Back in Pittsburgh, back to sleauthing for something cool to see. The best place to find industrial locations is near the river, and with our fine city of black and gold having three rivers, there is never shortage of abandoned industrial sites. So, off we went.
This time, we did have a plan. It looked like a really good one. Online we had found a location of something on the Mon and it looked like ti was accessible by car so we drive. About an hour or so later, we came upon what we like to call - our kind of roads. They were desolate, uninhabited and full of abandoned hope. The paved road led into non paved road which made this adventure even more exciting. Then the unpaved roads led to true off roading, mud, dirt, water, sliding, put it in overdrive, Mister! down hills, around bends we drive until we literally had to stop in our tracks. Mr. Fearless Off-Roader got out and looked down, far down. It was a VERY, and I mean very steep hill, obviously unpaved and quite muddy. "If it wasn't so muddy, we would be able to make it back up, but with all that rain yesterday, I am not sure the Blue Sasquatch will be able to make it." Well, that was disappointing. Until...we truned around, skidded out, splashed mud and brush all over the windshield and just had a blast making the best mess.
Once on more solid ground, although still unpaved,we pulled out our trusty Google maps and found another route. Hmmm, there was a town nearby with a way in. Isabella, PA...a little coal mine gem. Let's do it.
On our way, though, we passed through Penncraft, PA. We actually drove through it twice, so on the way back, we decided to do a little research, pull over and check it out a little. Turns out, Penncraft was an experimental coal miners town created in the time of the Depression. They built these beautifully constructed stone homes on the allotted land and created their own commerce and way of life. Many of the original homes were still there and folks were still in them. They were very charming. I did not take photos as may people were out on their porches, in yards or just home and I thought that would be creepy.
We drove on, finally reaching yet another off road experience. This time we traveled down and around a system of roads that were once a part of a large industrial site. Then, once rounded the bend, the tipple appeared. A tipple is structure used at a mine to load the coal or whatever mineral being extracted onto trains. It straddles the tracks. This tipple was a dream tipple to us. Partially falling down, lots of decay, windows broken, steel support crumbling and bowing beneath it, amazeballs. We got out and explored. It was beautiful if you ask me. We wandered over the tracks and under the tipple and then to a section of the building that extends over the river. There really was not any way we could go in and or up. Most of the flooring was gone and it was high in the air or well over the river. We like adventure, but not enough to break bones or drown over. We did climb up a little bit and checkout what it looked like inside. Lots of dears and lots of rust. LOVE IT!!!
Off roading it around the area we ended up finding a few more buildings that were a part of the complex. In finding an image online of the original site, so much of it is gone. What remains will not be there for long. But what does remain is a snapshot of the past, an industry that is gone from this spot, but was a life for so many in its day. I would love to meet someone who worked there, knew of the folks that one brought this community to life. Until then, I can imagine the smells, sounds and action of this mine through the images I have.
This time, we did have a plan. It looked like a really good one. Online we had found a location of something on the Mon and it looked like ti was accessible by car so we drive. About an hour or so later, we came upon what we like to call - our kind of roads. They were desolate, uninhabited and full of abandoned hope. The paved road led into non paved road which made this adventure even more exciting. Then the unpaved roads led to true off roading, mud, dirt, water, sliding, put it in overdrive, Mister! down hills, around bends we drive until we literally had to stop in our tracks. Mr. Fearless Off-Roader got out and looked down, far down. It was a VERY, and I mean very steep hill, obviously unpaved and quite muddy. "If it wasn't so muddy, we would be able to make it back up, but with all that rain yesterday, I am not sure the Blue Sasquatch will be able to make it." Well, that was disappointing. Until...we truned around, skidded out, splashed mud and brush all over the windshield and just had a blast making the best mess.
Once on more solid ground, although still unpaved,we pulled out our trusty Google maps and found another route. Hmmm, there was a town nearby with a way in. Isabella, PA...a little coal mine gem. Let's do it.
On our way, though, we passed through Penncraft, PA. We actually drove through it twice, so on the way back, we decided to do a little research, pull over and check it out a little. Turns out, Penncraft was an experimental coal miners town created in the time of the Depression. They built these beautifully constructed stone homes on the allotted land and created their own commerce and way of life. Many of the original homes were still there and folks were still in them. They were very charming. I did not take photos as may people were out on their porches, in yards or just home and I thought that would be creepy.
We drove on, finally reaching yet another off road experience. This time we traveled down and around a system of roads that were once a part of a large industrial site. Then, once rounded the bend, the tipple appeared. A tipple is structure used at a mine to load the coal or whatever mineral being extracted onto trains. It straddles the tracks. This tipple was a dream tipple to us. Partially falling down, lots of decay, windows broken, steel support crumbling and bowing beneath it, amazeballs. We got out and explored. It was beautiful if you ask me. We wandered over the tracks and under the tipple and then to a section of the building that extends over the river. There really was not any way we could go in and or up. Most of the flooring was gone and it was high in the air or well over the river. We like adventure, but not enough to break bones or drown over. We did climb up a little bit and checkout what it looked like inside. Lots of dears and lots of rust. LOVE IT!!!
Off roading it around the area we ended up finding a few more buildings that were a part of the complex. In finding an image online of the original site, so much of it is gone. What remains will not be there for long. But what does remain is a snapshot of the past, an industry that is gone from this spot, but was a life for so many in its day. I would love to meet someone who worked there, knew of the folks that one brought this community to life. Until then, I can imagine the smells, sounds and action of this mine through the images I have.