NS Lehigh Line?

Seems you hav an interest in the LV......you might want to pick up a cop of Archer's book on the LV.

 

Also take a look at this http://www.frontiernet.net/~sc...LVRR_system_map.html

 

It's a lille dated but still fairly accurate.

Thanks I will check the book out.  Is M&H at Jim Thorpe?  Still an odd place to switch ownership.  Why not sell the whole line to Allentown.  Looks like R and N maintains the CTC.

M&H is north of where the Lehigh Gorge tourist trains turn back to Jim Thorpe, at a location called Old Penn Haven, 8 miles north of Jim Thorpe. R&N made a passing siding out of a former connecting track in order to run around the tourist trains. NS trains headed for Binghamton switch to the R&N at M&H, north of the passing siding. There are also NS locals to Hazelton via Weatherly. NS owns the line from Allentown to Hazelton. RBMN owns the line from Lehighton to Mehoopany. NS leases the line to Lehigh Railway short line from Mehoopany to Sayre. NS and RBMN parallel each other between Lehighton and M&H-Independence in the Lehigh Gorge at Old Penn Haven. Former CNJ ROW from Glen Onoko to White Haven through the Lehigh Gorge State Park is a rail trail. RBMN rebuilt track on ex-CNJ ROW from Glen Onoko to Nesquehoning Jct. across the ex-CNJ bridge across the Lehigh River to provide a shortcut for freight trains and to provide a way for tourist trains to access the Lehigh main in the gorge without backtracking to Packerton Jct. and having to cross NS.

Very interesting. 

Don

 They now have a grant to build another bridge to make the shortcut into a wye, shortening the time even more.

Very interesting info.  Combined with Google Maps it all fits into place.  Too bad NS can't improve the upper Lehigh Line to streamline traffic.  Is it even equipped for double stacks?

Yes it is cleared for double stacks.

They did just put new signals in and do some track work, so they are doing work.

Isn't some of this portion of the Lehigh line abandoned...and the CNJ is used in its place?  Like near Soloman's Gap?   

Not to get everyone side tracked from Mikes original post here, but just wondering if the new signals are for the future bridge and where the location will be for the bridge?

Allentown to Lehighton is former CNJ.

 

LV from Lehighton to east of Bear Creek Jct.

 

CNJ from east of Bear Creek Jct. to Laurel Run, then back onto the LV for the run down the mountain to Dupont.

 

 

I just rode that route behind the 765! We started near Bethlehem at a former intermodal site on the former LV. We headed to Allentown and reversed to the former CNJ toward Lehighton. We continued up the LV through the Lehigh Gorge. We turned at Pittston and stopped at Jim Thorpe on the return. Some of the route is NS, some is RBMN.