A photograph taken in the late 1890s of a shifting engine at the Gordon Yards, Gordon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Shifting engines moved cars from one track to another to make up trains.
According to information that came with this photo, Gordon was a major center for making up and taking apart trains to route supplies in and coal out of the northern Schuylkill County area. It also was a major connecting point with the Reading Railroad.
In the early 20th century, Gordon was chosen as one of the stations stops on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, which was planned from Millersburg, Dauphin County, to Ashland, Schuylkill County – a railroad that was never completed.
The Gordon Yards remained in operation until the 1950s.
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From the Pottsville Republican and Herald, series on “Glimpses Into Yesteryear,” 17 October 1979, via Newspapers.com.
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