Mr. Shuster also had many of the necessary business and engineering skills to open his own mine, gained from years of work at the Archabald colliery located in Taylor Pa. Also the increased demand for anthracite during World War II made it a prime time to enter the mining business. Beginning in 1942 Shuster began construction of this site. But before driving the actual slope, the area of the slope was strip or surface mined. This accounts for the large open area at the opening. A fan house was constructed, as part of the ventilation system, a compressor building which housed a compressor to supply air for pneumatic tools used in mining at the time. Also in the compressor building was the hoist, and associated controls used to haul loaded cars up the slope to the tipple. And finally the actual tipple. The tipple was a structure usually located at the opening of the mine. Rail cars or in the case of Lehman trucks would be stationed underneath it.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7