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Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company

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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

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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

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References

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  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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