Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-12-19
LETTER FROM THE COAL COUNTRY
How One Gets to WiIkes.Rarre-A Ride
Oh the ''Swifch Back,,-PecuIfar Fen.
lures OF the Coal RegiOn-SOmething
About 'Breakers'' and ''Culm''-RaiI-
road Riyalries.
of THE EVENING STAR.

correspondence of THE EVENING STAR
NILKEs-BARRE. Pa. Dec. Il, 1888.
a lew words from the coal regions may not be
Without some interest at this time to the omniv-
orous readers of the double STAR, especially
When Jack frost's inroads heighten the value of
lhe "plack diamonds. and grasping monopolies
raise the prices to suit their greedy desires by
debating to miners the amount of the precious
| article they shall produce
The most picturesque ride to this ancient
town Is by way Of the Lehgh Valley railroad
from Bethlehem. 40 miles away. At Mauch
Chunk the first mountains are entered on this
mountainous route, and the Lehigh river is
found breaking away from its rocky environ
ment and nurTying on to its junction with the
Delaware. 1t pays to stop at this euphoniousiy
/ ~ named place and take the ride on the Switch
Back, IL narrow gauge railroad that climbs some
! l.y00 feet to the tops of the surrounding noun
tans by a series of inclined planes and then
brings you spinning back 10y down grade to the
! starting place.
AN EXCITING ZIG-ZAG RIDE.
| 1t has spice OF danger, too, to feel yourself
whisked along as by unseen hands at the rate
OF thirty miles an hour, and only an iron brake
to check the haadlong descent. To approach
the far-famed wyoming valley by this route at
night IS charming experience. You are
scarcely aware of your approach until the train
/ reaches the top OF the WilkeS-Barre mountain
/ and begins to descend. when your first gaze
seems to fall upon dark ana extensive sea
with lighted vessels at anchor. crowded together
/ ana extending to great distance. The Illusion
is perfect and bewdering. but not lasting You
are soon brought down to the level of the val
ley from your perch of thousand feet or more
and are soon made aware OF your entrance into the
/ coal regions by great black houses, technically
called "breakers, looming up in the deep
! shadow by the track. and vast piles of coal dust
70 andt0 feet high and one-fOurth mile in extent
called 'culm." which is not altogether what
webster defines it. las anthracite coal found in
small masses but is made up of slate from
which the coal has been picked BIZ the cracker
| bOyS, coal dust from the breakers and other
refuse.
HOW THEY GET RID OF ''CULM"
These vast culm heaps are Characteristic
marks OF the coal producing region and
were apparently useless piles of dirt when
first saw them, but learn that several of the
railroads have manufactured locomotives, in
which it may be utilized. and observe also
that the Pennsylvania railroad which enters
tue city by the north and west branch road is
using vast quantities OF it in ballasting their
new road. This new road forms junction
with the Northern Central at Sunbury, and
taking a northeast direction AMI following the
course oil the north branch Ofthe Susquehanna
/ with its 10 miles of track, makes an adyanta-
/ geouS opening for the Pennsylvania road into
/ the rich coal fields Of this region.
| The railroad interests in the vicinity of
! Nlkes-Barre are very great, no less than four
companies competing in the coal carrying trade
/ 10 give some idea of the vast interests involved
! IN the railroad business here | may state that
/ IN the record OF the lease OF the New Jersey
Central railroad. filed in the recorders office of
/ Luzerne county. the Reading railroad which
/ secured the lease of the Central, agrees to pay
/ T. per cent annual dividend on S1S 563. coo of
/ the Centrals capital. The latter company alone
! has -, 900 cars used in transporting coal.
| THE MINING RAILROAD WAR.
! This lease, the lawfuness of which is now I'M
dcrgoing examination in the courts at Trenton
| is monument of legal phrasing, comprising
siXty-six PAGES of printed matter the combined
/ work of Mr.. Gowen and Mr.. Kaercher, of the
| Central road. One clause alone requires the
/ Reading railroad to secure the production of
! 5000 tons Of coal per year from the Lehigh
and Nilkes-Barre Coal companys mines which
/ nave been heretofore worked extensively by the
Central road. which, However. has never pro-
duced more than 900 tons from Them
1t seems to be generally understood that
vanderbilt Is backing GOWen and the Reading
railroad i'll opposition to the extension of the
| Pennsylvania railroad in this section. Compe-
| tition Is accordingly very lively. Is it not
! probable that the time is not very far distant
| when great corporations will be glad to call
| upon the government to undertake the man
| a@enent OF their present exclusive control over
rates OF transportation as means of protection
| against the attacks and encrOacIments of their
! great rivals? If so, competition will have
worked out great problem and the work of
I the anti-monopolists will have been expedi-
/ tiously simplihed. H. ID.
/