A piece of Archbald’s coal mining industry has been restored and is now on display for the public to enjoy.
The mine car sits in front of the Archbald Historical Society and will be transferred to the Gravity Slope Colliery once that site is restored.
It reflects the commitment of area residents and officials to safeguard items that bring the history of mining to life.
In 2006, a group of anthracite historians discovered a small coal car in an abandoned mine beneath the Valley View Business Park, hauled it above ground and stored it.
A few years later, the historic car made its way to an Archbald resident, who donated it to the borough in hopes of restoring it.
Underground Miners members inspect a long-abandoned coal car or “bogie car” in a mine in Archbald in 2006. (Courtesy of Underground Miners)
Nineteen years ago, a group of anthracite mine historians discovered a small coal car in an abandoned mine beneath the Valley View Business Park in Archbald. The coal car has now been restored. (SUBMITTED)
Show Caption
1 of 2
Underground Miners members inspect a long-abandoned coal car or “bogie car” in a mine in Archbald in 2006. (Courtesy of Underground Miners)
“I heard they wanted it restored for display and that’s what we do, restore old mine equipment,” said Chris Murley, founder of the nonprofit Underground Miners.
So, Murley worked with borough Manager Dan Markey to get the project underway.
The borough received a grant from the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Department to pay for the project, which included a small piece of rail for the car to sit on when it’s on display.
Archbald’s Department of Public Works helped load the relic into a borough truck in June 2024, and Markey dropped it off at the Underground Miners’ workshop in Factoryville.
“It’s a hobby of ours. Most of us work in the mine industry,” Murley said. “Restoring old mine equipment is a fun project for us.”
Murley emphasized the importance of bringing mining history to the next generation.
“Anytime you come across something, no matter what kind of condition it’s in, it’s good to save it and try to restore it,” he said.
A lot of mine equipment was built about 100 years ago and pretty fundamental, simplifying to some degree the process of restoring it, he said.
“It was labor intensive but it wasn’t difficult,” Murley said. “We just had to cut a bunch of the steal out and purchase new steel, and cut it and weld it back together.”
The small mine car, also called a “bogie car,” was used to venture into smaller veins of coal.
“You would fill it up in a lower vein and then roll it out on tracks and dump it into a bigger car,” Murley said.
‘It turned out great’
Joe Perugino, who did much of the restoration work on the mine car, said it was very rusty when he began working on it.
“I took all the original dimensions, cut it up, made some new plates for it and completely refabricated it to the exact specifications that it used to be when it was in the mines,” he said.
Perugino also restored the car’s dump gate — the movable panel that allows its contents to be transferred.
“I bent some steel tubing and some chain link and made a completely functioning car,” he said.
Perugino was able to use the car’s original axles and wheels, but the entire body is all new.
“We wanted to keep it almost identical and as original as possible,” he said. “It turned out great.”
Many members of Perugino’s family worked in the mines, and now Perugino himself is working in the strip mining industry in Hazleton.
Perugino is passionate about his work with the Underground Miners organization.
“This is the fifth car that I restored,” he said. “I love what I do.”