How do I get tickets to Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train?

Tickets and current schedules are available on the operator's official website at https://www.pioneertunnel.com/.

Photo by AnthraciteCoalRegion, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train

ASHLAND, PA

4.8· 629 Google reviews

Upcoming Events

No ticketed events are currently listed for Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train. Many heritage operators publish schedules seasonally or run on regular open hours instead of dated events.

Check the operator’s website for current hours and special runs, or subscribe to event alerts and we’ll email you when something is scheduled.

About Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train

Coal mine tour + Henry Clay narrow-gauge steam train; only Wix-based operator in PA dataset

📍 ASHLAND, PA 17921

🌐 Visit Website

History

Pioneer Tunnel is the signature attraction of Ashland, a borough in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania that was settled in 1850, incorporated in 1857, and named for Henry Clay's estate near Lexington, Kentucky. Miners led by Patrick Devine first developed the coal seams here in 1846, and the town that grew over them peaked at more than 7,000 residents in 1940 before the anthracite industry's failure emptied it to under 2,500 today. Pioneer Tunnel keeps that hard-coal story alive as a tourist attraction pairing an underground mine tour with a narrow gauge steam train ride behind a locomotive named, like the town itself, for Henry Clay.

The Trains

Two distinct rides operate here. Visitors tour the coal mine itself riding in mine cars that roll into Pioneer Tunnel, and a separate steam train ride runs on 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge track, headed by the steam locomotive known as the Henry Clay.