Line from Penn Haven Jct to Hazleton

The line that goes from Penn Haven Jct off the Lehigh Line north of Jim Thorpe. It goes to Hazleton. Just before the town of Weatherly, there was once another line branching off and this jct was called "Black Creek Jct". Does anyone know when/why this line was abandoned and torn out? I'm assuming its been decades.

I think this line was known as the "Quakake Branch" and basically paralleled the CNJ's Nesquehoning Valley Branch.

The line in question was indeed the Quakake Branch, a low grade alternative to the Hazleton Branch which left It at Black Creek Junction and rejoined it at Pine Junction, abour a mile east of Delano, crossing Penna state route 93 at Hudsondale.

In addtion to coal traffic from mines in the southern anthracite field, the line handled Mesabi iron ore interchanged from the Pennsylvania at Mount Carmel and destined for the furnaces at Bethlehem.

At some point in the early 1960's, PRR executives decided that any further lake ore traffic could be routed via Pennsy's Wilkes-Barre Branch and interchanged at Wilkes Barre. That, and closure of the mines, doomed the Quakake Branch, though the reails were not taken up for several years.