Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine No. 1 "Henry Clay"

The engine known as "Henry Clay" is a working, coal-burning, narrow-gauge 0-4-0ST steam locomotive used to pull passenger mine tourist trains almost a mile along the side of Mahanoy Mountain at the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine in Ashland, Pennsylvania, 
Originally known as Lehigh Valley Coal Company No. 123, "Henry Clay" is a 42" gauge 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive built in 1927 by the Vulcan Iron Works in Wilkes Barre, PA. During it's first working life at a mine in Pennsylvania's anthracite region, it was used to shunt coal bogies from the mine mouth to a breaker. These diminutive, spartan steam engines were referred to as "Lokies". With the saddle tank filled, the "Henry Clay" weighs about 30 tons. Unlike most coal-burning steam locomotives, this engine utilizes anthracite coal as a fuel source. It was sold for scrap in the 1960s. 
This site known as Pioneer Tunnel was originally a working coal mine that operated in the 1910s to 1930s before being shut down when the Depression hit. The site remained closed until a local group worked to convert it into a tourist attraction. Someone on the board of directors at the time felt that the attraction should have an operational steam-powered train so two former Lehigh Valley Coal Co. 0-4-0s (engines No. 123 and No. 119) were saved from the scrapyard. No. 123 who is now known as "Henry Clay" was restored and still continues to operate at the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine while No. 119 serves as a back-up engine currently being stored away in the sheds awaiting restoration. 
In 2018 "Henry Clay" received a complete ground up rebuild to correct some major mechanical and boiler headaches. After a successful operating season in 2018 the decision was made in January 2019 to finish the much needed repairs that could not be done in 2018.
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Category:Built in 1927
Category:Vulcan Iron Works locomotives
Category:Saddle tank locomotives
Category:0-4-0 locomotives
Category:0-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:0-4-0ST steam locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Excursion locomotives
Category:Switcher locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives
Category:Narrow-gauge steam locomotives
Category:Lehigh Valley Locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives