Tunkhannock Viaduct

[jimk]

I may be in the area of the Tunkhannock Viaduct soon. I have never been there so I have questions. Is it in use and if so, how frequently is it used and is there better times in the day to catch a train crossing it? Is there a hotel nearby?

In the town of Tunkhannock there appears to be tracks, are these still used?

Thanks in advance.

[henry6]

Get your map out, Jim, Tunkhannock Viaduct is not in Tunkhannock! It is up Rt 92 on Rt 11 in Nicholson! Yes, it is in use by CP-D&H with several trains daily including NS trains from Harrisburg. Where you coming from? Got to get off I81 at Lenox or take Rt 11 from Scranton or Binghamton. Get line ups by listening to CP radio channels.

[jimk]

henry6, I never said it was in Tunkhannock. I know where it is and I was inquiring to train frequency over the bridge. Thanks for the info of who runs over it and how many. I had read the CN ownes the line but I didn't think that was right. I'd be coming from the Pittsburgh area but i'm not sure of when. Business will take me to Tunkhannock, that's why I asked about any activity there as well.

[Andyt293]

Jim, to answer your question, yes the tracks in Tunkhannock are still used. The line in question is the former Lehigh Valley mainline currently owned by the Reading and Northern. This link provides some nice pictures of the Vosburg tunnel located west of Tunkhannock.

http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?bo ... 1171931491

The Shadowbrook Inn is located outside of Tunkhannock about ten miles from Nicholson. You can reach it by taking Route 92 South out of Nicholson. Route 92 South merges with Route 6 West

http://www.shadowbrookresort.com/

[Andyt293]

Jim, if you are coming from Pittsburgh, may I suggest some directions?

Mapquest and other programs will have you take Rt 28 North from Pittsburgh to I-80. It is an incredibly boring trip, plus cell phone coverage is very spotty.

Taking Route 22 East to I-99 North to US-220 North to I-80 East is about 20 minutes longer, but the route is lot less boring, you have better cell phone coverage and you can see a lot more rail action.

[AdamCKach]

If you want to add PA scenery to the above routes, take PA 220 to PA 118 to PA 309.

Enjoy your visit to the Viaduct. It's a sight to see.

[jmp883]

Andyt293 wrote:

The Shadowbrook Inn is located outside of Tunkhannock about ten miles from Nicholson. You can reach it by taking Route 92 South out of Nicholson. Route 92 South merges with Route 6 West

Not to get too far off-topic, but I grew up in that area back in the late '60's thru the 70's. Back then Shadowbrook was family owned and operated and it was a great place to go for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Their ice cream was out of this world. I stopped there about a year ago while on a trip back home to visit family and it's now owned by a national chain (the name eludes me at the moment). I stopped for lunch and dessert and was thoroughly let down. Maybe I was just there on a bad day...but I doubt it.

[RussNelson]

I was flying from Ottawa to Newark a bit ago, and snapped this photograph:
http://flickr.com/photos/russnelson/275915535/

[henry6]

SPECTACULAR!!

[jimk]

Thanks for the information everyone, but it doesn't look like I'll be making the trip, at least for business. But I still may visit the Scranton area one day with the family. I would definitely make a side trip to see this viaduct though.

[AdamCKach]

Andyt293 wrote:

The Shadowbrook Inn is located outside of Tunkhannock about ten miles from Nicholson. You can reach it by taking Route 92 South out of Nicholson. Route 92 South merges with Route 6 West

Not to get too far off-topic, but I grew up in that area back in the late '60's thru the 70's. Back then Shadowbrook was family owned and operated and it was a great place to go for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Their ice cream was out of this world. I stopped there about a year ago while on a trip back home to visit family and it's now owned by a national chain (the name eludes me at the moment). I stopped for lunch and dessert and was thoroughly let down. Maybe I was just there on a bad day...but I doubt it.

I forget which, but it is either a Perkins or a Friendly's.

[motor]

In October 2005 I stopped at the parking area on Route 11 by the south end of the viaduct just to gawk at it. Awesome sight. Didn't stay long enough to see any trains cross it though. I had to get to Cooperstown. There was a baseball museum I wanted to see there (for the third time in my life) and did.

motor

[akprodr]

Does anyone know what kind of traffic is on the Viaduct these days? Both type and frequency of trains would be appreciated.

[SemperFidelis]

The restaurant by the golf course is now a Perkins.

The tracks through Tunkhannock are used by the Reading and Northern to serve PG's giant Mehoopany Plant and to interchange with the Lehigh Railway at Mehoopany. Reading Northern spends a few hours each day switching the PG plant and the associated yard tracks, but they really don't do all that much, they just work at a very safe pace. PG has very tight security so almost none of this work is visible to the general public.

CP Rail operates a few trains a day over the Tunkhannock Viaduct. I've seen a lot of construction debris loads heading north out of Scranton as well as intermodal and general merchandise traffic heading both north and south. Northbound intermodals are generally less fully loaded than the southbounds.

If you are considering visiting Scranton, the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel is a lovely place to stay, located in the old DL&W Station in downtown Scranton. They have an excellent brunch on Sunday's. Steamtown isn't really all that great, but is worth a trip if you've never been there. The trolley museum is also mediocre, but the ride on the old Laurel Line is something I do with my son as often as possible and is well worth the time.

[cr9615]

Does anyone know what kind of traffic is on the Viaduct these days? Both type and frequency of trains would be appreciated.

Coincidently, I made a list for this line recently as a part of an article I'm writing:

• 164 South IM/Freight Sun, Tue, Thu Late PM Binghamton, NY Philadelphia, PA Operates on NS as 30J.
  165 North IM/Freight Tue, Thu, Sat Morning Philadelphia, PA Binghamton, NY Operates on NS as 31J.
  256 South Freight Mon, Wed, Fri Late PM Binghamton, NY Oak Island, NJ Operates on NS as 38Z.
  257 North Freight Wed, Fri, Sun Night Oak Island, NJ Binghamton, NY Operates on NS as 39Z.
  258 South IM/Freight Sun, Tue, Thu, Sat Late PM Binghamton, NY Bethlehem, PA Operates on NS as 38T.
  259 North IM/Freight Mon-Tue, Thu, Sat Early AM Bethlehem, PA Binghamton, NY Operates on NS as 39T.
  412 South Freight Daily Morning Binghamton, NY Linwood, NC/NS Operates on NS as 11R.
  413 North Freight Daily Late PM Linwood, NC/NS Binghamton, NY Operates on NS as 12R.
  510 South Local Daily Night Binghamton, NY Taylor, PA
  511 North Local Daily Night/Early AM Taylor, PA Binghamton, NY
  512 South Local Wed, Fri Mid-Day Binghamton, NY Sunbury, PA
  513 North Local Thu, Sat Mid-Day Sunbury, PA Binghamton, NY
  930 South Freight Daily Any Enola, PA/NS Montreal, PQ/CN Operates on NS as 30T; CN M32821.
  931 North Freight Daily Night Montreal, PQ/CN Enola, PA/NS Operates on NS as 31T; CN M32921.
  932 South Freight Daily Night Buffalo, NY/NS Allentown, PA/NS Operates on NS as 13T.
  933 North Freight Daily Night Allentown, PA/NS Buffalo, NY/NS Operates on NS as 12T.

EDIT: Sorry, it comes out a little jumbled and hard to read on here.