Yesterday I spent 3 hours at the Pottstown Historical Soceity doing research on another jubjet. I`m not sure how I got talking about the quarry, but I found that this one guy`s Father worked there. His Father ran the stone crusher that was located in the bottom of the quarry. He told me that his Father told him that one day they were blasting and hit a strong sping which water stated to spill out.

Well he told him they always had a pumping station just incase they would hit water someday. But because that day when they hit the spring and the water wasn`t coming in real strong , they didn`t worrie about it much. So his Father and co-workers went to lunch. when they return the quarry was filling up with water on the East end. thats when they said Oh Shi? we beter turn on the pumps.

The head Boss told the Company`s VP what had happen. He told him if the water comes in faster then what the pumps can pump it out, we will have to closed this quarry. We are already using the new quarry so it wouldn`t be to much of a real loss.

So two weeks had gone and the Big Boss told them to start to closes the quarry. The itims that the Big VP wanted to save from the quarry were as follows:
Three bulldozers built by Cat.
Two mack dumps
Four IH dump trucks
One stone crusher
and the office trailer.
The rest was to be sent to the bottom of the quarry.
His Father ask about the Steam locomotive if they wanted to save that because it was still in working condistion. The VP said No! its to old! and we have new diesel locomotives to do it`s job at the new site.
He said " leave it there! "

I ask this guy if his Father might still be living, but he said he past away two years ago. but that his three Uncles were still living and they worked there too . So in warmer wheather him and I are going to take a visit to Coatsville to talk with them.

This man`s Father kept his job log books so I will get to see them .

Have fun,
Leonard

Leonard, I research lost locomotives such as this and I am so thankful you have shared this find with us.
Over time I have learned of a few quarries or mines that hold similar time capsules. Some, like the Bonne Terre mine are well known (including the railroad artifacts in them), but others like the one you speak of are new and are exciting to just about all of us.
I am also a scuba diver (because of the research at first, but now mostly for sport) and I had made a dive on a similar quarry.
West Stockbridge Massachusetts has a quarry that is a local legend. Not because of any trains,but because the place is kind of spooky and several people have died there from jumping off the high cliffs (walls) into the water. Anyway, when the quarry was in service there was a catastophie there one day when a blast of dynomite in the marble face tapped an under ground river and quickly filled the lower quarrie hole to the top with nice fresh water. From what I'd been told there were steam shovels and other equipment at the bottom when the water rushed in and all were left where they were.
I'd heard this story from since I was a kid, and once even dared to dive on the spot by myself (which is a BIG NoNo for divers), but the water was extreamly cold below 30ft. (my dive was set for 70ft.) and I had to abort and never got the chance to see what was really there. Perhaps some day I'll get dry suit certification (and a few dive buddies) and try again.
The point here is that if the water in your quarry is anywhere near as fresh and cold as the water was in West Stockbridge...then in my opinion that Pennsy 0-6-0 is in perfect hibernation and I'd love to see it for myself!

Brian Hebert

Hi Brian,
Well I have known about the locomotive in the quarry for ten years but it not untill now I posted about it. I had to do research on it first.

One day I was reading over on Railroad.net in the Pennsylvania about B-6 # 5244 and this man saying that the B-6 in the Railroad museum of Pennsylvania was the only one around . I said about this locomotive in the quarry and at that time and date saying it was a b-6 , but I found out latter that it was a B-8 and No. 828 because it was in records that the PRR kept when they sold it to the quarry company in 1939.

Since I have posted about this engine I have had good reports from people wantting to take a peak and others like Mr. Mitchell that are saying I`m off my rocker .

I`m going to be talking with the state of Penna. to oftain a permistion slip to have you people to take a swim in the quarry .
So cross your fingers.

Leonard.

Here is a picture of the Monocacy Quarry from 1922 , This picture was sent to me from the Berks County Historical Soceity. I hope it comes in.

Leonard

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well i see it didn`t come through. So if any one in here knows how I can post the picture please let me know.

The "[/img]" indicates you got half of the BB command. You need the surround the URL with the braketed "img" at the front and a braketed "/img" after it. But embedding an image will not work if the URL includeds Java programming scripts or if it is just a numeric IP address. In those cases you have to use the "URL" command the same way as the "Img" command and make it a hyper link to open a new window.

If this is geek greek to you, then just type the URL and I'll fix it up. (And yes I grew up back when the hottest calculator available was a circular sliderule which was good for four significant digits as opposed to three for a conventional slide rule and computers weighted tons rather than pounds. <G>)

Ed

Leonard,

It is always worth investigating these leads.

A friend of mine, now well into his 80's tells stories of swimming during is youth in a quarry-type pit that held a steam locomotive not too far under the water... close enough he could swim down to it. It was a regular part of his youth.

Of course, he can't recall where this was. He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, but finding "lost" things around that part of the woods is quite a feat! There's so much to explore.

Heck, they keep digging Vulcans out of culm banks in NEPA, so who knows what's under the water?

Rob

Hello all,
I wrote an email to French Creek State Park, about the quarry to obtaining permission to explore it.

They sent me back this in a email,
" For your Reguset, the proper consideration we will need to see your plan for this proposed exploration" They also said they need all information on the divers qualification before they deside to say yes or no .

So please email me or send privet message with your full name, address and your diving Qualification.

Thank you,
Leonard

It sounds like the park system is going to be willing to let some investigation happen into this loco. I think it might be worth while to get in contact with a local university that has a hydrography or oceanography program they might have a sidescan system that they might be willing to get wet and scan the quary to be able to help teach the students the working and bathymetry mapping. It would be a good way to get an immage of what is down there, as well as pinpoint the location of the loco if it is down there so that there there is not too much dive recon necessary to locate it. Just an idea I will try to look and see if there is any local universities with a side scan. though it is too bad that the quary is located in a state part not a national park or else there woluld be the possibility to get the NPS to get one of their sidescan crews in to it.

mike

Hi all,
Thank you so much for responding to this subject as much as you have been.

I`m writing a letter to the Pennsylvania State Park Commission to obtain permission for the PRR B-8 No. 828 Project, to get underway sometime early summer.

Thank you again,
Len

The slate quarries up here in Brownville, Maine became of interest when a stolen car ring was uncovered in Massachusetts! The quarry was visited by state police divers who found about 30 high-end sportscars and a few overpowered trucks in the drink. There were also moose bones, tons of wire, debris, and death dealing fragments just waiting to ensnare divers. I hope the Birdsboro quarry yields a B8, or some similar Pennsylvania locomotive. If it does, perhaps the RRMusPa will retrieve it for conservation. If other steamers are down there, so much the better. I am guessing that minimal rust damage will be in evidence, owing to the thermocline and freshness of the water. If the quarry is near a coal deposit, the story will be considerably different. Before retrieval, a plan will be needed to chemically stabilize the steel and evaluate the artifact Since quarries are generally dangerous places to dive, I doubt the state will want to leave this as an underwater sanctuary. Now if there is a B6sb, that would be something glorious! A duplicate locomotive would be worthy of consideration for operable restoration.

That sounds like "Blue Hole", a former limestone quarry near Rockland, TX. After the devestating 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston Island, limestone from the quarry was used to build the new seawall after the sea side of the island was raised several feet. It's stone was also used in some state buildings, but I don't remember which.

One day, the workers left for the evening with a steam locomotive and steam shovel at the bottom of the quarry. During the night, a sinkhole opened up in the bottom of the quarry, flooding the entire pit. The pit was closed, and neither machine was ever found.

It then became known as "Blue Hole". My Pastor grew up in the area, and has memories of diving in it. A little while after I posted about it on my website, I recieved the following e-mail from someone who dived in Blue Hole:



It is now owned by a hunting club; like Monocacy quarry, it had a high cliff on one end which the hunting club had dynamited down.

I have pictures of the steam locomotive in Bonne Terre Mine, Bonne Terre, MO. I am guessing that like the equipment in Monocacy quarry, it was disposed of by pushing it all down into the mine rather than scrapping it. The steam locomotive is odd in that rather than having a conventional cylinder on one side, it has some sort of fitting. I am also guessing it was extensively modifed to be used as a stationary boiler.

The more I hear about Maonocacy Quarry, the more plasible it sounds; it will be neat to see what is found and what condition it is in.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

This is an extremely important point. It reminds me of the story of the mystery ship, "Alvin Clark." This wooden schooner was raised after being submerged for 100 years, only to face a slow death by means of decay. An excellent read on the subject can be found at this link. http://www.acbs-bslol.com/Porthole/AlvinClark.htm

Raising and stabilizing a locomotive is certainly not something to be attempted without professional guidance.

Hi all,
Here is the game plan if I get the permission from the State.

So far I have 7 divers who want to take a swim.

Game plan:

All members of the diving team are incredibly highly trained divers, well beond any standard recreational scuba limits. They intend on conducting diving operation in only the safest manner possible. Any equipment or artifacts found will be thoroughly documented by means of both still photography and video. Survey of railroad equipment found will be conducted in a scientific manner. Condition of equipment will be assessed along with the depth of water, temperture, visibility and any data that helps identify locomotives will be recorded ie., builders plates or general design and construction. A sketch of the site will be attempted to help locate equipment and it`s arrangement underwater and in relation to topside landmarks. Also, to make it easier for future diving operations to find the equipment, a small nylon guideline can be installed from the entry area and run underwater to the equipment itself.

I have a diving team that will be coming in from Ohio which I gave the ok to be in full charge of the divers. I my self don`t dive or swim to well for that manner. This is a quote from the team leader from the email he sent me " I wish to make a plea that we keep the dive team small for now to keep the operation safe and manageable. Unless anyone of more experience steps up, I make a proposal that Me and my team members actually be put in charge of in-water operations at the time of the of exploration dives " " Once we assess conditions to be safe and do some photography, any other divers on site can then feel free to dive. "

Well thats the game plan under the water. I`m still working out the game plan on the dry land.

Len

Just to offer a few thoughts written hastely (i.e. no spell check),

I think talking with a local/state university research program, in a marine dept. historic preservation and archaelolgy departments might yield interested parties with that can provide both technology and documentary expertise.

In particular, I think a modern side-scanning sonar, akin to that used in the Titanic explorations, would be useful as it produces an image that looks very much like a pen and ink drawing.

If this site is really intact, it would have significance for those interested in broadly interested mid-20th century industry, not just railroads - and this broader interest could translate into more dollars to do a very through documentary and recovery effort of many artifacts.

Also, below is a link to a digram of a H8 from prr.railfan.net - for those of you (like me) for whom most PRR class numbers mean very little in terms of understanding what a given locomotive actually looked like.

http://prr.railfan.net/diagrams/PRRdiagrams.html?diag=b8.gif&sel=ste&sz=sm&fr=

I have sent an e-mail to the Cambrian Foundation regarding the stabilization of steel. I am awaiting a reply. The Camrian Foundation in conjuction with the US Navy was responsible for the raising of sections of the USS Monitor. I am hoping they have the expertise needed or at least can point me in the right direction. I also live very close to the Ohio State University. So if I don't get any results, I will search out the info from someone there.
Ryan P.