Insert From The

(Reading Railroad Magazine)

Vol. VII, Page 10, November, 1931.

The First Railroad in Pennsylvania was completed in 1827, from Mauch to Summit Hill; but Christian Brobst, of Catawissa, had, five years earlier, in 1822, taken a broader view of the usefulness of the railroad. Nature had endowed him with rare foresight and reasoning power of a high order.

It is said the number of rafts floating down the river first attracted his attention and, anxious to build up the place of his residence, he began to reckon the advantage which would accrue if all this traffic could be made to pass through Catawissa to its final destination. He took accurate account of the river traffic and compiled statistics and arguments which commanded the attention of capitalists such as Stephen Girard and others of Philadelphia. His energy did not cease with this.

Once assured of the advantage of a railroad, he proceeded to demonstrate its practicability. He could not secure the necessary instrumentsfor making the survey, but by his own ingenuity he equipped himself for the work and ran out a practical line for the proposed road.

With his crude instruments, he located and leveled a line which was consider by engineers subsequently employed a marvel of accuracy. The projected road extended from Catawissa to Tamaqua.

In 1825 Brobst got certain capitalists, among them Stephen Girard, of Philadelphia, to accompany him on horseback over the proposed route. Moncure Robinson, the great engineer, was one of the party. The party was favorably impressed with the proposed enterprise, and finally, on March 21, 1831, a company for the construction of the road was chartered. Christian Brobst, Joseph Paxton, William McKelvey, Ebenezer Daniel and others were authorized by act of the Legislature to solicit subscriptions to the capital stock of the Little Schuykill & Susquehanna Railroad, which was finally built, later became the CATAWISSA RAILROAD COMPANY and is now an important part of the Reading System.

Looking for any paper work on the

Catawissa Railroad

Williamsport & Erie Railroad Company
North and West Branch Railroad
Little Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company
The Little Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad. It was not until March 31, 1831, that the Legislature granted a charter under which Christian Brobst, Joseph Paxton, William McKelfy, Ebenezer David and others were authorized to solicit subscriptions for building the little Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad.
DL&W Railroad
Lehigh Coal & Navigation
Reading Railroad Company
Catawissa, Williamsport & Erie Railroad Company. Chartered in 1850
Danville, Hazleton & Wilkes-Barre Railroad. Established in 1870

I am always looking to purchase reasonably priced railroad and paper items. Anything pertaining to THE CATAWISSA RAILROAD If you have any items you wish to sell, please send me a description and price by e-mail and I will be glad to respond to you as soon as possible. You may also fax your information to 570-356-7876

Use this form

If you or any relatives, you want to list in our database, to be posted in the

Catawissa Train Station

To honor and remember the people that made the railroads work

Added Two New Cabooses, if you want to rent one for overnight go to http://trackman.com/rent

Wanted Local Railroad Buffs Wanted

Back to my

Railroad

HomePage

If your thinking about buying and moving a railroad caboose, check this out first http://caboosenut.com I have a list of what it cost me.

Page maintained by Walter Gosciminski, walt@caboosenut.com. Copyright(c) Whistle Stop.

Updated: 8/29/96

We design your webpage to meet your specific needs. Price & Information

At Email:

Home

Click Below For Free Railroad Decal