, i will re read Jim Holtons book then read some RDG papers to see what i can find. If you spent any time in this industry you will realize chasing away business is part of railroading.
 #856682  by RDGTRANSMUSEUM
 
here is the 3.32 percent grade out of the yard. st clair is on the left . i am still looking for my 72 pics. i know someone who has them too.
 #877699  by colimac1224
 
I came across your post on here researching the stone bridge in Darkwater that crossed what was then Route 122 (now Route 61) and thought I would take the time to post some information. I used to spend my summers in Darkwater as my great grandmother lived there and often wondered what the bridge had looked like. I used to take long walks with my grandfather along the single track that ran down the east side of 61 where at one time it was a double track. I would say it was removed sometime in the mid 80's. There was also a single track that ran on the west side right behind my great grandmothers house that had been removed well before my time that I believe ran a trolley service. The only remnants, other than the trail, being the rails left going across east darkwater road were it connects with Route 61. The two lines were joined by that stone bridge which must have been a magnificent sight. I have a picture taken by my grandfather in 1940 of Darkwater and it almost looks like he may have taken it while on the bridge. As soon as I find it I will surely post it for you. I have yet to find a photo of the complete bridge. The only picture I have found is of its construction. I will continue my research and post any findings.


Bridge construction picture
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/mi ... dation.gif
 #878330  by carajul
 
There is a pic of a PRR coal train going across the bridge in Darkwater in the early 1950s in one of the Katner books (Anthracite Country Color???). I don't know where "Darkwater" is. It's not a town so I'm assuming it must be a name the locals use to describe an area of Pottsville or Norwegien. If you can show me on google maps where the bridge was that would be great.

Oooooooooooops. Nevermind. Just looked at the 1938 arial. I see the bridge. Then on the east side the PRR and RDG lines paralleled each other. There were a few coal mines the PRR tapped into on the west side of the river.

Why did CR never buy these lines that go north??? Were they abandoned before C-day or with the coal mines closed did they just not want them?