Lorberry Creek Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Lorberry Creek Railroad was an early railroad in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
, USA intended to feed coal
shipments to the Union Canal (Pennsylvania)
.
On March 30, 1831, Jacob Culp and Thomas Adams (Philadelphia
), Daniel D.B. Keim and Dr. George N. Eckert (Berks County
), and Henry W. Conrad and William Hoch (Pine Grove
) were authorized to build "a single or double railroad, from the northern end of the Union canal company's railroad, up Lorberry Creek, on lands of Ley and Hawk, to points most suitable in the heart of the coal region, in the county of Schuylkill."
The line, as constructed, ran west along the south side of Lorberry Creek from the junction, made a horseshoe curve to cross the creek and valley and turn east, and followed Lower Rausch Creek through its gap in Sharp Mountain. A switchback was located near Lower Rausch Creek Colliery. Beyond the switchback, the line climbed into Lorberry, at the headwaters of Lorberry Creek.
The railroad was originally laid with wooden strap rail and operated by horses. This was replaced by T-rail in the 1840s. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad obtained most of the company's stock in August 1862 and took over its operation.
Under Reading control, the line became the Lorberry Branch, and an extension known as the Kalmia Branch would bring the rails west from Lorberry and down a switchback to Kalmia Colliery, on the north face of Broad Mountain. In addition, a switchback at Lorberry would lift the line to its terminus at the Lincoln Colliery (opened 1869).
On March 25, 1871, it was consolidated into the Lebanon and Tremont Railroad, which was soon after merged into the Reading. The line beyond the Lincoln Colliery was abandoned in 1940, and the rest of the branch in 1966.
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
-Notable people:*Boxing heavyweight great Muhammad Ali had his training camp in Deer Lake.*Charles Justin Bailey, commanding general of the 81st Division in World War I, was born in Tamaqua on June 21, 1859....
, USA intended to feed coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
shipments to the Union Canal (Pennsylvania)
Union Canal (Pennsylvania)
The Union Canal was a towpath canal that existed in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States during the 19th century. First proposed in 1690 to connect Philadelphia with the Susquehanna River, it ran approximately 75 mi from Middletown on the Susquehanna below Harrisburg to Reading on...
.
On March 30, 1831, Jacob Culp and Thomas Adams (Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
), Daniel D.B. Keim and Dr. George N. Eckert (Berks County
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
), and Henry W. Conrad and William Hoch (Pine Grove
Pine Grove, Pennsylvania
Pine Grove, Pennsylvania may refer to more than one place:*Pine Grove, Cambria County, Pennsylvania*Pine Grove, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania*Pine Grove, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania*Pine Grove, Perry County, Pennsylvania...
) were authorized to build "a single or double railroad, from the northern end of the Union canal company's railroad, up Lorberry Creek, on lands of Ley and Hawk, to points most suitable in the heart of the coal region, in the county of Schuylkill."
The line, as constructed, ran west along the south side of Lorberry Creek from the junction, made a horseshoe curve to cross the creek and valley and turn east, and followed Lower Rausch Creek through its gap in Sharp Mountain. A switchback was located near Lower Rausch Creek Colliery. Beyond the switchback, the line climbed into Lorberry, at the headwaters of Lorberry Creek.
The railroad was originally laid with wooden strap rail and operated by horses. This was replaced by T-rail in the 1840s. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad obtained most of the company's stock in August 1862 and took over its operation.
Under Reading control, the line became the Lorberry Branch, and an extension known as the Kalmia Branch would bring the rails west from Lorberry and down a switchback to Kalmia Colliery, on the north face of Broad Mountain. In addition, a switchback at Lorberry would lift the line to its terminus at the Lincoln Colliery (opened 1869).
On March 25, 1871, it was consolidated into the Lebanon and Tremont Railroad, which was soon after merged into the Reading. The line beyond the Lincoln Colliery was abandoned in 1940, and the rest of the branch in 1966.