I had always wanted to go and see Centralia,,,, so my cousin and i drove up today. We found an entrance to the old section of rt 61 and then took a couple poser pics. its hard to see but in the last pic the right rear tire is about 4" off the ground.
Not to put a damper on what your doing but I'm 99% sure that if you don't have the $100 a year permit to be there then you were trespassing. BMJA has a 40 some page thread on this place and pretty much there stance is don't post about going there unless you have the permit. 
I thought Reading Athracite land needed the $100 permit.
I'm pretty sure it's not technically illegal. It's commonwealth land and public roads drive right through the town.
Here is the best source for Centralia that I have found: http://www.offroaders.com/albu…ia/Visiting-Centralia.htm
I'm pretty sure it's not technically illegal. It's commonwealth land and public roads drive right through the town.
Here is the best source for Centralia that I have found: http://www.offroaders.com/albu…ia/Visiting-Centralia.htm
i really want to go here. i know it's not 'wheeling', but it certainly is a very unusual and intriguing destination. however, it's probably not a great idea to go alone. anyone else want to go?
I was planning on going up there at some point. From what I read, it's not illegal to go through the town since some roads are still open. What is illegal is going onto private property or property owned by the Common wealth of PA. So, you are able to visit as long as you respect the place and the laws. People visit everyday.
from the link posted above by KnoxRents:
Is visiting Centralia legal?
Several major routes and minor roads run right through Centralia PA. Rt 54, Rt 61 and Rt 42 all pass through the town and are open to traffic. Hundreds if not thousands pass this way daily. So entering Centralia is legal and it is not closed off to the public. However most of the properties that had been acquired by the Commonwealth of PA are owned by the state. Several of the properties that still are home to residents, though owned by the State as well, are personal property. Whether you are trespassing depends on where you travel within the borough of Centralia. That being said, there are no "No Trespassing" signs. There are signs expressing Warnings and Dangers to alert the public of the dangers that can be hidden there. Yet people visit everyday to look at what is left of the town and see first hand the smoke and steam rising out of the ground. We have never been aware of anyone being given a hard time about visiting to look around so long as they are respectful of the residents who still live there and are respectful of the personal property and area in general. Recently there has been an increase in vandalism, which may change the attitude of local law enforcement. As a result if you visit please don't feel the need to apply graffiti, smash bottles or litter. There is a lot of interest in Centralia and many people visit not only to satisfy curiosity but to pay respect to the town as it was. There are three cemeteries in the borough of Centralia and family and friends visit occasionally. So please help to keep the area clean and accessible by the public. If anything, take a little of the garbage with you when you leave.
Pretty much my summary, lol 
Okay this may be a really stupid question. But what happened there?
x2
Underground coal fires for the past 100 years or so?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania
Inspired the movie Silent Hill...
google is awesome
In May 1962, Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, but in previous years the landfill was in a different location. The firemen, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire, let it burn for a time, and then extinguished the fire, or so they thought.
However, in her 2007 book about Centralia, Joan Quigley asserts that the fire began on May 27 when one of the two commercial haulers serving the borough "hurled hot ashes onto the dump."[3] Quigley cites "interviews with volunteer firemen, the former fire chief, borough officials, and several eyewitnesses, as well as contemporaneous borough council minutes" as her sources for this explanation of the fire.
The fire remained burning in the lower depths of the garbage and eventually spread through a hole in the rock pit into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Adverse health effects were reported by several people due to the carbon monoxide produced.
In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner inserted a stick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot, so he lowered a thermometer down on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 172 °F (77.8 °C). State-wide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole four feet wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep that suddenly opened beneath his feet. He was saved after his older cousin pulled him from the mouth of the hole before he could plunge to his probable death. The incident brought national attention to Centralia as an investigatory group (including a state representative, a state senator, and a mine safety director) were coincidentally on a walking tour of Domboski's neighborhood at the time of his near-death incident.
In 1984, Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted buyout offers and moved to the nearby communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. A few families opted to stay despite warnings from state officials.
In 1992, Pennsylvania claimed eminent domain on all properties in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to have the decision reversed failed. In 2002, the United States Postal Service revoked Centralia's ZIP code, 17927.
first, it is not reading anthracite land... the state owns 95% of the town...
it is an underground fire that is consuming a seam of coal that runs under the town.. it was started by a trash fire in an abandoned mine pit... they tried to put it out many times but obviously they had zero success and are now just letting it burn out on its own
as for visiting it.. It is not technically open to the public but chances of being given a hard time about going there are very slim as enforcement in that area is almost none existent.... just be respectful as it is still home to a few people....
I grew up very close to there and my grandfather had close friends who lived in the town so I have been in the town through its many stages...
Pic of canal 'wheeling' was removed as it is in violation of forum policy.
--Ian
where is centralia
Buddies of mine were chased out of there by two Durangos and one Crown Vic marked Reading Police, about 20 minutes into our exploration. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say the 3 people living in the town don't like tourists.
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