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  • Lehigh Gorge Line?? Is it still there???

  • Discussion related to the Lehigh Valley Railroad and predecessors for the period 1846-1976. Originally incorporated as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.
Discussion related to the Lehigh Valley Railroad and predecessors for the period 1846-1976. Originally incorporated as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.

Moderator: scottychaos

 #1085085  by B&MJunkie
 
Hello everyone!

Been a long time since I've kept up with my railfanning, but trying to get back into it within the past few months.

A quick question.....

When I was a kid, I used to vacation in the Pocono Mtns. near Whitehaven, PA and nearly every morning my dad, friends and I would head out
grab coffee and a bagel and chase a few trains as they traveled the line from White Haven through Crestwood and up towards Solomon's Gap.

My question is this: Does anything still travel that line? I haven't been there in nearly 25 years, but am thinking of going back for old time's sake
and if nothing else do some hiking in the area along the track......but then again, maybe it's not even there.

Any help would be appreciated - though I'm sure if there are any track/trains left there, the traffic is probably nearly non-existent on that line these days.

Please help.
Thanks.
 #1085108  by charlie6017
 
Actually this line is still in use. The Reading & Northern runs some traffic on this line as does NS and CP.

However, I do not live in this area--and I do not know the exact amount of traffic run, so I will leave those
answers to those who do know. I want to visit this area myself as well as the Allentown area. I'm a Lehigh
Valley nut, so it's on my bucket-list.

Welcome to our forums......we're happy to have you aboard!

Charlie
 #1086147  by Franklin Gowen
 
If the original poster wishes for current info on modern-day railfanning opportunities through the Lehigh Gorge, he might possibly be better served by making his request at the Pennsylvania Railfan subforum on this site. Much of what we post here is primarily of historical interest (often pre-Conrail era), and not oriented quite so much in the direction of chasing trains on the surviving lines in the present day.

You might get lucky here, but at the moment I believe there are more readers over there. This thread has garnered only 12 hits since yesterday, which helps support my point. ;-)
 #1088935  by frank754
 
The line from Pittston to Lehighton is still used daily by the Reading & Northern, there are some CP freights using the line as well. I drove through that areas and took these pictures a couple years ago (incl. the White Haven tunnel):
http://viewoftheblue.com/photography/wbrail.html
Also, here are a few shots of the Luzerne Susquehanna, R&N and Coxton yard in the Pittston/Duryea area:
http://viewoftheblue.com/photography/wbrail2.html
The R&N uses the line through Laurel Run from Mountaintop to Pittston (Coxton Yard), while the Luzerne Susquehanna runs south from there through Wilkes-Barre on the last single-track remnant of the LV in the city.

Also, the "Lehigh Valley Scenic Railway" operates passenger excursions on a regular schedule from Jim Thorpe several miles up into the gorge:
http://viewoftheblue.com/photography/lehigh1.html
http://viewoftheblue.com/photography/lehigh2.html