1852 PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD Tourist Guide Book PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURGH COAL PRR

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THE PICTORIAL SKETCH-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA Or, Its Scenery, Internal Improvements, Resources and Agriculture, Popularly Described, By Eli Bowen. Published in 1852 by Willis P. Hazard, Philadelphia. Illustrated with 102 engravings. 192 pages.Condition: Great for Reading or Reference. Book is in good condition except for some exterior cosmetic issues. The exterior has wear at edges and chipping of cloth at several points on the spine. Front hinge is cracked but text block is firm. Pages are generally clean and bright aside from some foxing and minor age blemishing. No torn, loose or missing pages (map is absent). Despite cosmetic issues, a good working copy of this rare 163-year-old book.DESCRIPTION:This is a rare antique tourist guidebook to the areas of Pennsylvania "improved" by their new connections to the Pennsylvania Railroad. In establishing a cheaper, faster and more efficient means of transportation, the PRR helped to facilitate and encourage commercial and population growth throughout the state.THE PICTORIAL SKETCH-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA is an illustrated guide to the cities, towns, mountain regions and manufacturing centers along the Pennsylvania Railroad route and its branches. Published by Willis P. Hazard, who also published Hazard's Register , the book vividly describes the natural landscapes and man-made structures to be seen and visited along the PRR route: mountains, lakes, rivers, bridges, dams, mills, settlements, etc.The narrative becomes especially detailed when discussing the features and operation of the Pennsylvania Railroad and branches, describing everything from the rail-bed to the rolling stock, from tunnels to trestles, inclined planes, depots, engine houses, repair shops, etc. As a railroad researcher myself, I heartily recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in the history of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It abounds with details and railroad-related minutiae. I can't imagine you'll ever find another PRR book so rich with information and so handily collected in one volume.In the Preface, author Eli Bowen explains why he felt this book was necessary. He expresses his hope that the publication of this pictorial guide will encourage more Americans to explore the unsuspected wonders of their own backyard:In all parts of Europe the traveler is supplied with Guide-books, details, for his special information and satisfaction, the leading features of all objects of interest on his route. There is not an antiquated castle, a battle-field, a mountain, or a river, but has its peculiar points revealed for the entertainment of the stranger, as he rambles along from place to place ...In her physical aspect and resources, Pennsylvania is pre-eminently the most interesting State in the Union - yet, for the want of popular descriptions and references, her real character is comparatively obscured from the public view. The most intelligent individual may make the tour from Delaware to Ohio by railroad, and yet be unable to identify one-half the towns, or mountains, or streams, or otherwise explain correctly the prominent local characteristics of the route traversed.It was as much with the hope of converting our time to a useful purpose, as receiving a reasonable compensation for it, that we undertook to sketch, in a sprightly and popular way, some of the prominent features of our time-honored commonwealth. If we have collected together, in tolerable order, a mass of matter that will relieve, to some extent, the fatigue and monotony of travel, our main object has been attained.To give you a richer idea of how incredibly loaded with information this book truly is, I have provided some chapter summaries below, along with a good many historical images from the book.I hope you'll take a few moments to have a look.CONTENTS ARE:PART ONE ~ VALLEY OF THE SCHUYLKILL :PHILADELPHIA TO POTTSVILLE : Starting from the Depot * Preston Retreat * Girard College * Fairmount Waterworks * Lager Beer Establishments * Railroad Bridge * Ice Houses * Tom Moore's Cottage * Laurel Hill Cemetery * Falls of the Schuylkill * Port Richmond * The Wissahickon * Norristown Railroad * Manayunk * The Factory System * Limestone Region * Spring Mill * The Copper Region * The Lead Region * Scenery of the Schuylkill * Conshehocken * Norristown * Montgomery County * Bridgeport * Valley Forge * Historical Associations * Phoenixville * Yellow Springs * Tunnel and Bridge * Royer's Ford * Limerick * Pottstown * Berk's County * Douglassville * Birdsborough * Reading * Union Canal * Schuylkill Navigation Company * The Reading Railroad Company * Dragon's Cave * Revolutionary Incidents * Hamburg * Port Clinton * Auburn * Orwigsburg * Schuylkill Haven * Mine Hill Railroad * Head's Mansion House * Pottsville * Speculating Scenes * Swatara Falls * Tamaqua * Summit Hill * Gravitation Railroad * Mauch ChunkPART TWO ~ THE ANTHRACITE COAL REGION :Coal, its Nature and Origin * Fossils * Coal Vegetation * The Strata of the Earth * The Dip * Valleys * Discovery of Anthracite Coal * Geographical Position, Dimensions and Structure of the Coal Basins * Geological Character of the Coal Formation * Productive Value of Coal Lands * History of Mining Operations * Anthracite for Smelting Iron * Ventilation of Mines and Gaseous Explosions * Fire Damp * Moral Condition of Miners, &c. * Miscellaneous Statistics * Analysis of Anthracite * Weight of Anthracite Coal * General Features of Pennsylvania Anthracite * Comparative Value of Anthracite and Bituminous Coals * Anthracite Coal Trade of Pennsylvania * Canal and Railroad System connected with the Coal TradePART THREE ~ WYOMING :Route to Wilkes-Barre * Luzerne County * Fish and Fishing * Wyoming Valley * Falling Spring * Count Zinzendorf * Contentions Among the Settlers * Revolutionary Battles * Capture of Miss Slocum * The Ice and Pumpkin Floods * Wyoming MonumentPART FOUR ~ PHILADELPHIA TO PITTSBURG :Railroad Depot * Gas Works * Market Street Bridge * Blockley Alms House * White Hall * Eagle Hotel * Paoli * General Wayne's Birthplace * Paoli Monument * Downington * Coatesville * Parkesburg * Penningtonville * Chester County * The Quakers * Lancaster County * Its Agriculture * Fox Chase * The Brothers and Sisters at Ephrata * The Conestoga * Safe Harbour Iron Works * Shad Fishing in the Susquehanna * Steam Navigation Experiments * Robert Fulton * Columbia * Pennsylvania Canal * Tide Water Canal * Marietta * Mount Joy * Elizabethtown * Middletown * The Susquehanna * Harrisburg * The Internal Improvements * State Capitol * John Hancock's Chair * Public School System * Pennsylvania Lunatic Hospital * The Cove * Fish Baskets * Duncannon * Petersburg * Liverpool * Perry County * Franklin County * Duncan's Island * Newport * The Juniata * Millerstown * Tuscarora * Juniata County * Mifflin * Patterson House * Mifflin County * Lewistown * Reedville * Logan, the Indian Chief * Alfarata * McVey Town* Newton Hamilton * Huntingdon County * Bedford County * Mount Union * Mapleton * Neetmok * Mill Creek * Huntingdon * Pulpit Rocks * Head Waters of the Juniata * The Iron Region * Union Furnace * Birmingham * Ironville * Tyrone * Cornwall Ore Banks * Lebanon Furnaces * Miner's Tool * Manufacture of Iron, amply illustrated * Sinking Spring * Tussey's and Bald Eagle Mountains * Tyrone City * Altoona * Pennsylvania Railroad * The Mountain House * Hollidaysburg * The Portage Railroad * Making Maple Sugar * Bridges over the Conemaugh * The Alleghany Bituminous Coal Region * Structure and Origin of the Alleghanies * Conemaugh * Johnstown * Ebensburg * Cambria County * Lockport * Westmoreland County * Ligonier Valley * Packsaddle Rocks * Blairsville * Latrobe * The Lumber Region * Susquehanna Lumber Trade * Salt Springs * Greensburg * Braddock's Battle * Washington Crossing the Alleghany * Pittsburg * Western Commerce and NavigationENGRAVINGS INCLUDE: The Iona * Girard College * Fairmount Waterworks * View on the Schuylkill * Cutting Ice on the Schuylkill * Tom Moore's Cottage * The Schuylkill from Laurel Hill Landing * Entrance to Laurel Hill * Scene in Laurel Hill * Port Richmond * Philadelphia and Norristown Railroad Depot * Falls of the Schuylkill Chemical Works * The High Bridge across the Wissahickon * View of Manayunk * Anthracite Furnace above Manayunk * Lime Kilns near Spring Mill * Landscape on the Schuylkill * View of Norristown * Redoubt at Valley Forge * Washington's Quarters at Valley Falls * Encampment at Valley Forge * Washington's headquarters at Whitemarsh * Phoenixville Iron Works * Tunnel and Bridge above Phoenixville * Landscape * View of Reading * Railroad curvature near Reading * Tunnel at Kittating * Landscape * Mansion near Pottsville * View of Pottsville * Swatara Falls * Gravitation Railroad at Mt. Pisgah * Botanical fossils in coal region * View of a coal slope * Ground plan of a coal mine * Coal breaker * View of the timber or drift or coal mine * A coal miner * Doherty's description * Scenes in Luzerne County * Falling Spring, Wyoming Valley * Covered bridge at Wyoming * Missionaries preaching to the Indians * Attacking the Wyoming Settlement * Indians capturing the child of Mrs. Slocum * Ice flood on the Susquehanna * Wyoming Monument * Juniata scenery * Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad Depot * Market Street Bridge * Conestoga team and stagecoach * General Wayne's residence * Paoli Monument * Quaker Meeting House * General appearance of a Lancaster County farm as train passes by * Brothers' and Sisters' Houses at Ephrata * Monument at Ephrata * Ephrata Mountain Springs * View of Lancaster * View of Safe Harbor Iron Works * Another view of Safe Harbor Iron Works and canal * Shad fishing in the Susquehanna * The Clermont * View of the Susquehanna above Columbia * Railroad Bridge over the Conewago * View of Middletown * View of Harrisburg * State Capitol at Harrisburg * John Hancock's Chair * Pennsylvania Lunatic Hospital * Railroad Bridge over the Susquehanna * The Cove * A Fish Basket in the Susquehanna * Millerstown on the Juniata * Tuscarora Station * View of Mifflin * The Patterson House on the Pennsylvania Railroad * Engine House and workshops on the PRR * Lewistown Station * Deep cut near Lewistown * View of Lewistown * Logan, the Indian Chief * Bright Alfarata of the Blue Juniata * Railroad and Canal * Huntingdon on the Juniata * Pulpit Rocks on Warrior Ridge * Union Furnace * View of Tyrone * View of Lebanon Iron Works * Front view of a Pennsylvania blast furnace * Vertical section of a modern charcoal furnace * Cross-section of an anthracite furnace * Interior of a charcoal furnace * Coke oven * Coke oven * Setting the wood for the charring * The process of charring * Oven for roasting ore * Coal barrow * Cjharge measure of furnaces * Theory of the blast furnace * Forge hammer * View of a puddling furnace * View of the interior of a puddling furnace * Squeezer for blooms * Rotary squeezer * Flat rollers * Rollers for sheet iron * Rollers for small bars * Grooves for railroad iron * Sawing apparatus for cutting railroad iron * View of Altoona * The Mountain House * Boiling maple sugar on the Alleghany * Rock cutting and curvature of the Conemaugh * The Big Viaduct and the sharp ridge on the Western Side * Bridge below the Viaduct * Conemaugh Station * View of Johnstown * Pack-saddle rocks in Chesnut Ridge Gap * Latrobe * Felling Timber - Winter * View of Greensburg * Battle of Braddock's Field * Washington Crossing the Alleghany * View of Pittsburg * Pascal Iron WorksRemember folks, this is an 1852 original. This book is 163 years old.Check out all the RARE ANTIQUE BOOKS ABOUT THE INDIAN WARS, CIVIL WAR, REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE OLD WEST THAT I'M OFFERING ON EBAY THIS WEEK !Please be sure to add me to your List of Favorite Sellers !Don't miss out on any of my latest listings. !Winner pays for media mail shipping in the United States of America.INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS: All international bidders must© 2013-2015 by eBay seller neetmok. Unauthorized use of Item Description Text or Images is a violation of eBay rules, as posted by eBay: "No Copying Allowed! When you prepare your listings you generally should use only material (text, photographs, etc.) and trademarks/names that you created or own yourself or licensed from the owners." Auction page content (i.e., item description text; lists of contents, lists of illustrations/photos; scanned images, etc.) was written/compiled/formatted by eBay seller neetmok and, as intellectual property, is protected by copyright. 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