Mahanoy Plane
Frackville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Critical to the Pa. anthracite industry, this inclined plane railroad transported coal from the Mahanoy Valley up the Broad Mountain to Frackville. Opened in 1862 as part of the Reading Railroad system, improvements in the early 20th century increased its size and capacity, making it an engineering marvel able to meet national demands. After hoisting hundreds of millions of tons of coal, it closed in 1932. Partial ruins remain nearby.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
To move mountains of anthracite out of the Mahanoy Valley, engineers built an inclined-plane railroad that hauled loaded coal cars up the steep face of Broad Mountain to Frackville. Opened in 1862 within the Reading Railroad system and enlarged in the early 20th century, it grew into an engineering marvel capable of meeting national demand for hard coal. After lifting hundreds of millions of tons, it fell silent in 1932, leaving only partial ruins behind.
Why it matters
The Mahanoy Plane embodies the ingenuity and muscle of Pennsylvania's anthracite region, whose coal powered the furnaces and railroads of industrial America.
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Nearby & related markers
Schuylkill Canal
Port Carbon, PA · est. 1994
In the early 19th century, Pennsylvania's anthracite fields held some of the hardest, cleanest-burning coal in America — but it was worthless without a way to move it. The Schuylkill Navigation Company answered that problem, completing a 108-mile canal from Philadelphia up to Port Carbon in 1828. For a quarter century this spot marked the canal's northern end, where coal from the surrounding mountains began its journey to the industrial cities of the eastern seaboard.
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