I ran across this video a few weeks ago. One of the last deep anthracite coal mines in PA closed down. A small handful of guys had been working it for the last several years. A fascinating view into how anthracite is mined by hand, compared to bituminous, where it is very mechanical.
Good grief. Nice video, but WHAT a way to make a livingā¦ 
While I watched this, an old country song kept running through my mind.
Since you brought up anthracite a good recommendation for any (near or far) future trips down 1-81 into Pennsyltucky would be.
Aināt been there in 35 yrs and Frackville welp thatās more like 30yrs. Iām turning into an old fricking man!
Thereās a couple more videos of the mine at work. This one on YouTube is the above ground.
and if you have FB, this one shows running the coal buggy.
Definitely a hard way to make a living.
Cool. Definitely a place I wouldnāt want to be in for more than an hour or so.
Not sure if it is still running, but there was a fairly modern Anthricite mine open for tours just South of Scranton. I believe itās called the Lackawana Coal Mine. Been almost 30 years since we toured. You go down in a crew car suspended by an electric hoist.
Hard to believe that it is still mined this way. Not much has changed in a 150 years or more. Thanks for sharing
Going to take a stab at modeling the above-ground parts of this mine. Only three major components, the slope entrance, the hoist house, and the hoist itself.
Does this fall under the donāt start new projects list?!
Nope, I had the tower and the pipe already cut, in a pile in my shelvesā¦ 
Some work today. Did some repairs on the tower, and added the top sheave wheel, supports and bracketing. Built some of the chute, and took a cut at how the ore skip rails would have been laid out.
Next up Iāll work on the proportions for the āgunboatā that hauls the coal out of the mine. Simple steel box with a few features, and the mechanism to hoist and dump.
Third timeās the charm? Took a couple prototypes to get it to look right, but this will work nicely. A piece of welding rod is taking place of the cable for photographic purposes. Next is to build the runners for the bottom and add a couple details, and then maybe batter it a bit. I need to rummage in my Ozark parts box to see if I have a clevis large enough or if Iāll need to make something.
I am stealing this trick for our own purposes!
Thansk!
Eric
Very nice.
Do you have a location in mind on your layout?
This will go somewhere around the new location for the Majestic mine. Not really sure yet.
Sounds like a plan! At least itās got a place to go to!
Really neat build, Bob.
Funny how the box just scrapes along the wear strips, no wheels. I imagine there would also be some guide bars beneath the box, inside the rails, to keep it tracking along.
Youāre really kickin butt, my hatās off to ya!
At one time there were a lot of little āMom & Popā mines similar to that in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. I once was taking a walk in the woods behind Wicanisco, and stumbled onto an abandoned ten-track hopper gathering yard, probably ex-Reading RR.
Yours, David Meashey
So is this going to be operational? Will it move up and down on its own? Probably over guessing it. It will be a nice addition either way
This will be fun. Especially as I am working on my mine complex. Very much a different type of operation. On thing I am toying with is having at least the top portion of the main hoist exposed. In the era I am modeling, it was completely enclosed. But at various times and remodels it has been exposed and as it sits today it is exposed. And since I get to do what ever I want I might do it.
