(rshsdepot) Minersville, PA

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Minersville train, depot restoration advances as station work nearly done
BY LISA PRICE
Staff Writer
lprice_@_republicanherald.com
MINERSVILLE - A project that's been in the works for 15 years is chugging
toward completion.

It's called Railway Restoration Project 113, and local residents and
visitors got a taste of what it will mean for the community during recent
Minersville Spirit Day activities.

They apparently liked it.

The group spearheading restoration of the station and a 1923 locomotive -
the latter an ongoing $400,000 project on what is one of only 11 such
anthracite steam locomotives left in the country - sponsored train rides via
its other locomotive, a diesel, to Blackwood and back.

The effort brought in $3,200 to help advance the project.

"It was actually the first time since 1934 that a train left Minersville and
went out that way," said Robert E. Kimmel Jr., Minersville, who's
spearheading the effort. "It was about an hour and a half round trip, and
1,100 people rode the train that day."

Although refurbishment of the 1923 steam locomotive - the county
commissioners proclaimed it the official county steam locomotive in January
2001 - is about halfway complete, renovation of the train depot, at 113
Sunbury St., should be done by December.

Much has been accomplished through local private donations, Kimmel said,
adding that nearly $250,000 was generated via contributions and fundraisers.
The depot renovation was accomplished through local donations.

"We're always fundraising, selling things, selling our calendars, pursuing
grants," Kimmel said. "It's a constant effort."

With the depot restoration, begun in late 1987, nearly done, the group is
shifting focus to the locomotive, which was built by the American Locomotive
Co., Schenectady, N.Y., for the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It was
purchased by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. in May 1953.

In 1980, Reading Anthracite Co., successor to P&RC&I, donate the steam
engine to Historic Red Clay Valley Inc., Wilmington, Del., which fosters
awareness of the culture and history of the valley. In 1987, volunteers
looking to restore the Minersville Train Depot purchased it from the
Wilmington group for $7,000.

Kimmel, his father, Robert E., Minersville, Thomas P. Oakill, Primrose, and
John D. Brennan, Minersville, are project leaders for the train station. The
group has a nine-member board of directors. It recently was awarded a state
Department of Community and Economic Development grant for $5,000, which is
earmarked for engineering work on the locomotive. The group has also applied
for a $100,000 Keystone Grant through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission.

The group hopes to complete the station's finishing touches - flooring,
plastering and ceiling work yet remain - before it stages a holiday open
house in December.

Hopkins Plumbing, Seltzer, and E&S Roofing, Saint Clair, donated labor costs
for the station project, Kimmel said.

Other local contractors who pitched in included Jessie Stickel, Seiders
Hill, and Greg Oakill, Primrose.

Also as part of the project, Ronald Andrachick, Pottsville, is continuing
restoration work on a caboose at the site.

The station originally was opened by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
Co. but was only in operation 21 years before the company shut it down in
1934, Kimmel said.

Miners were not allowed in the station, but had to board outside.

Blackwood, located on the north slope of Sharp Mountain, once consisted of
five double rows of houses. It was settled by the Woods family, who mined
coal there long before the homes were built by the Lehigh Valley Coal Co.

The Woods family was joined by the Schoffstalls, a family that went into the
lumber business supplied timber for the mines.

Coal was hauled down the mountain and loaded onto cars at the Mine Hill &
Schuylkill Haven Railroad, the second oldest rail line in Pennsylvania.
Incorporated in 1829, it ranged from the canal docks in Schuylkill Haven to
the Salen River Mine at Silverton.

When the 1923 steam locomotive is restored, it will lead the local train
excursions. Kimmel said it can hold 10 tons of coal and 7,000 gallons of
water in the tender. When loaded, the engine portion weighs 100 tons and the
tender 74 tons.

"Anyone who wants to help is always welcome," Kimmel said. "We couldn't have
done all this without help from people who are interested in preserving
things for the next generation."



=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

------------------------------