#10 SUMMIT SIDING BRIDGE PIERS (RAILROAD HISTORY)
When the railroad was finally constructed to Auburn, Schuylkill County in 1854, the original line from Rausch Gap to Gold Mine was made a siding dubbed either the Gold Mine Siding or more commonly Summit Siding (since Rausch Gap was the highest mark on the western end of the railroad). The steam trains carried coal from the Gold Mine and Rausch Gap collieries into the 1860s, when the siding was finally taken out.
By the time motorized vehicles appeared, Summit Siding was used to haul out truckloads of coal from bootleg (or illegial) mining operations during the Great Depression.
How To Get There: Today Summit Siding has been renamed the "Upper Rail-Trail" and can be reached via Gold Mine Road and the Goldmine Trail Parking Lot. To get to the Goldmine Trail Parking Lot, go north on Gold Mine Road from Route 443, and once you pass over the rail-trail, there will be a wooden gate on your left. You may park at the gate, but not in front of it, as you will get ticketed.
To see both sets of bridge piers, the hike will be about 7 miles round trip, although fairly level once you get to the Upper Rail-Trail. The suggested round trip hike is on the map to the left. From this hike, #7 Rausch Gap, #6 Beaver Swamp and #5 Rausch Gap Cemetery can also be visited.
The original line of the Dauphin & Susquehanna Railroad was constructed from 1850-1852 from Dauphin to Gold Mine. In order to cross Rausch Creek and Gold Mine Run large bridge piers were constructed on either side of the creeks. These bridges were constructed entirely by hand and a crude new hoisting machine and without the use of mortar. The rocks were taken from the town rock quarries, and drill marks can still be found in these stones today.