Hi All,

Just wanted to say HI!! My name is Mike Travis. I live in Dover Pa. I am interested in coal mining and it's history. I ride 4 wheelers a lot in Tower City Pa and Snow Shoe Pa. I enjoy seeing the old mines and looking at the machinery. With my mechanical back ground stuff like that just intrigues me. I am looking forward to being part of the group and getting to know and make new friends.

Take care,
Mike Travis

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Mike Travis

Welcome aboard ! Tower City is a cool place and several mines are in that area. I bet you have been to the old B & M mine site but now it is used as a race drag track for 4 wheelers.

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Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

I have been to the B&M tunnel. It's amazing how much equipment is still there. I have walked through all of the buildings. There is so much still sitting on the shelves. New parts for the mine motors. Plus there a couple of mine motors sitting in the one shed. They look like if you would put new batteries in them that would move.

Take care,
Mike

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Mike Travis

welcome mike.

that old rail line out by snowshoe is something. i took my truck on the section that is not part of the atv rail trail-across a couple of the plate girder bridges that are just wide enough for a truck (and in really bad shape), through the tunnel and the AMD in the beech creek. there are some really sweet old company towns up there!

its too bad that most of that area has been strip mined. i never found much remaining other than loadouts along the railbed. have you come across much in the area related to deep mining (other than the mine car in snow shoe)?

John

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

Hi John,

No not much at all. Like you said I think everything up in Snow Shoe was striped mined. Not far from the parking lot for the SSRT towards the town of Clarence there is the remains of a coal loading station but not much there. Some conveyors but not much at all. I know the bridges you are talking about I have been across them on the 4 wheeler. Every time I go up I am always looking for more mining sites to explore.

Take care,
Mike

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Mike Travis

When were you last at B & M ?. . . .all that stuff is gone now.

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Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

ive hiked the old rail line- if you continue toward the viaduct(heading south from snow shoe) the is some coke oven ruins and a collapsed clay mine portal. Also i know of a couple cool sites in clearfield county that are easy to get to.

Hi Mike.
Glad to see someone else on the board close to my area.
(New Oxford)
Hope you have as much fun here as I do.

~Shana

The last time I was at the B.M. tunnel was July of last year and everything was still there. I don't think any of it will be mover anytime soon. I am not sure if the mining company still owns it or Raush Creek LLC. Raush Creek LLC owns the land that the trail riders club is on.

Take care.
Mike

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Mike Travis

Since you were there it is gone,

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Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

yep, sad to see, but its all gone. mine sealed and all equipment gone. however after work at the mine yesterday we had to pick up some new mine cars from another mine where i saw one of the motors that was used there as well as 8 or so of the coal cars and the car dump...... glad to see the legacy of the b&m is living on! we got one of the mantrips and donated it to the no.9 mine tour where we restored it and they use it to run tourists through their hole in the ground.

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Come over to the Dark Side....... We have Cookies!

As far as I know all of the rolling stock from B&M is present and accounted for. The No.9 has two original B&M mantrips, one was donated by Chris and the other was donated from the owners of B&M. The No.9 also has a mantrip that is a copy of the B&M mantrips that is built on a B&M flat car and the No.9 also has a B&M flat car and coal car. Just up the street from the No.9 is the B&M powder car, a flat car, and two motors. Harmony has a couple of B&M coal and rock cars. D&F has a coal car and a motor. Another mine not far from Hegins has the last motor and a bunch of cars. A lot of the spare track parts and motor parts also escaped the trash heap and are in good hands now too

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"We don't look for any money all we look for is a little help and the only help we get is for the government to shut us down and if you go to the gas station and buy the gas you'll see why..........................you'll see why"