Earlier this year, I ran into some Coal Region history on the railroad tracks near Frederick, Maryland.
Built in 1928 by the Vulcan Iron Works in Wilkes-Barre, PA this standard gauge, coal-burning 0-4-0 tank steam engine started its working life at the A.E. Dick Construction Co. in Scranton, PA, hauling stone at a quarry.
In 1933, the Jeddo–Highland Coal Company near Hazleton purchased the locomotive, renumbered it as Engine No. 85, and put it to work in anthracite mining operations until 1964, when it passed into private hands.
Today, “Mack” is owned and restored by Gramling Locomotive Works. Every spring, Mack is utilized for steam excursions at the Walkersville Southern Railroad and Museum along the tracks of the former Pennsylvania Railroad line from Columbia, PA to Frederick, MD.
Read more Coal Region railroading history
“Pleasant excursion” – A ride on the Lykens Valley Railroad in 1833
Locomotive “George P. Upton” with a loaded coal train in Wiconisco, PA | 1870
A walk to the long abandoned rail junction on Big Lick Mountain | Dauphin County, PA
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