[1] The settlement of Beaver Meadows dated to a 1787 land sale to Patrick and Mary Keene, thence to Nathan Beach.
[3] The BMRC, taking immediate advantage of a charter provision which allowed them to own and work 200 acres of coal land as an incentive for building a railroad from mines to either the Lehigh River or Little Schuylkill then increased its capitalization ceiling to $800,000.
The already established Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company quickly labeled the BMRC a speculative venture which led to friction between the two enterprises.
The dual markets of New York City and Philadelphia could be reached via the Lehigh Canal, and the favorable grades were factors in the choice of routes.
The BMRC cited Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s locomotive "York" costs of $16 a day in comparison with wagon operation of $33.
[7] In 1836, an agreement on tolls was reached, and twelve miles of rail line were developed from the coal mines to the Lehigh River.
[12] Frequent floods along the Lehigh River notwithstanding, the railroad gained rapid success, as the mines serviced by it were developed.
Due to this innovation, the Hercules was adapted to operating in the rough Pennsylvania terrain and helped to open much of the United States to railroad construction.
[15] After the flood of 1841, the BMRC abandoned its track from opposite Mauch Chunk to Parrysville, partly rebuilt by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1855.
Two years after the Hazleton Railroad opened its high-level line of 1852 (after another flood) to Penn Haven, the BMRC decided to eliminate the two inclined planes at Weatherly with legislative assent in 1853.
[22] Merged into the Lehigh Valley Railroad on July 8, 1864, the Beaver Meadow brought to its new owner its first coal lands.