Switch Back Railroad
Posted by: 
Gosffo
N 40° 49.625 W 075° 54.225
18T E 423794 N 4519954
Gravity always wins!
Waymark Code: WMTKJ
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/08/2006
Views: 27
Marker Text:
A gravity railroad was built along this mountain in 1827 to carry coal from the mines near Summit Hill to the Lehigh Canal at Mauch Chunk. A back-track and two planes were added in 1844 for the return trip by gravity. Railroad crossed the highway here.
This was the first railroad ever built to carry coal and the second railroad ever built. This railroad was the idea of Josiah White and was finished in four months. The cars used gravity to go down the hill and were returned up the hill by mules. You may ask, how did the mules get down the hill? The mules descended in specially designed cars that followed the coal cars to the river. It took 35 minutes for the cars to go down hill by gravity. And the mules took 3 hours to return the cars to the top.
Marker Name: Switchback Railroad
County: Carbon
Date Dedicated: 05/25/1971
Marker Type: Roadside
Location: SR 3012, 3 miles SW of Jim Thorpe
Category: Transportation, Railroads
Website: [Web Link]
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