What's really under our houses? The "Coal Road."

[Greenbandman]

Historical Salutations from the Carrick Overbrook Historical Society:

 

It's time for Carrick-Overbrook-Mt. Oliver-South Side Historical Trivia!

 

"I'll be takin' the Coal Road shortcut to the South Side!" Do you know where the "Coal Road" is? Do you know why those railroad tracks were on South 21st. Street on the South Side?  

 

That lonesome, ghostly, mysterious locomotive and grinding noises you hear at night this Halloween might be actually coming from under your house! We all know that our neighborhood is undermined but do you really know how much? This is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on our own Keeling Coal Company mine site, now Volunteer's Fields between Newett and Colerain Avenues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeling_Coal_Company

"Coal Road"

"After the coal was removed, the mine became part of an underground
transportation system to transport coal from the South Hills to
industries along the Monongahela river. The "coal road" passed under
three hills, under Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania, then a trestle over a
ravine at the present location of Parkwood Road, then under the hill
topped by Fort Jones, later St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church[2] and
St. Clair Village, then over another ravine at the present-day Wagner
Street, to re-enter an underground mine section in Carrick near where
Bruner Street is today.[3][4] This mine connected with the Bausman
Mine in Spiketown, now Carrick, and was still operational in 1899.[5]
Coal was tranferred from Spiketown to the mine entrance on St. Patrick
Street by a steam locomotive that ran undeground. The coal from the
mine was transferred to a narrow gauge railroad that ran down the
middle of South 21st Street from an inclined plane railroad.[6][7]
Although the incline is no longer in existence, its site is occupied
by South Side Park, which was also a location of a Sankey brick works.
When the enginehouse of the coal road burned shortly before the
expiration of Keeling's lease on the mine, the lease was not renewed;
At about the same time, the Pittsburgh and Whitehall Railroad obtained
an easement adjacent to the track in the center of South 21st St.[8]"

Now you know!

 

John Rudiak

[Karla Voigt]

Thank you so much for the history.  I love hearing stories like this.  I've lived in this area all my life (actually grew up on Parkwood Road) and I love it. My mother always worried about us kids playing at the bottom of our backyard because she thought the ground might cave in from the mines below.  Thanks again.

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From: Greenbandman <jru...@yahoo.com>
To: carrick listserve <carr...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, October 9, 2009 1:27:11 PM
Subject: [CarrickPA] What's really under our houses? The "Coal Road."

[Greenbandman]

Thank you so much for this reply. Your mother was a wise woman and perhaps she knew all about the voids under our neighborhood. Wouldn't it be even more interesting to open up "Coal Road" and travel through our underground world?  What mysteries would we discover?  Who would we find?

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From: Karla Voigt <karla...@verizon.net>
To: carr...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, October 9, 2009 9:17:46 PM
Subject: [CarrickPA] Re: What's really under our houses? The "Coal Road."

[Karla Voigt]

My mom knew so much about this. I was too young to ask questions, or else I wasn't interested at the time.  She has passed but I'm going to see if my dad has any information.  He is very knowlegeable about that stuff.  He was born on Birmingham Avenue but lives in the house on Parkwood Road that I was born at.  My dad's mom is also still alive at 95.  I would like to see if I can get any info as she is still very aware at her age.

 

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From: Greenbandman <jru...@yahoo.com>
To: carr...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, October 9, 2009 10:31:30 PM

[jar...@yahoo.com]

Did you also know that in the 1930's a working mine was on Maytide St. The entrance to the mine is in my basement, now sealed off. My back yard often caves in. This mine goes under Ester St. Sunnyland and Brownsville Rd. The stable where mules that pulled coal cars thur the mine still exists in my driveway. If anyone else has more info about this mine please let me know. Ron jardini

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: Greenbandman <jru...@yahoo.com>

Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:31:30 +0000 (GMT)

To: <carr...@googlegroups.com>