Bird's Eye View of The Cabooses
You can even see driving directions with real images
 

 

The Catawissa railroad was only 63 miles in length, for a distance of 30 miles it traveled one of the wildest mountain wildernesses in the country. It had three tunnels plus eight bridges and trestles.

It was the bridges which brought the greatest fame and were long talked about by those who saw them or made the trip across them in the days of early passenger service.

 

Some real nice mountain bridges we had

The Mainville bridge, which replaced the original wooden structure below 1896.

By 1929 the track had been relocated nearby by making a fill of 405,253 cubic yards.

The Bridge near Mainville - Length 900 feet, height 106 feet, built 1854

Also there was three tunnels, one of them a 1400 foot tunnel at Lofty

 

 1941 Head Lines

READING COMPANY OPERATES RECORD-BREAKING RAIL RAMBLE

On Sunday. October 19, 1941
Reading Company broke all records in its operation of a Rail Ramble. Almost 800 passengers made the trip. The photographs shown on this page were taken enroute. The Ramble was operated over the famous Catawissa Branch and through the heart of the anthracite fields. Stops were made at Ryan's Cut, Ringtown and Mainville fills, and at Lewisburg. At the latter point passengers had an opportunity to walk around the beautiful Bucknell University campus and to inspect some of the buildings. Copies of the new book, "A Century of Reading Company Motive Power;" were sold enroute and the photograph at the top left shows Publicity Representative Robert E. Osterhout explaining the publication to Elsie  Murdock, of Philadelphia. A feature of the trip was the open observation car which was operated over moat of the Ramble.

(Circle) Black Rock tunnel north of Phoenixville and (below) Flat Rock tunnel, looking south towards West Manayunk

This is not Shuman Tunnel!
Once I find one with a engine, I'll replace this one.

This is the Section Gang that worked in Mainville, Pa 1943.

I have the payroll books on guys below and the other crew, from 1901 to 1964

It cost me over $1,300. for the books. So if you want to know who work on this line, chances are I have a name, date, hour, photo and what they did.  I love the past & history, but it's nothing to me, unless I can see the faces & names of the people that made it!

I'd be interviewing some them and recording their experiences working on the railroad.

Only a couple are still living and I hope I can find time to talk to them.

Below is the payroll all these men above.

Section gang at Mainville: W. H. Nuss, foreman, Frank Hendershot, Charles Hawk, Arnold Michael, Robert Michael, Elias Bradbesmer and Wilson Baker.

N.R. Michael \ To your left \  first trick operator in Mainville

Just Purchased the Rupert Bridge & Shuman Tunnel

The Catawissa Side North

The Ringtown Side South

This is South of the tunnel at Long Hollow
One of the fills, I'll be doing a story on this with early photo's at a later date!
It was the Catawissa Railroad bridges which brought the greatest fame and were long talked about by those who saw them or made the trip across them in the days of early passenger service.

Walter Gosciminski
Catawissa Historical Train Station

E-mail:

THE CATAWISSA RAIL ROAD CO. AND WHISTLE STOP FENCE
119 Pine Street
Catawissa, Pa. 17820
Voice 570-356-2345
Fax  570-356-7876

Need HELP on saving The Rupert Train Bridge!
Built By Phoenix Bridge Company in 1933 for Reading Railroad Company
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