A great new book has been published by the Canal Museum Press (Easton, Pa.) on the history of the Mauch Chunk Switchback Ry, by Vince Hydro. At almost 400 pages with hundreds of photos it is truly the definitive work on the subject. A must have for your museum or home reference library.

http://rrmuseumpa.org

Vince is "the" guide for chasing down the ghosts of the railroads and canals around old Mauch Chunk. If any of you every get a chance to go to one of his rare live presentations, I encourage it. He's been known to lead site tours as well. Through Vince's work, I feel like I understand what Mauch Chunk was like in the 1800-1850 era.

It truly was America's first real "railroad" town. Often confused as a coal mining town, it actually had no mines in it. Rather, it was the place the canal and railroads came together to move the coal. Transportation was Mauch Chunk's only reason to exist.

So, here's a question. Is Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) America's first railroad town that was not a coastal port?

Rob Davis


trains@robertjohndavis.com