Rail Fanning Trip

On the 30th and 31st of July, 2005, seven CNYMOD Members (Bill Brown, Steve Brown, Dave Babson, Andy Rezsnyak, Russ Grills, Geoff Oldfield, and Louis Frees) traveled to the Lehigh Gorge of North Eastern Pennsylvania to explore the area's rich railroad history.

Day 1     Jim Thorpe

Beginning this year the Reading and Northern Railroad (current operator of the Lehigh River railroads) began running passenger trains out of Jim Thorpe and eight miles into the Lehigh Gorge.  This has not happened since the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley ceased passenger service in the 1960's.

Origionally, when the CNJ laid its rails into the gorge it bored through a mountain and then across a bridge.  A few years later the CNJ tore up the tracks and laid new tracks around it.  One hundred years later it is still there and open only to people who dare to enter the black void.  At the railing is Andy, Dave, Geoff, and Steve looking into the Lehigh River.

The CNJ built these bridges in the early 1900's to connect the Jim Thorpe Yard to their mainline on the other side of the River.  In the 60's the CNJ and LV consolidated track to attempt to stop the two railroads from falling into bankrupcy.  In 1973...

...when the two railroads went out of business, the track was torn up on the bridges.  Not until the Reading and Northern came in in 2003 and laid welded rail across them, did trains cross it again.  (Our Lehigh Gorge excursion crossed them).

Some of us standing next to a fence at Flagstaff (old restarant on the top of a hill) overlooking Jim Thorpe and the surounding area.

This photo was taken in the 1890's of Jim Thorpe from Flagstaff.

This photo was taken in 2005 of Jim Thorpe from Flagstaff.

Some of us pretending we are falling off a Switchback Gravity Railroad scale replica of a car at high speed.

Dave poses next to an operating N Scale model of the Switchback Gravity Railroad in the Jim Thorpe Museum.  Some real pictures from the origional Railroad can be seen on the walls.

Those of us who camped instead of a hotel stayed up to almost midnight talking about the past day’s events.  Meanwhile, a roaring fire burns up the last of our firewood.

Day 2     Steamtown

On our visit we got this small clip of steam activity:

The Steamtown National Historic Site is located in Scranton Pa.  The complex has many stationary locomotives on display including a Union Pacific “Big Boy”.  The site also has some operating steam locomotives that run two excursions.  One is a small train that just pulls passengers around the yard (we did this one).  The other one is a full day excursion that travels to a town many miles away.

The Steamtown Roundhouse and Shops house many steam locomotives in various stages of maintence and repair.  There are also a few locomotives being completely rebuilt in various stages of restoration.  One of the engines currently being rebuilt was the PPR 2-10-4 that formerly resided on the Horseshoe Curve monument.

This is a rotary snow plow in the yard that surrounds the Steamtown's roundhouse.

This is the steam locomotive that's featured in the small movie clip above.  It is the primary steam engine at Steamtown.