Authentically weathered and hand-painted model features grain chute, large back
dock and handmade interior and outdoor mine equipment. There are 13 buildings, 2 coal mine elevator shafts, 2 coal mine Conveyor Belts
interior LED ambiance light as well as working scenery incandescent lights,
exterior incandescent light Also included are plenty of details like
pigeons on the roof, chimney outdoor mine accessories and more.
Size
Scenery Size 144 x 72 x 44 HT in inches
Special effects
2 x animated elevator shafts with synchronized audio
1 x animated Conveyor Belt
2 x welder animations
Geographical Location and History
This part of the layout represents Truesdale Colliery,Hanover section of Nanticoke.
This area includes: 13 buildings models, 5 animations, 4 synchronized tracks..
In 1905, the DL & W honored its president by opening the Truesdale colliery in the Hanover section of Nanticoke. It was the largest coal breaker in the world, and would eventually become the highest single coal-producing colliery and greatest employer in the Wyoming Valley, if not in all of Luzerne County.
By 1913, the Truesdale colliery was producing one million tons of coal per year. The operation also employed 1,739 men in or outside the mines, mostly Lithuanian, Polish or Russian immigrants. Three years later, in 1916, the colliery set a world record, producing 1,689,910 tons of anthracite coal, which amounted to 20 percent of all the hard coal produced in the Wyoming Valley.
In 1920, the DL & W was forced to divest itself of its coal properties by a federal law outlawing its monopoly on producing and transporting coal. Although the corporation remained a major force in the transportation of coal, the Glen Alden Coal Company assumed control of the Truesdale operation and all other DL & W coal properties in 1921.
William Truesdale remained the president of DL & W for another five years, and as chairman of the board until 1930. He died on June 2, 1935 in Greenwich, Conn. The breaker that once bore his name was destroyed by fire 18 years later in 1953.
In 1916 the DL&W Coal Company's Truesdale Colliery set a record for the anthracite coal industry by producing 1,689,910 tons. For years to come it would remain the largest anthracite producing mine in the world.
