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| Carney Mine (Unity Coal Works)
(ca. 1881? - 1920), Located at Carney Station, on a spur line from the old Pennsylvania Railroad Mainline, just east of the old Pennsylvania Railroad Donohoe Tunnel "Carr's Tunnel," east of Donohoe Road, Carney Station, Unity Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA [The Carney Mine was also called Unity Coal Works.] [Carney mine was a drift opening mine, which mined the Upper Freeport coal seam.] [The Carney Mine was abandoned ca.1920.] [The area around the Carney Mine was strip-mined by Eidemiller, Inc.] [The area around the old Pennsylvania Main Line is now, ca.2005, a part of a housing development, and the old railroad right-of-way has been converted to a street in the development.] Owners: (ca.1881- ? ), Unity Coal Company, Greensburg, PA (ca.1905- ? ), Latrobe - Connellsville Coal & Coke Company, Latrobe, PA (ca.1919-1920), Inland Coal Company, Greensburg, PA [Carney Mine was abandoned in ca.1920.] (ca.1940's- ? ), Adam Eidemiller, Inc., Greensburg, PA |
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| A portion of the ca.1902 USGS 15 min. Latrobe,
PA quad map, showing the old Pennsylvania Railroad Donahoe tunnel, and
the old alignment of the Pennsylvania Railroad Mainline in the area of the
Carney Mine and Carney Station. The Pennsylvania Railroad mainline
was realigned in this area and the Donahoe Tunnel "Carrs Tunnel" was abandoned
and the old railroad road bed from Donahoe to Latrobe was abandoned for a
new route. (Map courtesy of the US Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.) |
| Coal and Coke. What is being done at the different works about Latrobe. (ca.1881) As we mentioned in a previous issue, the gentlemen who recently purchased the Unity Coal Works, west of Latrobe, are busily engaged at work making improvements on their newly acquired property. They have built a new blacksmith shop and, we understand, are putting in new and improved mechinery. They contemplate erecting a number of houses for their men and will shortly start the works off in grand style. Coke will also be made at these works, and until they get it started in good shape they will manufacture it on the ground, without ovens, according to the old fashioned style. (Courtesy of the "Latrobe Advance," April 20, 1881, Latrobe, PA & The Archives of the Latrobe Area Historical Society, Latrobe, PA) Carney Mine, 1906, A drift opening now being made into the Upper Freeport coal seam. (Pa. Dept. of Mines Report for 1906.) |
| Fatal accidents at Carney
Mine In 1907 three fatal accidents occured at Carney Mine, on Jan 21, 1907, Peter Sanish, a Russian miner, Age 26, married with one child, was killed by a fall of coal in the mine. On July 29, 1907, Peter Krosock, an Austrian miner, age 31 married with two children, was killed by a fall of slate in the mine. On Dec. 12,1907, Angelo Plazzo, an Italian miner, age 38, single, was killed by a fall of slate in the mine. Two non-fatal injuries also occured in 1907. On August 8, 1907, Meades Slim, an Italian miner, age 15, single had his head cut and ankle broke by a fall of slate in the mine. On November 8, 1907, Joseph Thomas, an Italian miner age 40 married, had his leg broken by a fall of coal in the mine. |
| Dynamite was Used at
Carney. (From the Latrobe Bulletin, May 11, 1911) What is thought to have been a despicable attempt to interfere with the operation of the Unity Coal Company's plant at Carney was made night before last when the pipe line carrying the water from the mine was dynamited, in the hope that by the destruction of the line the mine would be flooded and work necessarily interrupted. Fortunately, for the company and for its employes, the dynamiting was a failure as far as tying up the mine was concerned, the company having been able to repair the damage and to keep the mine free of water.
The mine water is pumped up through a pipe which runs to the
top of the ground and then off down the hillside, and it was at the top of
the pipe that the dynamite was exploded, the design, apparently, being to
destroy the pipe and to clog the hole, thus shutting off the only channel
by which the water could be forced from the mine. The plan miscarried,
however, the hole being left practically undamaged, and it took but a short
time to repair the pipe itself. In 1914 the Unity Coal Company made many improvements to the Carney Mine, it built 1 permanent overcast and 35 stoppings. Installed a main and tail rope haulage system with 6,000 feet of wire rope; 3 Jeffrey short-wall mining machines; one 7 by 12 duplex electric pump; 3 small electric pumps; 75 new mine cars and 1 haulage engine. Erected a new engine house and a new tipple. |
| The Carney Mine, was owned by The Inland Coal Company in 1919, and produced 20,669 tons of coal in 1919, it worked 145 days and had 33 employees, and 1 non-fatal accident. |
| In 1920 the Carney mine only produced 6,814 tons of coal, and worked only 67 days with 28 employees, the miners used 586 pounds of Black powder, 14 pounds of dynamite and 344 pounds of permissible explosives. The mine was abandoned in 1920. |
| "Coal
Miners Memorial, Carney Mine, Carney Station, Unity Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania" |
| To Select another Index to Westmoreland County Coal Mines Click on the Larry cars for Index Page or on a Letter below |
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