While the MH&SH was expanding into the Mahanoy Valley between 1848 and 1864, the Mahanoy & Broad Mountain Railroad (M&BM) was chartered on March 29, 1859, to build from the Mt. Carbon & Mine Hill Railroad (a P&RR backed enterprise) into the Mine Run, Shenandoah, Mahanoy, and New Boston coal basins to essentially compete with the MH&SH. The new railroad was intended to be a rival of the MH&SH in that region, and the transportation charges were reduced below those of the latter company, to adversely affect its revenues.Munsell, 1881, p.87 A conflict began between the rival interests, and litigation ensued, resulting in a confirmation of what had been suspected, that the P&RR had been behind the scenes to ultimately gain control of the MH&SH, and cripple the canal as a coal-carrying rival.Munsell, 1881, p.88
