Train yards south of Saint Clair in Mill Creek
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On May 7, 1913, Philadelphia & Reading railroad proposed metal shops at Saint Clair that would cost $300,000 to build and would employ 500.
Dedication of new Rail Yards 1913
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In 1913 the Reading Railroad expanded its repair shops and marshalling yards in Saint Clair making it the "largest classified coal yards in the world" There were 63 tracks that covered 46.5 miles, with a capacity for 2,861 cars, and an engine house large enough to contain 52 locomotives. Over 1,200 men and 25 supervisors were employed here when it was working at full capacity. Saint Clair is shown on the far left to the northeast.
These two pictures courtesy of Spector Manufacturing who have their plant if the last remaining building. This manufacturing industry is located in a red brick building formally part of a giant railroad yard, now an Industrial Park. This red building is where repairs were done on the locomotives. With the end of coal came the end of the railroad yard. The yard though abandoned remained intact with all the buildings and even the rail cars until the mid-1970's. My friends and I would play in the cars & buildings. |
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The Great Saint Clair Train Yards |
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This picture was taken at the southeast side of Saint Clair looking towards Mill Creek. |
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| Train heading towards Roundhouse. The Mill Creek bridge in background was removed in 1991. | ||
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| The train yards and west. Mill Creek in background, St. Clair on far left. | ||
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| Reading Railroad Engine | ||
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Reading Railroad Engine #1004 leaving the Round House. |
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| Overhead southern view of Train Yards looking at Round House. | ||
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| RAILROAD
- HIGHWAY -
TROLLEY North of Saint Clair heading towards Frackville (Frackville grade) there were once 3 modes of transportation. The trolley's were discontinued in 1937 and the rail tracks were washed out in the 1972 Hurricane Agnes floods. Today only the highway (RT. 61) is still in existence, but you can see where the trolley ran to the right of the highway. Sept. 3, 1917 a head-on trolley collision on the Frackville grade killed two and injured twenty-five. |
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| Just north of Saint Clair, is the patch, DARKWATER, is where this wreck occured. | ||
| The largest train yard in America was built here just South of Saint Clair in Mill Creek. Today it is an industrial park with only one original building remaining. Spector Manufacturing operates out the building used to repair locomotives. As a child I remember playing in the buildings and in and on top of the rail cars. This was the late 1960's and early 1970's. |
