LVRR ROW through Phillipsburg, NJ

[transit383]

A recent photo from the former LVRR ROW through Phillipsburg:

Former Signal Bridge resting on the ground

When I first saw the structure laying on the ground, it immediately reminded me of the Statue of Liberty scene in 'Planet of the Apes'. I was quite surprised to see that so much was left behind on this ROW by Conrail. Signals, signal structures, control boxes, rails, and ties can all be found there. The supports for the signal in the above photo actually lay in the woods about thirty feet from the signal bridge itself.

An older photo of a still standing signal bridge can be seen here:

Former Signal Bridge, still standing

[uhaul]

Looks like part of the signal bridge from the first photo is your avatar. That signal bridge in the woods is straight creepy and fascinating all at once. Would it not be cool if some old rolling stock or locomotive was near that signal bridge in the woods?

So, in this photo you are looking at Pennsylvania and would you fall off the edge if you walked past the signal bridge?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=174442

Now this photograph shows the signal bridge in 1984, but the opposite side and that bridge is probably gone and would leave a edge to fall off of. Or, am I mistaken?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=66197
I write in Brown because I can.

[lvrr325]

I'm surprised those signal heads aren't decorating someone's basement by now. There used to be some parts laying around Geneva Jct. in the weeds, signal heads with no guts even, but someone else took them before I could... somewhere around 1993.

[transit383]

Looks like part of the signal bridge from the first photo is your avatar. That signal bridge in the woods is straight creepy and fascinating all at once. Would it not be cool if some old rolling stock or locomotive was near that signal bridge in the woods?

So, in this photo you are looking at Pennsylvania and would you fall off the edge if you walked past the signal bridge?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=174442[/qupte]

You wouldn't fall into the river... the old LVRR bridge is still standing, but it is fenced off to prevent trespassing. I don't know if I would venture onto that bridge in the first place though.

Now this photograph shows the signal bridge in 1984, but the opposite side and that bridge is probably gone and would leave a edge to fall off of. Or, am I mistaken?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=66197
I write in Brown because I can.

The bridge, in its entirety, still stands. No tracks on it, but it still spans the Delaware River between Easton, PA and Phillipsburg, NJ.

[uhaul]

Thank you transit383 and nice to know the bridge is there, but I guess it's a bit derelict.

[Chessie GM50]

Thank you transit383 and nice to know the bridge is there, but I guess it's a bit derelict.

NS uses the CNJ bridge over the Deleware, because the LV one was in terrible condition.

[Lehighton_Man]

so they finally brought the bridge down. was it NS that took it down? What are they going to do with the signal heads? Curious to know.
Cheers,
Sean

[Tommy5]

Thank you transit383 and nice to know the bridge is there, but I guess it's a bit derelict.

NS uses the CNJ bridge over the Deleware, because the LV one was in terrible condition.

how bad is it? can it be repaired and reused?

[lvrr325]

The LV bridge is older and of a somewhat inferior construction - I believe it's pinned where the CNJ bridge is riveted; the CNJ is from like 1925 and the LV goes back to around 1889 or so. Conrail swung the main tracks over in a spot where the two lines were close together on each end of the structures; it's not a lot of LV ROW that's not being used, perhaps a mile. There really is no reason to repair it - from what I recall it was just a business decision, it was cheaper to shift the tracks over to the CNJ bridge (which had actually been abandoned for some time by then after the CNJ pulled out of PA) than to continue to maintain the LV bridge.

Somewhere I have an old Railpace or whatever the NRHS chapter magazine was called that more or less became Railpace that explains it all and has maps and things.

[rwk]

How did Conrail access the Washington Secondary then? They must have used the CNJ bridge as well as the LV. Because the Washington Secondary is only accessible by crossing the CNJ bridge. Now, the CNJ bridge is the main bridge for east-west traffic. There's only one track left where there were once four with the LV and CNJ.

[Tommy5]

The LV bridge is older and of a somewhat inferior construction - I believe it's pinned where the CNJ bridge is riveted; the CNJ is from like 1925 and the LV goes back to around 1889 or so. Conrail swung the main tracks over in a spot where the two lines were close together on each end of the structures; it's not a lot of LV ROW that's not being used, perhaps a mile. There really is no reason to repair it - from what I recall it was just a business decision, it was cheaper to shift the tracks over to the CNJ bridge (which had actually been abandoned for some time by then after the CNJ pulled out of PA) than to continue to maintain the LV bridge.

interesting, just wondering because all the talk about the passenger service veing brought back, I just thought maybe the bridge could be used for that

[wis bang]

Both of the Pin Truss bridges the LV had in Easton [the Delaware River bridge & the E & N Bridge over the Lehigh & CNJ] are out of service due to structural problems...

[Tommy5]

structural problems that no one wants to put up the money to fix probably

[rwk]

Which bridge is the E&N bridge? I thought the LV bridge over the Delaware was the only one out of service? The CNJ bridge is used, the Lehigh & Hudson River bridge is used to access the Bel-Del at Phillipsburg Union Square up to the other Delaware River bridge back into PA to Bangor and Portland, and the line to Belvidere as well, and the PPL plant at Roxbury (is it closed) and the CNJ bridge crossing the Lehigh and S Third St bridge at the same time is used by the Belvidere Delaware River Rwy. shortline that owns the line south toward Milford, NJ as well used by the Pburg train excursions. There are some freight customers in West Easton accessed from the old CNJ main from the L&HR bridge from Pburg by the BDRV. Then, the CNJ main west of that point at West Easton to just before Minsi Trail Bridge in Bethlehem is gone, then it becomes the Freemansburg Industrial Track past the old CNJ depot (Main Street Depot Restaurant) up to the junction with the bridge across the Lehigh connecting the old LV main with the CNJ to Allentown Yard.

[GOLDEN-ARM]

The E&N bridge crosses the Lehigh, not the Delaware. It's located about 1/2 mile west of the Delaware, up the Lehigh, and it's approach crosses the LV mainline westbound, from 2 track, and crosses over the mainline, then the river. The main problem with the LV bridge, is the curve at the end, and the lateral forces of trains hammering it, which weakened the structure. I never noticed any problems running over it, and it never had a slow order on it, when I ran it. Besides the "straight" bridge, running the Central side eliminated several sections of curved trackage as well.