As of July 24, 2014, the Silliman head frame and hoist drums just north of Mahanoy, PA have been dismantled.
Here's the site before they started:


The shaft was about 200 feet deep; the tunnel had water in it about 80 feet below grade. The head frame all told was 37 feet high.

The main section of the hoist drums weighed in at 12.5 tons; the sheave wheels were 2.5 tons each.
Here's a shot of the drums in the hoist house before they started:


SDL Demolition from of Orwigsburg did the dismantling.






The DEP mine reclamation department, along with the property owner, Pagnatti coordinated on the project.
A consultant was hired to map and label the parts so they can reconstruct it.

Happily, the steel will not be scrapped, but will be trucked over to the Pioneer Tunnel Museum in Ashland, PA to be reconstructed in 2016 or so. Many kudos to Pagnatti Corp for donating the structures to Pioneer. It is a great day when a piece of our history is preserved!

When I saw the pictures of the frame coming down, I suspected they were going to be preserved. why bring them down in one piece when you can cut them up in situ.
(hope I used that right)

Welcome to the forum. I sure am glad to see something from the anthracite region being saved for a change. Great pictures, we always like pictures. Thanks for posting them.

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May all those who have gone before us have a carbide lamp with an eternal flame.

@ Welder Dan, you did use it right! Bringing it down in one piece was a safety and manpower issue. The crane could only be there for two days, and we didn't want to make that many cuts 30 feet up.

@ngunderground, I felt honored to be part of the project. I found this site while researching the shaft, and couldn't wait to post about it. The Repblican-Herald is doing an article soon about the project.

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Lori Quinn
Coal Miner's Daughter & Grand Daughter

I meant that it would have been easier to cut up for scrap when it was standing than to bring in a crane, lay them down, and THEN cut them up for scrap. It makes sense to cut keep them in one piece for preservation.

Also, I'd like to credit Mike Thomas for his Springdale Shaft pics taken in 2007. These pics really helped in finding the background info. Thanks, Mike!
The link to his pics: http://www.mst145.rrpicturearchives.net ... x?id=16063

A link to a video on youtube. In this video, the guy says the hoist drums operated in tandem, but because there are two separate hoist mechanisms, the mine cars ran independently. Still, it's pretty cool because the hoist controls are still intact, and there is a great view down the shaft. Surprisingly, except for the theft of the hoist controls, the site was pretty much the same when we started in February 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1EGdvoojHQ

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Lori Quinn
Coal Miner's Daughter & Grand Daughter

@ Welder Dan, good point!

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Lori Quinn
Coal Miner's Daughter & Grand Daughter

Good video. That channel also has a video of Alfred Brown.

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May all those who have gone before us have a carbide lamp with an eternal flame.

That's outstanding that it got preserved!

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Did they grab the elevator cage that was in the woods near the shaft as well?

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