FRACKVILLE — Coal breakers were common sights in Schuylkill County communities back in 1925.
The Mahanoy and Broad Mountain model train display at Schuylkill Mall, Frackville, which pays tribute to that era, recently added a small-scale version with functioning chutes and elevators, including cables that run up to a tipple.
“It’s based on the kind of breakers that we had in the area back them,” Wally Fetterolf Jr., Frackville, president of the North Schuylkill High Railers, which manages the display, said.
During an open house Sunday, Fetterolf introduced the mini-coal-breaker’s architect, his son, Caleb, 17.
“The location is about where the Bancroft Colliery was in Ashland. The breaker I based on the East Bear Ridge Colliery in Mahanoy Plane. And the near vertical slope I based on the one which used to operate at the West Bear Ridge Colliery in Mahanoy Plane,” Caleb said.
“He’s been working on it for about three years,” Wally Fetterolf Jr. said.
At an open house, Caleb demonstrated how bits of anthracite from the mini breaker can be poured into train cars.
The O-gauge electric train display is run year-round. O-gauge means the trains are 1/48th the actual size of the real article, according Wally Fetterolf Jr.
The display, which has been at the mall for 18 years, is a multi-level display on a platform that is 26 feet wide and 55 feet long. It features “about 2 miles of track” and “about 150 train cars,” he said.
“We can run up to about 12 trains,” he said.
The layout is based on the coal region from Buck Mountain to Ashland, and it includes small-scaled versions of the communities of Gilberton, Girardville and Mahanoy City. The Mahanoy Plane is also there.
“It was based on northern Schuylkill County in the 1920s, so some of the things you’ll see here aren’t in existence anymore. But you’ll see some thing that are still with us, like the Kaier Mansion,” Wally Fetterolf Jr. said.
The display was started by Dr. Joseph Weber, Ashland. Eight years ago, the North Schuylkill High Railers came aboard with their trains, Wally Fetterolf Jr. said.
The hours the display is open are usually posted on a sign in front of the storefront, which is located in the mall’s north wing near Black Diamond Antiques & Collectibles.
“We’re trying to have it open every other Sunday. So the next time it will be open will be Sunday, May 1. The attendance has been really, really down. I don’t think people know we’re here. And there isn’t as much at the mall as there used to be,” Wally Fetterolf Jr. said.
People who want to see the display can also arrange for a tour by calling 570-205-6275.
Helping with the display Sunday were Mark Watson and his wife, Ruth, Pine Grove, and Joie Clews and Brian Wowak, both of Ringtown.
Brian was using an application on his smartphone to operate trains on the display.
“We put a Wi-Fi receiver underneath the layout and his phone sends Wi-Fi signals and it’s converted to the digital command,” Wally Fetterolf Jr. said.
“I’m using an app that comes from the manufacturer of the trains, MTH Electric Trains. It just came out this year. It connects with Wi-Fi to the computer that runs the layout. With this, I can also turn the smoke on and off, fire the couplers and blow the whistle,” Wowak said.
Visitors on Sunday included Jennifer Kowalonek, Frackville, her three children, Fritz, 4, Alyza, 7, and Claire, 9. With them were Kylie Meskunas, 8, of Frackville, and her brother, Cole Meskunas, 6.
“We just happened to be at the mall today and saw that it was open and stopped in,” Kowalonek said.
Admission to the display Sunday was $1 per person.
“It’s for the electric,” Wally Fetterolf Jr. said.