o/t todays trip to some stone quarrys

a good friend of mine is a wholesale supplier of bluestone, He had to go to Montose PA today to see a couple of quarrys and asked me if I wanted to take a ride. I took a bunch of pictures while I was there.

The pickup would be a good project.
Imagine that living again.

Four years ago headed to Quakertown we stopped at the first rest on 81 in PA. A load of that stuff pulled in. I had a nice visit with the trucker. He was headed home to MD with it. It came from just up the road.
I asked my friends in Owego NY about that. They mentioned one county there in NE PA that is a major supplier of bluestone. I just can't remember how major.

That looks like a hard way to make a living. They must do ok, looks like they have been there a long time. Maybe it's like what my Dad said: he never made money farming, but keep at a lot of years. Stan

Larry, nice photos as usual, love that old ( can't call it junk really ) stuff. The 955 cat crawler loader looks like the one I ran for C. Caruso, field super told me it was Chip Caruso's first machine, even at the time it was the oldest, they had me clearing trees for pipe easements, with only a weather cab, I was still young a stupid in those days LOL, but I knew enough to be safe, had just run a really well kept 977L for Tobar up in Morristown, NJ that had the full OROPS, limb risers and brush mesh, designed for the tractor, running that 955 was like going outside without your pants on, I wanted that 977L back in the worst way.

There are 2 blue stone quarries up here, in the heldeberg mountains, over by Berne NY, I had to buy a trailer load of it for a new building in NYC, that required this stone from one or the other of these 2 quarries, I forget their names but the stone they have is exclusive, was the only 2 places the land mark preservation approved facade would allow, community boards in NYC are a real pain when it comes to constructing a building to their specifications. They could not get me shop drawings soon enough, nor could I approvals, to meet fabrication and delivery so the bluestone base course was re designed to be a cladding, which I did not like but deadlines are deadlines in NYC, could not wait to start brick, well the feisty owners rep created this dilemma before I agreed to do the job, but I had to solve it, ... whenever I hear blue stone...... reminds me of that high stress job and this bad breath reeking arrogant owners rep LOL !

Nice pictures Larry. I'm not sure what quarries you were in but I only live 7 miles from the court house in Montrose. Possibly you were closer to me as there are quarries all around Montrose.

gated enterance to the one quarry was Benders property, off rte 29, across the road from where TrehaB/Susquehanna Countytransportaion is now. For the locals Ritztec was renting it for a warehouse for a number of years. Think the quarry operator is Notheast Stone Works. The other quarry with all the old macks is off north road, montrose end, just off 167 at first sharp bend to left, take dirt road to right, go 50yds, turn left follow dirt road down side of field back to quarry, can't remember who operates it. Godd size quarry. remember the macks because a friend of mine collects them, asked the guy if he was interested in selling any.

You were about 20 miles north of me today.

Thanks for posting those photos. Very interestng. Many people go somewhere and buy a piece of stone and have no idea where it came from. Bet that saw blade cost a couple bucks.

I thought the area looked familiar. I live in NY on the PA line about 20 miles NW of Montrose. I think I might have been to that quarry because the old trucks look familiar. And the pic of the theater had me scratching my head for a minute. Big blustone area up this way.

Nice pics. Thanks.

Yup! There be the Susquehanna Courthouse for sure.

Went to Vermont a few years ago and stopped to see how they made slate shingles. It was very interesting.