THE MOUNTAIN TOP RAILROADS

From the early 1840s the railroads have played an important part in the development of the Mountain Top Area. Though none of them originated here, their presence greatly affected our area and brought jobs, people and helped to open the area to permanent settlement. The number of people from Mountain Top that worked for the
railroads was substantial. We've added a link to a PDF file that lists the names and a partial address of the railroaders from the Mountain Top area.

The Ashley Planes was the first of these railroads and was established in 1843. It brought the beginnings of the first railroad to the area. The Planes were built to haul Coal and other freight out of the Wyoming area to the top of the Penobscot mountain where it then rolled by gravity to White Haven. Here it was loaded unto barges bound for Philadelphia and points East.

The WB&H was an interurban line built in 1903 to connect Hazleton to Wilkes-Barre. It was used until 1933 when it was abandoned and the track removed. At the time of its construction it was the most modern interurban line in existence.

Two other rail lines, the New Jersey Central and the LeHigh Valley, went through the Mountain Top area and were in use until 1976. In 1976 Conrail took over both railroads and combined the trackage. Today the combined railroad trackage is still in use and plays an important role to the industries that service the Mountain Top area.