Greenville, PA Greenville Railroad Park

I just happened to stumble across this today while I was doing some work in the area. It appears the museum itself is closed during the winter, however, there is a great assortment of rolling stock outside that is available to look at anytime. Most of the rolling stock appears to be from the 1950's. The highlight of the collection is Steam Engine #304/604. It is 1 of 9 built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, PA in 1936. This particular engine was built for the Union Railroad, which was started by Andrew Carnegie in 1896 to serve his steel mills in the Monongahela Valley. The Union Railroad is still in existence and is based in Monroeville, PA. It still serves the (remaining) mills in the Mon Valley. The steam engine was originally Union Railroad #304 before it was sold in 1949 to the Duluth, Missabe, and Iron Range Railroad in Minnesota and renumbered 604. These 9 steam engines were the largest steam switch engines ever built. This thing is absolutely massive!!

Other rolling stock includes a Wheeling and Lake Erie caboose, a Bessemer caboose, a Union Pacific caboose and a 1952 Bessemer ore jenny. There is also an open air passenger car named Erie 8200 as well as the steam engines tender.

The steam engine and tender are labeled Union 304 on one side and Duluth, Missabe, and Iron 604 on the other. 

It was a great accidental discovery and I can't wait to get back and see the museum. 

A link to the museum is right here:http://www.greenvilletrainmuseum.org/Default.aspx

The massive steam switch engine.

Her story.

These driving wheels were as tall as me.

The Union side (URR 304).

The tender (DMI 604), the ore jenny (BLE 20567) and the Bessemer caboose (BLE 1985).

WLE 205 and Erie 8200.

UP 25437 and Erie 8200.

BLE 1985.

A Drive Across Layton Bridge

This is a quick video going through Layton Tunnel and across Layton Bridge.  Construction of the bridge began in 1893 and was completed in 1899. The tunnel and bridge were originally part of the Washington Run Railroad but the last rain ran on it in 1931. It has been open to automobile traffic since 1933. The bridge crosses the Youghiogheny River between Perryopolis and Layton. The Great Allegheny Passage also runs underneath the bridge.

The music on the video is by Lisa Miles, the song is titled "No. 1 Driving" and it's off her album "Nalada" which is available on Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nalada/id467865262?i=467865324&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

or Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Nalada-Lisa-Miles/dp/B005MQJOPE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1317915621&sr=1-1

A Day In Dunbar-Mahoning & Uniondale Coke Works

Today we spent the day in Dunbar, PA checking out some old coke works and just looking around the town. The town itself retains a lot of interesting architecture and the two neighboring coke plants we explored contained many ovens in varying conditions. We explored the old Mahoning Coke Works, which for their age contained some ovens in relatively decent condition. It also featured some ovens that were nearly completely buried. We also checked out the old Uniondale/Watt Coke Works. These ovens were quite extensive, wrapping the whole way around the hillside. However, there were only three that still contained their fronts and only two of these were in moderately decent condition.

 

Mahoning Coke Works

 

The Mahoning Coke Works date back to 1872. Messrs, Paull, Brown and Co. bought the coal rights to 100 acres of coal land and built 100 ovens. Paull, Brown & Company operated the coke works until 1878 when the Mahoning Coke Company took over. In 1882 the coke plant is listed as being owned by Brown, Bonnell and Company. In 1885 the Cambria Steel Company took over the operation and shipped the coke to their mills in Johnstown. It is unclear how long Cambria controlled the ovens. There is mention of the coke plant being owned by the Mahoning Coal & Coke Company in the 1914 Black Diamond trade journal's year in review. It is also listed as having only 84 ovens at that time. Also of interest, in ca.1903 the Mahoning Mine was connected underground with the nearby Atlas Mine.

This is a chart of the Mahoning Coke Works.

After tromping through a garbage dump we came to the ovens on the eastern side of the eastern block.

These are the ovens on the eastern side of the western block.

Trunnel hole.

The retaining walls on this side were pretty intact.

The western side of the eastern block.

Maybe some of these ovens were operated later.

Still nice brickwork with some hardware remaining.

Looking over at the western block from the eastern block.

These ovens are almost swallowed up into the ground.

No fronts but still nice shape.

Brick collapse.

Somehow the ground has risen around this nicely intact oven.

South of the ovens is this old slate dump.

Look between the two blocks from the south.

A pipe sticking out of the ground.

Most of the cone appears to have been sheared from this oven.

North end of the eastern block.

Dunbar, PA

 

 I'm not going to get too deep into the history of Dunbar. The town was originally settled in the 1790's and was incorporated in 1883. Dunbar was first known as Frogtown, then Dunbar City and finally as Dunbar. The town was named after Colonel Thomas Dunbar who was in charge of the 48'th Regiment Foot in the French and Indian War. 

The first industry was Isaac Meason's Union Iron Furnace #1 around 1793. Between the time of Meason's iron furnace through the 1950's Dunbar was home to many industries. It's location in the heart of the Connellsville Coke District allowed it to play an important role in that industry.

Dunbar has a very active Historical Society and much more information is available on their website here: http://www.dunbarhistoricalsociety.com/index.html

 

As soon as we parked we saw this iron gate over this door of a large stone room. I'm going to look into it but right now I do not know what it is.

 

Looking inside the gate.

Looking up Connellsville Street.

Santa Clause.

George Swearingen building 1901.

They do not build them like this anymore.

The R.W. Clark building 1881.

There is some work going on in this building. Hopefully it's being restored.

One of the churches.

The greatest addition to a house ever. Add a camper and build on to it.

I'm not sure what this building is. It's very, very old.

Across the street from that building is this old building currently used by the Boy Scouts.

Uniondale Coke Works

 

The Uniondale Coke Works date back to 1869 and were constructed for Messrs, Watt, Taylor and Company of Dunbar. Originally it contained only 40 ovens but 20 more were soon erected. Ownership seems to have changed pretty rapidly in the beginning. Next in line was Watt, Byer and Company followed by T.W. Watt and Company. Regardless, Watt seems to have kept his hand in it. In 1878, the Reid Brothers bought the coke works and added another 16 ovens. Before the 76 ovens were abandoned in 1910 it appears ownership bounced around a few more times including a stint with the Cambria Iron Company.

 

This was the average condition of these ovens.

There were a lot. All 76 appear to remain.

This was it for the ovens in semi decent condition.

C.J. climbing in.

Marybeth standing outside.

Looking up through the trunnel hole.

Looking outside.

A huge arch brick marked TA.

Looking across the field. The ovens ran the whole way along the hillside. 

A cell phone panorama.