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  • CNJ's Coplay Branch

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey

Moderator: David

 #15906  by carajul
 
Can anyone give me info on the CNJ Coplay branch which left the CNJ mainline at Northampton, PA? It crossed the Lehigh River, crossed the LVRR mainline, then connected to the Ironton RR. I think the bridge still stands.
 #1423582  by CharlieL
 
The bridge apparently still stands. If you go on acme mapper (mapper.acme.com) and search for the coordinates N40.67482 W75.48822, zoom in on the sattelite image you can see it quite plainly, as well as the smaller bridge crossing the former LVRR tracks, now the Ironton Rail-Trail.
 #1423778  by carajul
 
I walked the bridge last summer. Rails are all still in. CR disconnected it from the Lehigh Line though. The rails are still in until where the backyards of the houses in Coply. The tracks must have gone right thru people's backyards I mean 10' from their houses. The ties are still in, buried. In one of the Railfan with the Bendar videos there are shots of the CNJ connection with the Ironton in 1973. Tracks were still there but weeds and brush were 10' high and they were covered. Obviously CNJ left PA in 1972. When they stopped using the bridge I don't know. I wonder if CR ever sold the row to the home owners or they just it upon themselves to 'extend' their backyards over the row/ties? Google maps shows the row property line as still a separate parcel from the house parcels, so I wonder if CR still owns it.