Identifier: americapicturesq01cookuoft (find matches)
Title: America, picturesque and descriptive
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Cook, Joel
Subjects: United States -- Description and travel
Publisher: Philadelphia, Coates
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ad disaiipointments, as nohodywould use the coal, which cost about $14 per ton totransport to Philadelphia. To cheapen this, effortswere made to improve; the navigation of the Lehigh,out of which grew the canal which was the earlyroute of the coal to that city. Asa Packer once saidthat in 1820 three hundred and eighty-tive tons Aventto Philadeli)hia, and this choked the market. In1827, when the mining at Sannnit Ilill had got agood start, the Switchback gravity railroad Avasbuilt to bring the coal out from the mines to the riverat )\Iauch Chunk. The loaded coal cars ran by theirown momentum nine miles down a grade of aboutninety feet to the mile. To get the cars back, theyw^ere hauled up the inclined plane on Mount Pisgah,then run by gravity six miles inland to Mount Jeffer-son, where they were hauled up a second plane, andthen they ran three miles fjirther by gravity to themines. This route was used for many years, but wasafterwards superseded by another railway, and now /Caucb CbunM
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MAUCH CHUNK AND COAL MINING. 235 the famous Switchback is a summer excursionroute for tourists who delight in the exhilaratingrides down the gravity slopes. At Summit Hill andin the Panther Creek Valley, a large output of coal israined and sent through a railway tunnel to theLehiirh, and there is at Summit Hill a burning mine■which has been smouldering more than a half-cen-tury. Asa Packer developed this region, -while, far-ther up the river, branch lines come in from the Ma-hanoy and Hazlcton regions, which were the field ofoperations of Ario Pardee ; and the two Avent handin hand in fostering the prosperity of the LehighValley. The upper waters of the Lehigh flow through awild canyon, the river at times almost doubling uponitself as it makes sharp bends around the bold prom-ontories. Enormous hills encompass it about, thestream often flowing through the bottom with therush and foam of a miniature Niagara rapids. Thecanal, abandoned above )\(auch Chunk, was destroyedby a freshet ma

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