Lackawanna Cutoff Passenger Service Restoration

[Emmett]

any update on the restoration of the line?

[David]

Is anything being done or constructed on this line?

[lensovet]

Is anything being done or constructed on this line?

Yes? There's literally a link to a blog a few posts above yours that shows pictures of active construction in December.

No updates on said blog, but it's also worth noting that bat hibernation season can continue through April. If hibernating bats were found, work on the tunnel would have had to stop. Work on the rest of the ROW and station could probably continue.

[cjvrr]

The bat issue is only a concern for tree removal. Work in the tunnel would not matter. With the temps climbing and night time lows above freezing work should start moving again.

[RailfanPhil]

Hey everyone....

I added a few new updates on the ROW since December 2023...Not much is happening with the exception of the tunnel.

ALL ABOARD !

https://lackawannacutoffrehab.blogspot.com/

[ExCon90]

I've just realized that we completely missed the twentieth anniversary of this thread.

Nice to see photographic evidence of progress.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Gotta say, when I originated this topic now twenty years ago, all I had in mind was a five post "asked and answered" topic.

[Dcell]

Hey everyone....

I added a few new updates on the ROW since December 2023...Not much is happening with the exception of the tunnel.

ALL ABOARD !

https://lackawannacutoffrehab.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Phil. I'm glad the tunnel apparently was not damaged by the recent earthquake and dozens of aftershocks.

[David]

Why can they not lay track up to the tunnel? And after the tunnel. They could at least do that. How about the crossing after Port Morris ? That could be worked on.

[lensovet]

Any kind of groundwork including stabilization and leveling makes no sense to be done during the winter months as the ground will shift once it thaws.

Freeze warnings were still being issued in South Jersey this past week. We've had crazy weather this year.

They also have a lot to do before laying track. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it will probably be the last thing they do.

[RailfanPhil]

Latest photo update from May 20, 2024

Tunnel work continues but there is so much more to do....

https://lackawannacutoffrehab.blogspot. ... on_24.html

ALL ABOARD

[Gilbert B Norman]

I'm sure it's been addressed somewhere in this "Epic of Epics", but was it Benny (Bat), Hootie (Owl), or some other critter who kept them from simply daylighting the tunnel?

When driving the 80 through PA, and you see the amount of earth that was blasted and moved for such, it makes one wonder why such wasn't done on this project.

[Greg]

I'm sure it's been addressed somewhere in this "Epic of Epics", but was it Benny (Bat), Hootie (Owl), or some other critter who kept them from simply daylighting the tunnel?

Geology.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Isn't the topography around there a shale or other sedentary rock? BTW, I stayed awake in Geology, and actually liked the course as a non-core elective.

[RandallW]

From New Jersey – Pennsylvania Lackawanna Cut-off Passenger Rail Service Restoration Project Environmental Assessment, describing the original reason for the tunnel:

Originally there were no tunnels planned on the route, but unusually soft rock, south of Andover, necessitated the construction of the Rosevi1le Tunnel, a 1,024-foot long, double-track tunnel 132 feet below the surface that is partially concrete lined.