Railfanning the R&N's "Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway&

OC - you can follow the bike trail next to the R&N line (it is on the ex CNJ alignment) from Coalport to M&H Jct.

However, that's what everyone and their cousin does. If you want to have some fun and get killer scenery in your shots, forgo the trackside access and go to the top of the mountain overlooking Glen Onoko (directly above the old CNJ tunnel). The shot from the cliffs is tremendous, especially earlier in the day.

Another fun diversion is to head up the mountainside at Hetchel's (about a mile or so north of Glen Onoko). You can get a great shot looking down into the Glen. Wear snake boots.

My all time favorite trackside spot in the lower part of the gorge is Ox Bow curve. Nice shots there.

Get a trail map, and it will show you these places by name.

Don't forget that there's still freight traffic there, so keep eyes and ears open.




[quote="OCtrainguy"][color=darkblue]In a few weeks, I'll be heading up to Jim Thorpe on a Saturday. One of the things I'd like to do is railfan the R&N's operations on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway. I'm not familiar with the area (as you can tell in my bio), and when I was in Jim Thorpe last year, I didn't have time to do a lot (aside from riding the Rail-Tours train which I enjoyed).

I know the train goes up to Old Penn Haven. From their website, it looks like a pull-pull operation with an engine on both ends, which is cool. Are there some good spots along the way that are easily (and publicly) accessible? Are there any places within the Lehigh Gorge State Park? Any information would be appreciated!! [/color][/quote]

Don't know if you're familiar with it, but a website called "Black Diamonds to Tidewater" has all the material a railfan could ask for; here's a link:

http://www.gingerb.com/

And another link to a great Lehigh Valley site:

http://www.lvrr.com/

As noted, Penn Haven Junction and Old Penn Haven are not one and the same. During the canal era, Penn Haven was a rail-to-canal transfer point for coal, and probably supported a small permanent population. During the late 19th century, PRR & LV reportedly operated an RPO between Penn Haven and the PRR's recently-completed (1881) Wilkes-Barre Branch at Nescopeck.

The tower at Penn Haven Junction lasted until sometime in 1965 or 1966. After the Jersey Central slimmed down from two tracks to one, a remote-controlled interlocking plant, designated "M&H Jct" contolled the diverging track from the LV main, but the LV/CNJ diamond remained at the tower. The only way in other than by rail or shoe leather was a dirt road from Weatherly which paralelled the Hazleton Branch. It was blocked to public access by a cable and padlock, and only authorized personnel had keys.

One Sunday evening in the summer of '64 or '65, as a teenager, I tried to hike in from Weatherly with a friend, and we found we'd bitten off more than we could chew. I finally got into Penn Haven on a memorable High Iron Company excursion in late August of '67, but by that time, everything had been razed in the wake of the LV/CNJ combination of operations.

With the development of the Gorge as a well-patronized recreation area, Penn Haven is a lot easier to locate and visit today (though you still can't bring the car.) Hope you have yourself a ball, and bring us back a report.

Well, the weather on Saturday (Oct. 22nd) was damp and rainy. However, it did not have much of an impact on our fun. We pulled into the parking lot in Jim Thorpe just as the R&N train from Port Clinton pulled in with about fifteen coaches. The train was a complete sellout.

I was unable to get any photos, but my son did. Even though he's almost seven, he was getting to "hands on" with my cameras, so we got him one. Anyway, we photographed the regularly scheduled Lehigh Gorge trains at the station before breaking for lunch. We did see the Port Clinton train leaving Jim Thorpe, photographing it as it approaches the Route 903 overpass. We also photographed the Lehigh Gorge train returning to Jim Thorpe as it passes some of the cabooses there. I haven't been able to scan those yet.

However, we did some exploring on Saturday, getting some ideas for photo spots for our return on Sunday. We walked inside the old CNJ tunnel at Glen Onoko. The two rows of ties are still in play as are many spike plates. From inside the tunnel, I snapped this photograph of the bridge supports as the bridge crossed the Lehigh River.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/704 ... 9536QPdhhC

Outside of the tunnel, some of the rail lay where it was dropped when the tracks were removed.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/704 ... 9937jQFaGQ

A view of the tunnel from the bridge leading to the parking area.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/704 ... 9316JWUdRv

On Sunday, we rode the first train, which was very crowded before photographing the others, Part of my focus was seeing what else may remain from the CNJ. We took a short walk, but wasn't disappointed. First, we saw an old CNJ signal stand.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/704 ... 4504jdqOgV

Next, were four concrete bases. Not sure what kind of signalling they were for, as we weren't to far from the other signal.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/704 ... 7659utHOlO

Last, but certainly not least, was this old mile marker.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/704 ... 9078KlFDEa

We walked up to the current R&N/NS signal before walking back. Had a great time taking in the river, foliage, trains and historical aspects of the CNJ. I'll scan some of my photos as soon as I can.