R & N - Port Clinton and Minersville ?

Would appreciate any advise on the operation between Port Clinton and
Minersville and other stations in that territory. Example, is the service as
required or specific days of the week? Thanks, Jack

FWIW. Westbound, local is usually by Schuylkill Haven around 9 A.M. Eastbound, he is going by there between 2 and 3 P.M. Minersville has not seen a train for some time based on track conditions. Looks like they get towards Pottsville frequently. Did not have time to get more details. Also, Mahanoy Jct. is usually good for a couple of locals between 2 P.M. and 4 P.M. Overhead highway bridge there is excellent location for photographs. Jack

I think the line to Minersville is oos due to the mine operations being halted. The R&N wanted to officially abandon the line but the mine company, anticipating reactivation of the mine, blocked it.

That mine recently began getting cars again.

Didn't the passenger sta in Minersville sit between 2 branches. The left track used to continue down the midle of a city street to access a mine that closed in the 1960s and has been abandoned ever since.

The in use line is to the right and accesses the newly re-activated line. There is a 4 track yard at the mine.

There is still evidence of the line heading off into Minersville proper but, I do not know where it went. The line going towards the mine at Minersville has probably not seen a train in two or three weeks, if not longer, based on the rail rust. On a siding just north of the Minersville Station is a former CNJ passenger car No. 98. BTW, I rode a Reading Steam Special to West Milton on Sunday, October 23, 1960. If anyone reading this thread knows of a photo site for that trip please let me know as my photographs of same were lost. Thanks, Jack

The line to the left apparently went down the middle of North St and based on the bridge next to the station, it was double tracked. I can't really follow it on Penn Pilot due to grany images. I think I read it served a mine that closed in the late 50s and was abandoned when the mine shut down. I think it went to Tremont and Good Springs.

The in use line to the right in the 1958 Penn Pilot photos served several mines. There were spurs, yards, and freight cars everywhere north of the station.

Here is a photo of the sta in the early 1970s. Line to left obviously abandoned but rails very shiny on line to right
http://www.thebluecomet.com/rdgminersvl1.jpg

I'm wondering if both lines were thru routes at one time based on the station's position.

The line to Good Springs connected at Westwood Junction. See the R&N map at http://www.readingnorthern.com/map.shtml You can see the same on RDG maps. You can also see the branch clearly on google maps. There is certainly some interesting RR history in this area. Jack

The line to Goodsprings you see on the R&N map is NOT the branch that left the RDG at Minersville station. The line you see on the map is another line that still exists today and is used by the R&N.

I can't follow the line to the west of the Minersille sta no matter how close I look at google or live maps. Maybe someone can provide a link. The line obviously ran down the center of Front St in Minersville.

The Reading line came up along the creek on the southeast side of town from Schuylkill Haven and then forked. The branch through town to the west went to a mine on the northwest side of town, perhaps called Pine Hill or Jonestown, and stopped there. The branch continuing north on the east side also went to mines. At one time for a while this line actually continued north to Gordon Boro to connect with what is now the R&N line from East Mahanoy Jct to Shamokin.
From 1892: http://historical.mytopo.com/getImage.a ... g&state=PA
From 1916: ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BP ... l_1916.pdf
JS

pumpers wrote: The branch continuing north on the east side also went to mines. At one time for a while this line actually continued north to connect with what is now the R&N line from East Mahanoy Jct to Shamokin.
JS

I did some digging -- it would be more correct to say that the line came down from the area which later was reached by the R&N line from East Mahanoy Jct (through the tunnel and Mahanoy). Before the line from Mahanoy over to Gordon/Ashland and the tunnel east of Mahanoy existed (built in the 1860's I think), a set of planes was built from Gordon, just southwest of Ashland, heading south to carry coal up Broad Mountain and the cars then ran downhill south past Minersville to the canal on the Schuylkill River . This was the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven RR, later taken over by the Reading. The planes and line were built in the 1850's to get coal out of the Ashland area. The planes were abandoned in 1896. Here is a great 1857 map, showing tons of detail in Minersville (including the branch through town discussed above). Gordon is not labelled, it is where the line makes a "Y" shape south of Ashland, at the junction of the Big Mahanoy and Little Mahanoy Creeks. Note the planes just south of the Y.
http://www.dlfaquifer.org/search/item/M ... 680?page=2 THen click on the small map in the left, and then fiddle with the viewer to zoom in and move around.
JS

There was a project a few years ago to restore a CNJ steam locomotive and the work was being done at Minersville. There was mention of a CNJ coach above, does anyone know the whereabouts or status of the loco?

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 79&t=54042

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 30&t=67619

[quote="glennk419"]There was a project a few years ago to restore a CNJ steam locomotive and the work was being done at Minersville. There was mention of a CNJ coach above, does anyone know the whereabouts or status of the loco?

The locomotive is being restored at the station in Minersville. It is supposed to be test-fired in the next few weeks.

M.T.

That CNJ coach is actually one of the three CNJ business cars left.. The 98 I believe.

CNJ #98 on 5-21-2010 Minersville, PA