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The Clearfield Coalfield is a bituminous coal mining area in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, [1] United States. The coal seams are found in most parts of Clearfield County, with the notable exception of the northern part of the county.
The entrance of the Pennsylvania Railroad's extension from Tyrone, northwest to Philipsburg and Clearfield opened much of the field to coal mining. Later the New York Central (NYC) built the Beech Creek Railroad from Jersey Shore up Beech Creek and entered Clearfield from the northeast. This line bypassed Clearfield and extended south to Mahaffey and eventually into Indiana County. Other rail lines included the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad's extension down Anderson Creek to Clearfield, NYC's extension to Clearfield and down the Susquehanna River to Keating, and the Bell's Gap Railroad, which ran through the southern part of the county through Mahaffey. Each railroad opened numerous coal company towns such as Surveyor, Croft, Karthaus and Bald Hill on NYC's Susquehanna River line. Numerous other towns were built such as Gaazam, Glen Richey, Peale, Winburne (Summerville), Hawk Run, Morrisdale and Irvona.
The active mining of these fields has been greatly reduced since the 1970s. Some coal is obtained via strip-mining for the power plant at Shawville and other private enterprises. There were no active underground mines in Clearfield County as of 2007.
Schuylkill County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,049. The county seat is Pottsville. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state.
Clearfield County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,562. The county seat is Clearfield, and the largest city is DuBois. The county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1822.
Mahaffey is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 329 at the 2020 census.
Newport Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2020, the population was 4,444. Newport is located on the outskirts of Nanticoke City.
The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch being its principal tributary.
The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons.
Spangler, Pennsylvania was a town, since merged, and former borough that is located in the northwest corner of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is nestled in the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River between hills of the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States.
Anderson Creek is a 23.6-mile-long (38.0 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Gazzam Run is a 3.5-mile-long (5.6 km) tributary of Little Clearfield Creek in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Clearfield Creek is a 73.4-mile-long (118.1 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cambria and Clearfield counties, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway was a railroad built in the early 1880s to give the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad access to the coal regions around Clearfield, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Altoona and Beech Creek Railroad was a 3 ft narrow gauge railroad in Pennsylvania that operated during the late ninteeth and early twentieth centuries. It carried passenger traffic from the vicinity of Altoona to Wopsononock and coal and timber from Wopsononock and Dougherty to Altoona.
Chest Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cambria County and Clearfield County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 40.4 miles (65.0 km) long and flows through Allegheny Township, East Carroll Township, Clearfield Township, Patton, Chest Township, and Elder Township in Cambria County and Westover borough, Chest Township, Newburg, Bell Township, and Mahaffey in Clearfield County. Although it is considered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to be impaired by situation, it is a coldwater fishery or a high-quality coldwater fishery throughout its length. The watershed of the creek has an area of 129.22 square miles (334.7 km2).
The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LCAN) (1988–2010) was a modern-day anthracite coal mining company headquartered in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It acquired many properties and relaunched the Lehigh Coal Companies brand in 1988. The LCAN ran strip mining operations in the Panther Creek Valley east of Lansford, Pennsylvania along U.S. Route 209 with vast properties dominating the coal areas of Tamaqua, Coaldale, and Lansford.
The Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Ebensburg and Eastern Railroad was a railroad corporation in Pennsylvania, intended to unite two local short lines in Clearfield, Blair and Cambria Counties and create a coal-hauling railroad to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Highly speculative, the railroad never had the financing necessary to begin construction. Chartered in 1897, it began to lose control of the two short lines in 1900, but continued to litigate the matter until 1909. Left a paper corporation without railroad property, it was dissolved a few years later.
R.J. Corman Railroad/Pennsylvania Lines is a railroad in the R.J. Corman Railroad Group, operating a number of lines in central Pennsylvania. It primarily carries coal between mines and Norfolk Southern Railway connections at Cresson and Keating. The trackage was acquired from Conrail in 1996, when the latter company sold its "Clearfield Cluster"; Norfolk Southern acquired nearby Conrail lines in 1999. This is the longest R.J. Corman owned line, at over 300 miles in length.
The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad company that formerly operated in western and north central Pennsylvania and western New York. It was created in 1893 by the merger and consolidation of several smaller logging railroads. It operated independently until 1929, when a majority of its capital stock was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the same time, the B&O also purchased control of the neighboring Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway. The Baltimore and Ohio officially took over operations of both roads in 1932.
The Beech Creek Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in central Pennsylvania between Jersey Shore and Mahaffey. Originally chartered in 1882, it was leased by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad in 1890 and was directly operated by that company afterwards. Much of the line was abandoned in the second half of the 20th century, though sections at both ends are still active.
Orviston is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 95. It is located in far northern Centre County, near the Clinton County border. Beech Creek runs through the center of the town, flowing southeast towards Bald Eagle Creek in the West Branch Susquehanna River watershed.
The Susquehanna, Bloomsburg, and Berwick Railroad, also known as the SB&B Railroad or the Weak and Weary Railroad, which referred to the fact that it was not a financial success, was a railroad in northeastern Pennsylvania until 1918. The route ran from Watsontown, Pennsylvania to Berwick, Pennsylvania. The railroad was 39.22 miles long, with 3.51 miles of branches, totaling 42.83 miles. The railroad was also known as the "Sweet By and By". Trains typically ran along the railroad six days a week. What remains of it is currently a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.