Steam & Excursion > Pioneer Tunnel Steam Train

A few weekends ago, while on my PA/MD railfanning weekend, I stopped by and spent the day at the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train attraction, in Ashland, PA. Powered by the "Henry Clay", an 0-4-0 steam lokie, the ride traverses the 3/4 of a mile up and down the side of a mountain to a scenic overlook. Even though the engine is small and the ride is short, she still has a nice bark to her, and handles her train nicely. Enjoy this footage, and for the full version, you can visit my Youtube page (username "bigjim4life") and search for "Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train (in HD)". Enjoy!

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Is that engines timing off, or do all 4 couple steam engines have a syncopated beat? Nice video of that neat engine.

Sharon Evans
Glen Allen, VA

The timing is DEFINITELY off.

Did anyone else notice the couplers? I am assuming a small group like this is not governed by the FRA?

Bruce Bryan
Greensburg, IN

A little shameless self-promotion, I'm now on Twitter - search for BigJimVideoProd and follow me!

columbusrailnut Wrote:
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> Did anyone else notice the couplers? I am assuming
> a small group like this is not governed by the
> FRA?

What couplers?? Just lengths of heavy chain. No sign of brakes either so the engine has to do the stopping as well as the pulling!

Cumbresfan Wrote:

> What couplers?? Just lengths of heavy chain.

The primary "couplers" appear to be lengths of rigid pipe connecting the engine to the cars and the cars to each other. You have to look close because the pipes tend to blend in with the rails behind them. The pipes are a bit more apparent in some scenes in Jim's full Youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD_2dKUAyeE

The chain is probably just a safety backup. Note that there is no slack action on starting, and the chain between the engine and cars is slack in the second scene where the engine is clearly working.