The friday evening orientation included a presentation of the Richardson glass plate slides by Lance Metz, and a presentation of modern views by Gordon Perry. American Canal Society President David G. Barber also attended.
Sunday morning, a group of over 30 descended on the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center (MCMCC) for a 15 minute video on the history of Carbon County and a presentation by Mike Nunemacher on the Switchback Railroad model. They then proceeded back to the Upper Grand terminus at Stoddartsville.
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| Late Spring on top of Mt Pisgah - The green notch at the 1:00 O'Clock position is the Glen Onoko Falls. |
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| Members were led by John Drury meet Saturday morning before the hike. |
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| Hiking up the Wagon Road, the old service road to the top of the Mt Pisgah Plane. |
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| Among the most spectacular views in Carbon County between the Mt Pisgah Engine House and the Trestle. Seen below: the Nesquehoning Trestle traversing the Lehigh Gorge, Lehigh Gorge access road, at least one of the three turntables are also visible. (And don't forget those Turkey Vultures!) |
John Drury, founder and director of the MCMCC, lead the group on a detailed tour of the area. Mr. Drury discussed the house foundation built for the engine house operator, the pipeline from Indian Spring, the orignial stone cistern and how it was replaced by the smaller cement cistern inside. At the engine house itself, the group found the remains of the smokestack and the large cinder pile that cascaded down the hill side.
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| John Drury explains the 90-year-in-the-making ash pile seen as a bulge in the mountain directly below the Engine House. |
The group was awestruck by their birdseye views, particularly looking toward the Lehigh Gorge, and the vantage point of Coalport's Turntable and Lock #2 of the Upper Grand.
Mr. Drury even entertained the group with an interesting turn of the century newspaper story that related an evening's stay atop the mountain. At one time, a restaurant was located just over on the other side of the Mt Pisgah Trestle. The Victorians enjoyed a night of dancing in the moonlight, fueled by clear hard beverages, and descended from the mountain by train at 6 AM. A trail leads to the location, though no trace of the building remains.
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| John Drury explains the use of the cement cistern used for a steady water supply to the engine. Water was piped in from "Indian Spring" about a mile west along the ridge. That's then PA Canal Society President Bill Lampert in his trademark hat. |
The Pennsylvania Canal Society is associated with the National Canal Museum in Easton, PA (http://www.canals.org/).
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| A beautiful view from the west end of the trestle looking down on "the Hill" or upper Mauch Chunk. The cemetery is the final home of many of Switchback and Mauch Chunk notables such as Chapman, Packer, Liesenring and others. |
The Society has tentatively planned on returning here next year to continue down the Lower Section of the Lehigh Canal. For further information about future events, contact Bill Lampert at indnbll@yahoo.com or call 215-262- 5506.
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| Drury points out the engine house foundation. |
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| When walking up the Pisgah Plane, it is known as the "Direct Assault." When walking down it, it's known as a knee-killer. The Engine house would have been just out of view at the top. This shot taken about halfway down of the over 2,500 feet of plane, giving a 660 foot elevation rise. The barney pits were buried when fill was added to create Sam Miller field. The pits are about 30-40 feet below third base. The Mt Jefferson barney pits were recently excavated at the bottom of Summit Hill at the stop sign from Lentz Trail. |
Can you show an apples to apples picture comparison of how it looks today from the same vantage point as the old photographs from old times?
ReplyDeleteDear Richard,
ReplyDeleteI do have other pages with much more info and pics on it about the Switchback...if you pick through it and with some study, you can achieve what you are looking for...For example, the there is definitely a good old pic of the basin/reservoir you see the Canal folks looking into...also when you see the people coming down the steep hillside, that is the Mt Pisgah plane where the cars were pushed up by the barney cars, there is a good old time shot of people (a woman in a striking white dress) waiting at the bottom...When you see the bridge in the old shots: there are a lot of people pics of people standing high on a rock abuttment...where you see people walking today across a narrow rock ledge, that is Hacklebernie Tunnel, the oldest coal mine in the US; it was driven in the 1820s...the narrow walkwway once had a short bridge tansversing it, as the return or backtrack wasnt complete until the 1840s, so the tracks went right over the head of the mine...hope this helps...Ron
Here is another link to another Switchback post of mine: http://culturedcarboncounty.blogspot.com/2011/04/students-descend-on-switchback-railroad.html