 The new railroad was surveyed as far as Jacobs and the coal mine there, from Marklesburg, and was projected south towards Hancock, Maryland.However, the bankruptcy of Jacobs' Broad Top Coal company in 1914 slowed construction, and the railroad did not reach the mines at Jacobs until summer 1915, when a new tipple was built to serve them.It followed Great Trough Creek to the gap between Shirley Knob and Rocky Ridge, running high along the ridge to reach the tipple.