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Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company

Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company
Map
Overview
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
LocaleSchuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation1826–1952
SuccessorReading Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length28 miles (45 km)

The Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company (LSRR) was a railway company in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The main line ran from Port Clinton to Tamaqua, for a total of 28 miles (45 km).

History

The railroad received a charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 28, 1826.[1] Construction began in 1830. The tracks were constructed with strap iron on wood rails.[2] Beginning with horse-drawn cars in 1831, the LSRR operated between Tamaqua, located at the end of the coal-rich Panther Creek Valley and the Port Clinton terminus of the Schuylkill Canal. It later made a rail junction with the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company.[3]

In 1833, the railroad acquired two steam locomotives, built in Liverpool,[4] but the wooden tracks did not support the engines, requiring a resumption of animal-powered operations. This over-extended investment nearly bankrupted the young company. Only in 1845 did iron "T" rails replace the wooden rails, allowing the costly English locomotives to return to regular service.[2]

In 1854, the LSRR completed a junction with the Catawissa Railroad at Tamanend (also called Little Schuylkill Junction).[1] In 1857, it built a roundhouse in Tamaqua, housing 21 locomotives and a turntable.[5]

In 1863, the company was leased by the Reading Railroad for 93 years.[6] It formally merged with the Reading in 1952.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Poor, Henry V. (1860). Poor's History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. New York: John H. Schultz and Co. p. 454.
  2. ^ a b Heydinger, Earl J. (April 1963). "GROUP VI: The Little Schuylkill". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. Railroads of the First and Second Anthracite Coal Fields of Pennsylvania. 108: 19–28. JSTOR 43518064.
  3. ^ Korson, George Gershon (1950). Black Rock: Mining Folklore of the Pennsylvania Dutch. North Stratford, NH: Ayer Company Publishers. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-405-10607-1. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  4. ^ List, Friedrich (1833); Über ein sächsisches Eisenbahn-System als Grundlage eines allgemeinen deutschen Eisenbahn-Systemes, und insbesondere über die Anlegung einer Eisenbahn von Leipzig nach Dresden, page 2.
  5. ^ "History". Tamaqua Railroad Station. Tamaqua Save Our Station. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
  6. ^ Serfass, Donald R. (2010). Iron Steps: Illustrated History of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4515-4765-8. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
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