Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Mining History

The Pioneer Tunnel is a wonderful place to visit if you want to learn about the history of anthracite coal mining in Pennsylvania. We didn’t go down into the coal mine because I’m claustrophobic.

We did take a trip on the steam locomotive, the Henry Clay. At one time it was actually used to haul coal out of the underground and strip mines in the area. The passenger cars are converted coal cars. Along the way the engineer and the conductor tell you some of the history of the area. I learned about bootleg mining, something I had never heard of before. If you’re going to visit, you might want to look at the Pioneer Tunnel web site first.