40 51' 57 N
75 44' 00 W

Coal was first mined at Summit Hill, about nine miles west of Jim Thorpe. In 1819, horse drawn wagons would carry the coal back and forth from the mining site to the Lehigh River. In 1827, the first coal railroad was built. It is best known as the Switchback Railroad; but was originally called the Gravity Railroad. A safety car would ride at the front to slow and stop the train. Mules and horses would carry the cars back up after the steep descent. Each car held 1.5 tons of coal. The nine-mile descent to town took about twenty minutes and the cars sometimes reached a speed of fifty miles per hour.

In 1844, stationary steam engines replaced the mules and horses. In 1872, direct railroad service connected to Summit Hill and the Switchback was retired. The 16 miles of trails of the former railroad, beginning in Mauch Chunk State Park, are used as hiking trails today.

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