MINERSVILLE - Horace Baumer remembers coal cars and passenger trains at the Minersville Train Station.
The 99-year-old Minersville resident shared his memories of the busy times at the site Saturday before boarding the 1 p.m. steam locomotive ride to West Cressona.
"It was all coal trains and there was a passenger train," Baumer said.
He said he remembers being outside and seeing the trains depart.
"We sat on the swing. There was a swing out there between the house and the tree," he said of himself and his late grandmother, Anna Eliza Baumer.
The passenger cars once destined for Philadelphia had wooden benches. He remembers riding on them to Philadelphia and back to Minersville.
He remembered seeing the coal.
"When the coal was moving back in the twenties, they took big, big train loads," Baumer said.
He said there were seven collieries around the Minersville area. The coal trains would depart at different times. "You never knew when they would come," he said.
Russell Horoschak, a volunteer with Railway Restoration Project 113, said the departure of coal trains and passenger trains was a very common event. Passenger service continued until 1934 at the train station, he said, adding that freight service continued for years later.
Horace was born Dec. 17, 1913. Horace's father died in 1918 and his mother in 1923. He is an only child.
He attended Gerard College, Philadelphia, and visited Minersville during occasions such as holidays.
Baumer retired as a mechanic at an ore mine for the Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1976.
The soft-spoken man said his secret to living so long is "being active."
He doesn't keep a set schedule when he gets up. He likes to garden.
Baumer said he enjoyed his ride on the train - something he hasn't done in a long time.
"It was wonderful. It brought back great memories from years ago. You don't ever see many train rides up here any more," he said.