Mill Creek and Mine Hill Navigation and Railroad Company

Its purpose was to transport mined coal to Port Carbon which was the terminus for the Schuylkill Canal, the conduit to markets in Philadelphia.

A legislative act authorizing the incorporation of the Mill Creek and Mine Hill Navigation and Railroad Company was passed by the Pennsylvania legislature on February 7, 1828.

[1] This proposed horse-powered railroad was to extend from near the mouth of Mill Creek[2] in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania to a point on the Center turnpike near the foot of Broad mountain towards St. Clair, Pennsylvania, to transport coal from mines along its route to Port Carbon where the commodity could be transferred to the Schuylkill Navigation (Canal) system and ultimately transported to Philadelphia and beyond.

The railroad utilized English strap rail which enabled a single horse to easily pull six tons in six cars, and the Mill Creek R. R. was the first line in operation in the Southern Anthracite Coal Field.

[7] This expansion allowed coal from the Mahanoy Valley collieries to be transported south through St. Clair, Pennsylvania to the markets.