Day 158
In 1818 the town of Mauch Chunk was founded in the Pocono Mountains. The name was derived from the term Mawsch Unk (Bear Place) in the language of the native Munsee-Lenape. The town was founded by the owners of a coal company called the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, and was to be the lower end point of a gravity railroad. In the beginning the coal was transported out of the mountains through a series of canals on the Lehigh River which was owned by the coal company. This is the only time in American history where a private company had the water rights to a river. After severe flooding, the river destroyed the canals and the company decided to build several switchback rail lines to haul the coal out of the mountains. In time the government rescinded the water rights of the Lehigh River from being privately owned.
For 220 years coal was pulled from the Pocono mountains. In that time the town flourished in wealth and culture. Houses, hotels and stores were built in a vast range of 19th century styles, and became the second hottest tourist spot visited in the US, number one being Niagara Falls. In 1954 Mauch Chunk joined another district in the area and was renamed the municipality Jim Thorp in his honour.
Our destination for today was the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway tour along the Lehigh River. The tour had three departure times, we missed the first departure of 11:00 by just a few minutes. We purchased tickets for the second tour at 1:00, and walked the town as we waited. Downtown Jim Thorpe is basically one street running up a narrow valley with stores tightly packed along both sides. The town is now a heritage site and the buildings have been restored (and protected) to their 19th century look; if it was not for the cars on the road, it would have felt you had been transported back in time. Unfortunately, we were unable to explore the stores as most of the stores were closed for the day.
At 12:30 we boarded the train and at 1:00 we were off to explore the Lehigh Valley. The train ran along the river giving you glimpses of the mountain ranges and valley views of the river. A guide was speaking over a Pa system providing little bits of history as we rolled down the tracks, making the experience just a little more interactive. After rolling through the valley for thirty five minutes, the train came to a halt and the mystery guy on the PA system informed us they were going to uncouple the engine and head to a switch enabling it to change tracks and move to the back of the train. There the engine would use another switch, and couple onto the back of the train pulling us back in the same direction we came from. The trip was interesting at best but not my definition of a round trip, as advertised. I bet the journey will be amazing in a few weeks when the hills are covered in fall colours.
