{"nrhp_refnum":"80003562","name":"Ashley Planes","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Off PA 309","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ashley and vicinity","county":"Luzerne County","state":"PA","lat":41.19325368950007,"lon":-75.91073348673083,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-01-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of three inclined plane railroads and associated remains in Hanover and Fairview Townships, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, running south from Ashley up a mountain cut to Solomon Gap. The planes connected Ashley with Solomon Gap as part of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad.","why_significant":"The planes carried anthracite from the Wyoming Valley field to Solomon Gap and onward to points south, and the document presents them as a key solution to the difficult transport of bulky coal from the region. Their unusual technology is argued to make them significant in engineering history. They were in use until 1948, a span of more than a century.","narrative":"Three inclined plane railroads climb a mountain cut between Ashley and Solomon Gap in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Built beginning in 1837 for the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, the planes were laid out under Josiah White of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, with engineer Edwin A. Douglas. Cars were hauled up steep grades by steam engines at the head of each plane, with a horse or mule section between Planes 1 and 2 and a weigh scale at the summit. The system was revised in the 1860s and again in 1909, when the Central Railroad of New Jersey, then the lessee, added concrete improvements. The planes operated until 1948. Their importance lies in solving the problem of moving bulky anthracite from the Wyoming Valley to markets, and their engineering was unusual for the period. Surviving remains include foundations, truck pits, culverts, bridges and dams.","period_of_significance":"1837-1948","architect_builder":"Edwin A. Douglas (engineer); Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., Josiah White, general manager (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Remains include foundations of drum, boiler and engine houses, truck pits, culverts, bridges and dams; the site is well hidden from Route 309.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.170858-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003562.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003562/fc3c4baadd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003562/fc3c4baadd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Russ Nelson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashley_Planes_in_2009_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Russ Nelson</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashley_Planes_in_2009_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994541","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Planes","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4805552"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/luzerne-county/ashley-planes-80003562/"}