Alicia, PA 7/11/12 - In the twilight hours of a hazy summer evening, the headlight of Cumberland Mine Railroad SD-38-2 CMYX 22 pierces the growing darkness and illuninates the trees along its 18 mile route through the wilderness of southwestern Pennsylvania. The isoltaed railroad that has no connection to the outside rail network is also incredibly remote. With no public road crossings and not a single house or building near the tracks, the railroad's operations can soar along at 35-40 m.p.h. over its 14 bridges and three "tunnels"--all of which are simply highway underpasses. Only a couple of miles from its unloading port at Alicia Harbor, the train is about to pass under Mapletown Road. The mine railroad serves a single purpose: to shuttle coal hoppers from the Cumberland Mine loadout in Kirby, PA to a barge transloading facility in Alica, PA where the coal is then shipped via the Monogahela and Mississippi Rivers to power plants in the southern United States, China, and India.
