Lackawanna Cut-Off - Part 33: Droning Over the Cut Off - Lake Hopatcong to Andover, NJ - in 4K

Join us for a trip via drone over the Cut-Off from Lake Hopatcong to Andover, NJ - in 4K resolution. This is the 7.3 mile section of the Lackawanna Cut-Off that is under restoration by NJ Transit, projected for re-opening of rail service 2026. This would be part of the New York City-Scranton rail corridor being proposed by Amtrak. Drone photography and videography by Michael Herrmann.

[@kjrehberg]

Amazing documentation of Conrail's wasteful abandonment of a valuable rail line and the beginnings of New Jersey Transit's efforts to reactivate it.

[@ernestpassaro9663]

That’s all conrail did was abandon rail they never grew the railroad!

[@1940limited]

Conrail destroyed so much.

[@utubewatcher806]

@@ernestpassaro9663 redundant trackage...

[@shootertrns]

Plus, they also did not want any competition from any other railroad. They wanted to monopolize the area so if there was any Trackage that was duplicate and it looks like some of the Railroad could purchase it, they would pretty much eliminate that route.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Conrail didn't have any financial interest in the EL, so they viewed that railroad as totally dispensable even though they received federal funds to operate it. Then they got the scrap value for it. As taxpayers, we got screwed...twice.

[@jc3Trains]

Can’t wait to see this fully going !

[@keith9786]

Chuck you can drone on anytime you want. We appreciate all you have done to help restore train service on the cutoff😁

[@jaylipper1375]

These are so, so interesting and the production just get better and better. Thanks.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad you think so!

[@kevincarter4902]

This is so cool, I really appreaciate the narration, presentation and information involved in this process. Such clarity in the video.

[@franksmith8449]

Enjoyed the video, brings back memories of ATVing from Lake Hopatcong to the Delaware Water Gap. Those were the days!

[@CTrail1711]

When I hear the Intro I know it's going to be a great adventure. Thank you so much for all your work and dedication to this project!!!

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Thank you so much!

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

Fantastic look at this first section.....it really helps to see it from the sky.

[@donmoore7785]

I just stumbled across this wonderful aerial tour of the cutoff, east of Andover. Nice work!

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks to Josh Weinstein.

[@skerbs7755]

I was so glad to see this update! Great view of the Cut-Off. Thank you!

[@wranglergilbert9664]

Comment about the trail about 17:55 - that's for maintenance vehicles of the high-voltage towers and lines. Excellent footage, sad to say that it's taken so long to get things constructed.

[@LearnwithJanice]

Hello from Kansas 🇺🇲

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Thank you for joining us!

[@torikicklighter1191]

So good to see the re-building of this line!!! We need to see more expansions throughout the US like this one!!!

[@1940limited]

Always love chuck's Cut-Off updates. Thanks for the latest episode.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

More to come!

[@8avexp]

My high school band camp was at Tobyhanna Sports Camp in Tobyhanna.

[@robinroberts3335]

Hello chuck l love all of the videos you did 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 keep up the fantastic work . Iam from Ontario Canada . That Railway is so lnteresting love it and I hope they get off the pot and get it Running Again . Be safe 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇨🇦🇺🇸 Robin out .

[@Erie-Lackawanna_Railfan]

Great video once again Chuck, great drone footage from Michael as well.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@luisarroyo1368]

6:30 That's the Morris Canal proper at the lower left corner. The canal footprint is the actual parking lot today. The bridge had two arches. One Arch went over the Lackawanna tracks and the second Arch went over the Morris canal. That's why the interlocking there is called Morris Junction.

[@am74343]

I'm from the Capital District of NY region, but I think it would be so cool to be able to take a passenger train ride through this area of NJ!

[@toastysgarage]

I have the pleasure of driving past Andover station everyday to work. the past few months they have made some serious progress by leveling earth and clearing those trees around the old line. Cool video Chuck! cant wait for more updates!

[@charlespaterson9714]

Very Enjoyable. Both informationally & Visually. I have been watching the whole series. I know you had a lot of great people working hard with you making these presentations, but I want to specially thank you Chuck, for your determination. Good job.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Much appreciated!

[@rlbijster]

A good, comprehensive video. It gives an nice overview from the air of the work that needs done/ has been done to reopen the line.

[@joevalentine2048]

I enjoyed this look back at the cut off pre construction. May I suggest a video of the same area to see the progress made from the drone point of view. Keep up the amazing work Chuck

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Noted!

[@ucrybabies4309]

Thanks chuck it brought back many good memories. I grew up with that being my playground starting in 1980 we all bought new 3 wheelers in 85 and rode the hell out of that place for 30 +years

[@eprohoda]

Like it,fantastic !Lackawanna. 🎥

[@JoeyCuccaro]

Great video, Chuck! Was cool to see the ROW via drone. Lots of clearing still to do on the western side of the MOS

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@tjd3434]

Thanks Chuck & Mike - awesome to see from above many areas we’ve hiked along the cutoff & Pequest Fill

[@jdfflats1]

Great video I was glad to see my old stomping grounds. I was raised on Lake Lackawnna and rode dirt bikes as a kid. We used the tracks as our own highway and did manage to often find ourselves so far from our home. We had no problem going to Hoboken or even up to Pennsylvania. Those tracks and my dirt bike usually kept us out of trouble for the most part. It all still looks pretty acceptable to ride with a good endure bike. Thanks for the memories

[@radiogoodguy6287]

This gives a much better perspective on the route and condition. You can almost visualize what’s to come. Thanks for this drone tour. Love the then and now comparisons.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@njmaugbill]

Just Awesome! Thanks!

[@samanthab1923]

That was great! Would never know all that was out there. Thanks 🚂

[@amit_dhami]

Awesome detailed video. I hope next part will be from Andover to Delaware river.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

You got it!

[@vettebecker1]

Awesome video. They need to go ahead and put the grade crossing in so they can move a lot more material in by train.

[@unutentequalsiasi5669]

Thanks for this fantastic view!

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@anthonybarlettta6627]

Thank you Chuck! Always interesting

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Very welcome

[@georgetompkins5438]

beautiful drone footage Chuck. looking forward for more

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Thanks 👍

[@patricksparks6631]

Chuck - glad to see this update and video. Nice job. I've been watching and enjoying all of the episodes you provided. I was a Lehigh Valley RR Fan, but now after studying the DLW history I think I am converted. I love rail history - it's great to see one making it back to life. Hope to see it carried thru to Scranton someday. Keep us posted.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Thanks, will do!

[@rj78productions88]

Awesome, been waiting for your newest upload. Good to see you again.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Glad to be "back".

[@kevinb8881]

When this cutoff opens, these NJT push pulls trains are going to fly through this section back and forth!!!

[@johnkoetting7198]

Chuck if you gave this video to the contractor I'm sure they would have up there bid. Lots and lot and lots of work. Gonna be interesting how the contractor is gonna access the sight. Guessing the same way the other contractors got to work on the bridge. Great job as always

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Thank you!

[@sashasue00]

looking forward to the train, love the updates. Not looking forward to all the construction going on at the same time (esp. Rt. 206)

[@LackawannaCutOff]

The 206 construction is unrelated to the restoration efforts on the Cut-Offd.

[@sashasue00]

@@LackawannaCutOff Frankly, I think it is related, big time; traffic has to flow somewhere

[@empirestate8791]

Looks like they're making provisions for future double-tracking. It shouldn't bee too tough adding a second track in the future, considering the line was originally double-tracked, and the ROW is more than wide enough.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Just single track at this point. Possibly a siding, but I think that would be way west of here.

[@poopjeans1135]

The old cut-off tracks pass right near my house.

[@AJ_ghdhejsien]

Old wolf lake road closed in 2014 or 15, almost overnight, as an NJ bill prohibiting municipalities from closing roads had expired, and it took a few weeks to pass a new one. Byram tired of maintaining the gravel took the opportunity to close it permanently. I used to use it to get from Hopatcong to Andover along the cut off past the CO Johnson Park, it avoided going all the way to the little fire house by lake lackawanna. Awesome videos, I've biked the cutoff and grew up I'm port Morris. Still local.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Wow, that recent?

[@donmoore7785]

That fits me memory - I believe I drove the road in about 2013 or 2014 while exploring the cutoff for the first time.

[@sethtaylor5938]

The trail on the right hand side by the transmission lines is used by PSE&G to maintain their 500 KV transmission line.

[@ernestpassaro9663]

Great video

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Thanks!

[@dougow3061]

very cool!!

[@thomasgray4188]

If I ever go to the US I'm putting this on my places to visit

[@CGRLCDR]

Thanks Chuck and Mike. Nice presentation. When is work on the Andover end going to start?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

They will clear the right-of-way to Andover as part of the Roseville Tunnel project. But that may not occur until well into 2023 or even 2024. NJ Transit says that the tracks and the station work won't occur until just before service starts in 2026.

[@scott.wrightnj]

Much better then mine lol 😊:)

[@daniellipus8808]

Great and super interesting video. Frustrating that this whole project is taking so long.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Tell me about it

[@luisarroyo1368]

12:12 Grade crossings are great advertisement for railroads. Many new railfan are born when as kids, they encounter the first grade crossing train experience. As an example, Newark has a City Subway called NLR ( Newark light rail) . For decades, Orange Street was the only grade Crossing. And yet because it runs below grade and aLong Branch Brook Park, over 90% of Newark residents have no idea it exists. With the exception of extreme Northern Newark, Belleville and the Bloomfield what it runs at grade level and has multiple grade Crossings. That's where most of its ridership comes from other than from Nwk Penn Station. Grade Crossings are not the problem. People who refuse to follow the law, are.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Railroads would argue that grade crossings are bad publicity.

[@michaela.chmieloski3196]

Certainly a stark contrast where New Jersey Transit has done tree clearing versus those sections yet untouched. Seeing the right-of-way "re-daylighted" provides a bit more optimism that this project just might come to fruition. Don't get me started on that damn Hudson Farm culvert. That looked like a fairly modern and sizable barn sitting on the property. But why pay for new drainage yourself if you can get all the other taxpayers to foot the bill... Thank you for the posting, Mr. Walsh. As a side note, every other channel to which I'm subscribed that has added a drone for aerial footage has had the quality of its presentations multiplied tenfold.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Actually it was NJDEP that required the work at Hudson Farm.

[@michaela.chmieloski3196]

@@LackawannaCutOff My apologies to the owners of Hudson Farm. So what was it then, the state DEP saved on ITS budget by getting NJT to foot the bill for a culvert that needed replacing and was nowhere near the right-of-way? Or did the DEP just play the role of nutcracker? Regardless, a completely avoidable delay in moving the project forward.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

We have good reason to believe that the former director of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club, an avowed opponent of the project, called in some markers to get the DEP to do a bogus 100-year flood analysis on the stream. And because the station site was within 500 feet of the same stream, the DEP was able to tie it into the project and make it a requirement for approval. So, NOBODY other than the Sierra Club wanted this done...and the idea, actually, was to try to kill the project outright. That's what our sources tell us.

[@michaela.chmieloski3196]

@@LackawannaCutOff That explanation does not surprise me at all. This is not the first time the Sierra Club would have done something like this; it is far from the last time that organization will do something like this. Thanks for the information, Mr. Walsh.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

@@LackawannaCutOff this is where I never understand the Sierra Club’s motivation. This is a perfect case where *not* building (or rebuilding) something is actually worse for the environment because it keeps people locked into commuting by car and pushes us ever closer to the next round of “well let’s fix the congestion by adding more lanes” which will both be a more disruptive build than just reactivating a rail line, and also contribute further to the pollution from cars. Are they just that short-sighted?

[@epe1238]

So, Brightline can build a new line from Orlando back to near I-95 in a few years where no grade existed, but NJT can't add 10 miles on an existing grade in 10 years?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

NJDEP and especially the NJ Sierra Club can take "credit" for most of those delays.

[@epe1238]

@@LackawannaCutOff amazing that something that has been a RR bed for over 100 years and will take cars off the road would not be a no brainier.

[@AWSmith1955]

Cool! When is shovel to ground supposed to start on the tunnel?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

I've heard different timeframes. October or November possibly. Maybe December. We'll see.

[@1940limited]

@@LackawannaCutOff Why not 6 months ago while we still had plenty of good weather ahead of us?

[@ARUD08]

Terrific views and production. But why stop at Rt. 206. The Cut-Off and trackless ROW continues to the Delaware Water Gap. Could you do another video with Michael?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

We've talked about it.

[@ARUD08]

@@LackawannaCutOff I'll check it out.

[@arnoldrjs]

I did not know there was a grade crossing being introduced! When was the flyover torn down?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

If you're talking about County Road 602, that bridge still exists and would be used by trains. The "grade crossing" resulted when they abandoned the underpass in 1990 and moved the road.

[@CHESSIESYSTEM1985]

Ready for another drone video when the track laying resumes?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

We have time.

[@JeffreyFlaker]

If you listen carefully at around 29:54 you can hear what sounds like a distant steam whistle! Ghost train?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Not possible. There was no "live" recording at that point.

[@JeffreyFlaker]

@@LackawannaCutOff Still sounded like a steam loco in the distance.....

[@gustavofebles422]

how much track has been relaid?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

About 4 miles.

[@nolantherailfan5048]

Will Amtrak own this section of track?

[@buixrule]

Those are turkey vultures at 16:26 not hawks.

[@MrLefty27]

Should be double track!

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Maybe some day again.

[@thebritisharecoming7495]

Where can I find old photos of the Delaware viaduct under construction? Google seems to be confused in my searches..

[@LackawannaCutOff]

We have a number on the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee's Facebook page. Just ask to join the group.

[@steve-o981]

Based on the trees, was this filmed in the early Spring? Seems too early for most of the leaves to be gone.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Yes.

[@n_v9386]

Sorry im new here - how are they going to run it around Buttzville NJ? Feel like that area is beyond renovation right?

[@LackawannaCutOff]

That's the Old Road. That isn't part of any future rail route that is currently being proposed.

[@weenisw]

I assumed this was a bit of humor but I decided to double check and nope that’s a real place it seems.

[@donmoore7785]

@@weenisw A real place but not on this rail line.

[@buixrule]

Would be cool to see freight on this line.

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Very, very unlikely.

[@buixrule]

@@LackawannaCutOff Yeah I'm just pipe dreaming. Hey beggars can't be choosers. At least passenger service is on the horizon. Excellent video btw.

[@tennwilcox8663]

Chuck droning over a video😅

[@LackawannaCutOff]

Yes, something like that, lol.