Henry Clay
Henry Clay
ASHLAND COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES
19 th & Oak Sts. Ashland, Pennsylvania, 17921
To arrange a group tour,
call today: 570-875-3850 or 570-875-3301
Travel back through time on an old-time narrow gauge steam locomotive, the Henry Clay. Built in the 1920's, The Henry Clay takes you on a scenic three-quarter mile ride around the side of Mahanoy Mountain to show you another kind of mining called strip mining. You'll visit the Mammoth Stripping, an area where an unusually thick seam of anthracite known as the Mammoth Vein outcrops to the surface of the earth. Here, in days gone by, monstrous steam shovels ripped out millions of tons of coal from the exposed vein and left a wall of solid rock 150 feet high extending westward as far as the eye can see. Much of the coal was pulled out by the narrow gauge predecessors of our own Henry Clay . . . a lot of it on the same trackbed. You'll learn about the Centralia mine fire as you gaze across the valley to find smoke rising out of the ground. This perpetual underground fire has resisted all attempts to extinguish it, and has necessitated the relocation of many residents. Nearby is a relic "bootleg" coal hole. This and others in the area were dug by men who were willing to defy trespass laws and brave cave-ins to obtain a few bags of coal to sell or heat their homes. The entire tour lasts about 30 minutes.
Copyright 2005 by Rob Mull Advertising
and Ashland Community Enterprises. All rights reserved.
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