Danville canal trail railroad cut. EarthCache

This is an earth cache there is no container at the posted cords,but from the posted cords you will look across the road and railroad tracks to answer questions about the cut.

a little history 

The Danville and Pottsville Railroad (D&P) was an early anthracite coal railroad constructed in central Pennsylvania during the 1830s. At the time of its charter in 1826, Danville provided access to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and served as a planned junction in the Pennsylvania canal system. The railroad’s alignment reflected an early internal improvements logic that prioritized inter-regional connections and waterborne trade routes, rather than direct access to Philadelphia. Promoters envisioned the D&P as a means to move anthracite westward to the Susquehanna for further shipment downstream via state canals.It was among the earliest attempts in the United States to establish a rail connection between the anthracite coal regions and eastern markets using fixed-track rail transport. Although never completed to its intended scope, the D&P "was not just another failed early railroad project" but rather a distinctive venture in which "ambition, topographical challenge, and private initiative intersected in a formative experiment," with engineers who would later play key roles in Pennsylvania's rail system. 

In 1831, construction began on the first segment of the line, from Pottsville to Tuscarora. The intended final route would have continued northward through Minersville, Ashland, and Mount Carmel before descending to the Susquehanna near Danville. However, financial constraints, engineering difficulties, and the rise of competing lines prevented full realization of the original plan.

When the historic railroads (such as the Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad) were built through the ridge and valley terrain around Danville, Pennsylvania, the surrounding hills and ridges were composed primarily of folded Paleozoic sedimentary rocks—specifically sandstone, shale, siltstone, and limestone, alongside local fossiliferous iron ore beds. 

• Shale and Siltstone: Made up the softer, more easily eroded layers underlying the slopes and valleys.

• Limestone and Dolomite: Common carbonate rocks found throughout the local valleys and lower ridges.

• Iron Ore & Culm/Cinder: The immediate area was famous for its rich iron ore formations (which fueled Danville’s early iron rail industry), and the railroad beds themselves were often ballasted using local stone, ash, and cinders.

• Sandstone: Formed the harder, more resistant caps of the local ridges and mountains.

Shale, Siltstone, and Other Local Rocks

• Shale: A fine-grained, flaky rock made of compacted clay that splits easily into thin sheets.

• Siltstone: A gritty, fine-grained rock made of tiny quartz silt particles that lacks shale's heavy layering.

• Sandstone: A durable, quartz-rich rock formed from sandy beach or river deposits that often caps local ridges.

• Limestone: A calcium-rich carbonate rock formed in deeper marine water that is heavily quarried for industrial flux.

Fossiliferous iron ore beds are Phanerozoic or younger iron-rich sedimentary rocks (ironstones) that contain preserved skeletal remains or traces of marine organisms like brachiopods, crinoids, and bryozoans. 

now that you have some history of the rocks and railroad tracks you can now answer some easy questions.

References

https://ottohmuller.com

• view

Heydinger, Earl J. "The Danville and Pottsville Railroad." Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin, no. 106 (October 1962): 7–32.

https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php%3FmarkerId=1-A-1CD.html

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/education/geology-education/identifying-and-collecting

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danville_and_Pottsville_Railroad#cite_ref-FR1838_2-0

QUESTIONS

1 in your estimation how tall is the wall

2. do the layers run horizontal or vertical.

3 from the reading above what kind of rocks do you see infront of you, what colors do you see.

4 take a picture of the railroad wall cut behind you , you can use a personal item if you would like .