Ghosts of the Lackawanna Old Road

The Lackawanna Old Road was the original mainline of the Lackawanna Railroad from 1856 to 1911. When the faster Lackawanna Cutoff was opened, the Old Road became a secondary line, seeing local freights and the occasional rerouted road train. In 1970, the segment between Washington NJ and Portland PA was abandoned, severing the line as a through-route, and closing the tunnels at Oxford and Manunka Chunk. In this video, we explore some of the more impressive remains in this segment, before taking a bonus look at some other unrelated abandoned railroad relics found in the immediate vicinity.
Thanks to Pequest Engineering for allowing us access to the former Great Meadows Station!

[@harrychest4303]

Thanks for posting. I love the RR history of this area. The PRR, NYS&W, DL&W, and the L&HR all had tracks.

[@toobeast5485]

Don’t forget the L&NE!

[@tomflendodo7297]

ALL the Old Train Station's are Gone !!!

[@jdhinckley1954]

Terrific cinematography!

[@gearhead2017]

I live in oxford where the pequest viaduct is located,never knew the train bridge was til i saw it here on youtube and the abandoned train car is right down the road on route 46 heading towards hackettstown

[@bobgallo3775]

This is a really cool post. Thanks so much. Next time I go to my sister in law 's, I will have to look this up Thanks again.

[@mattcrowley3075]

Great video. Thanks for posting this!

[@intercityrailpal]

Nice, interesting shots. Jim Crow coach? Never used in New Jersey! Plus what most people don't know the Old line from Manunka Chunk had a train from Trenton, NJ on the busy Northeast Corridor. It's busy because it's one of the few places there are trains left in the country! Most people that want train travel today. Are turned away due to sold out trains or lack of service like to places called Scranton. Just think of a direct route via Manunka Chunk today from all those cities of UP State NY and Scranton to Trenton, Washington and Florida! Without going out of the way to NY City. What killed all these passenger services was loss of mail and express revenue. Like train 47 that was regular on the old road! Except Sunday, there was no mail service on Sunday.

[@merccadoosis8847]

I, for one, hope that eventually all these rail lines will be reactivated and used for daily transport once again. This to promote local and inter urban transportation, tourism, and commerce. May it happen soon!

[@None-zc5vg]

Those lines are most likely to stay closed with the effective collapse of the U.S. economy and the virtual end of the manufacturing industries.

[@paulradice3534]

It’s not financially feasible

[@merccadoosis8847]

@@None-zc5vg "effective collapse of the U.S. economy" Collapse? The USA generously gave $65 billion to Israel and Ukraine so that it has more than enough resources to pay for this and more. In fact, it's time to install high speed rail throughout the entire country.

[@benbonesalive]

Great stuff .. I love history of this area .. there is an old canal incline across the river in the woods by Waterloo village that leads to old Morris canal . Maybe you are interested.. it’s accessible from Trade Zone bike path about a mile into the woods paralleling Waterloo rd

[@bettyaustin2983]

i wish you find a whole insulator kind of rare these days

[@samanthab1923]

Not really they are out there. Was in a thrift down in Langehorne. Found three that were local 🚂

[@NJtoAzMountainBiker]

You can tell trains were smaller in size back then by the clearance on those bridges

[@intercityrailpal]

The was the WARREN RAILROAD . A real money maker....

[@Brian_rock_railfan]

so sad 😢

[@samanthab1923]

What does the mile marker say on the other side? Something 5 miles away. MB is Millbrook 67 miles from here

[@peterstudley1804]

What month in 1970 did this line finally stopped seeing traffic?.

[@dfirth224]

I'm surprised they didn't pull up the rail.

[@upstatenewyorkrailfan6775]

The tunnels are in needs of repairs

[@samanthab1923]

It’s worse now