9/2/17 Washington to Delaware with Scott "Tea Biscuit"Helbing, Ken Zaruni, Jeff Trapani, Amanda Lance, Red Sean (Karl Franz), and Jacob Helbing
This next hike was posted to cover a bit more of the old Lackawanna main line again, part of the fist hike I ever organized in the first years of the group that became Metrotrails. I wanted to do it again as a night hike, since I hadn’t done it since March and I figured I should since it’s been twenty years since the first one. We met at Smiddy’s Liquor store in Delaware before shuttling to the south.
Where the bridge used to be at Jackson Ave
This would be the first time my little nephew Jacob would be joining us for a hike, making him one of the youngest to ever do one of them. He did surprisingly really very well considering all of the crap we ended up going through.
We shuttled down to Washington, and started walking on the old main line, which is now used as just a spur occasionally, and barely even for that any more.
The businesses that it used to serve has since closed down, and the tracks are now growing in quite badly. Even since March, it’s crazy to see them in the state of disrepair I saw them in this time.
Overgrown old main
There was so much vegetation you can’t even see the tracks any more, even though they are still in. It really goes to show that it’s time to try to start pursuing the trail connection for this before it’s really too late.
We headed out to where the Morris Canal used to pass beneath, and I pointed out the tops of the bridge abutments that are still in place. We then cut to the right where the spur track turns into what used to be American Can. Even this is growing in very fast. Within a short while we won’t be able to see the tracks on that any more either.
Spur to American Can
We cut to the left and started following the original main line rail bed away from the spur. I could barely even see the old ties that used to be so obvious below the grasses.
We passed by the former Warren Lumber area, then into the cut below Green Street. It was clear for a time there, and it wasn’t wet in the right of way at first for a little bit, which helped us some. It’s fortunate that Jeff was up for all of the craziness, because this was a hell of a first introduction to the group. It got worse and worse as we walked along the section approaching the back of the Warren Hills Regional High School, and there was a good amount more water.
Rail bed below Green St.
We continued along, fighting through brush, and Jacob wasn’t getting tired at all. He kept picking up pieces of junk he was finding along the right of way and wanted to bring them home with him. I often forget how much stupid crap I used to want to bring home while hiking with my grandfather, so this was a funny little reminder.
I pointed out where there used to be a red Volkswagon Bug along the path to the right when I was attending Warren Hills High School.
The right of way was badly eroded out as we approached the former bridge site at Jackson Valley Road. We had to climb up a bit to get out of it, and then carefully descended through weeds to reach the road. The ATV path down is getting pretty bad.
In Washington
On the other side, we used to take an ATV path to go up or down, but this was much more closed off by adjacent land owner. We had to climb more directly up the fill on the other side of the bridge site to reach the rail bed easily, and once we were up there it was far more grown over than it had been in past years.
We continued walking through as best we could. It wasn’t too terrible except for in a few places. I pointed out where the temporary 1856-1862 right of way of the main line went off to the right, gradually ascending to the fields. The route was used while work was being done to complete the Oxford Tunnel just to the north of us.
Where the bug used to sit on the rail bed, 1998
We fought through from the fill to the deeper cut, and made our way beneath the farm underpass that’s been long abandoned. We then continued across where a farm access passes at grade. At this point, we met two guys from the city out there walking.
Where the bug used to sit
I didn’t know who they were at first, but then they told me they were scoping out for the upcoming hunting season. I told them what we were up to, and they were rather impressed.
Where the tracks became overgrown in Washington
They said they have permission from the owners to be on it, and I mentioned the state parks owned the section to the south, but then they mentioned the Hengsts.
The rail bed in Washington
As I have mentioned in these past journals, I worked on the Hengst Farm for a couple of years while I was in high school. The guys mentioned Lenny and Ray, and we ended up having nice conversation. Lenny is like Mighty Mouse, a little guy who likes working in the hay loft, throwing hundred pound bails like nothing. Ray likes driving the big equipment, which Lenny doesn’t prefer to do, so they have a good thing going on. We headed on our way from here across another fill, and soon reached the cut at the approach to the Van Nest Gap (Oxford) Tunnel.
Jacob was really gung ho about the whole hike up to this point. He really didn’t want to go through, which was kind of surprising. I actually thought he’d be up for it.
Tunnel mouth
Unfortunately, had I know what was awaiting us ahead, I wouldn’t have been up for it either. I could still see the other side of the tunnel, so I didn’t think anything would be wrong.
We had just gone through the tunnel in March with the group with really no problems at all, so I figured everything would be the same.
We started walking, and got through most of the easy stuff, where it’s still dry. Tea Biscuit and Red Sean had prepared ahead of time to make a torch to pass through the tunnel with. This would actually be a huge help more so than anticipated.
Oxford Tunnel
The tunnel had remained in rather good shape for a very long time. It had no major collapses until 2005, when we discovered a rather major one a good distance in. I held off from going through the tunnel for a while, and then when I finally did realized it wasn’t so bad after all.
Torch fun
It’s been now over a decade with no further changes to the framework of the tunnel, and I didn’t anticipate anything would go wrong any time soon until this one.
When we climbed over the first cave in and I stepped in the water on the other side, I was very alarmed that I could no longer see daylight ahead. I didn’t say anything right away, but as I waled on I could start to make out that the tunnel had collapsed badly. This one probably covered two thirds of the opening rather than the lower amount from the 2005 collapse. I was thinking we were going to have to go back.
Tunnel torch
I pushed onward at least to get a better look at what the damage was. I chose to go up onto the cave in and have a look at the ceiling.
This was at roughtly the point where the original 1862 stone facing meets with the brick facing that was put in during a refurbish in 1906. The brick section was just ahead, but the stone section had all collapsed into the heap we were on, with rock directly above. Even worse, the remaining bit of stone facing straight ahead was “dimpled”, and an enormous rock was already broken off from the higher roof and teetering on the remaining bit of stone work.
The tunnel
It was unnerving being under that at all. I got down from it and the water was already just over knee deep. Usually, the tunnel water is only just over knee deeep at the very end of the west portal. This time, it was already deep because the fallen rock was damming it up more.
We were already so far through, there was no sense in really going back the way we came. I figured we could get through this and push through to the other end. I knew it might be my last time doing this for a long time, maybe ever.
At the tunnel
Amanda held back and helped Jacob get through the tough stuff. He didn’t like it a lot until we were well past the cave in, but even then he said something about being glad he did it, but that this was “the first and last time” he would do it. It’s amazing how adult like he sounds already, even at like five years old.
Tea Biscuit I think was getting the dog through, and then came back. I held back to help Amanda and Jacob when I could see the others were getting through alright. Once we were out, we headed through the muddy wet cut for a ways, and used the first moving water we could find to wash some of the silt off.
At the tunnel
We emerged on Axford Avenue in Oxford, just up the street from where Jacob lives. We sat on the railing by the rail cut, and I could see the Bob Dole for President bumper sticker, which had still partially been on the sign by the cut for almost twenty years, was now completely gone. I had walked through this section with my friend Buck (Andy Brosonski) back in ‘97, and he peeled off the first part of the sticker, and the corner had remained until this year. Nothing can ever stay the same; I guess I always knew the tunnels on the old Warren line would one day collapse, and no one will put money into saving them.
In Oxford
We walked up Axford Ave and turned right on Port Colden Street heading down hill. We then stopped in Mountain Valley Liquors because I needed a drink bad. I was pretty stressed from that tunnel walk, admittedly. I got some Weyerbacher, and we were on our way along Lower Denmark Road, following mostly the path of where the old rail line used to go.
We soon reached the former site of the Oxford Station, which only has the platform still in place. The station has been gone for forever and a day.
When I was little, Lower Denmark Road joined up with Rt 46 just north of the station site, but some time in the late 80s or early 90s it was moved and aligned with the road.
Historic image of Oxford Station
We continued on along the road; the rail bed moves away from the road onto private parallel land and is overgrown, so we had to follow the road to the paved trail part ahead.
Oxford Station site today
I wanted to hurry through this section, because there was an ass hat yelling at us for walking out that way somewhat recently, and chased us down and nearly hit us with his truck. We don’t need any of that, and so we quietly went by that house and were off into the woods.
Edison Quarry scene
It was in this section that the Pohatcong Railroad, which was owned by Thomas Edison, served the Oxford Quarry. It broke off from our left as we headed to the north. My brother Alex used to own a piece of it when he had his house in Oxford.
We made our way along the paved pathway out to Pequest Road in Buttsville where Alex showed up to pick Jacob up. He had done really very well, especially for his age. Maybe he’ll come out and do an entire one eventually. Amanda also decided to cut out at that point. I may have been delirious or something, because I know she left but I can otherwise never picture her getting in the car with Alex. I guess that happened though.
At Hot Dog Johnny's
We continued across Pequest Road and onto the unpaved right of way heading to the north. It led us past the site of Pequest Furnace and through the dramatic Pequest Cut, then we crossed the Pequest Viaduct to reach Rt 46.
This approach would be destroyed in October, so this would be the last time I’d ever go down this route the way I had since 1997 and earlier, though we didn’t know it at the time. I still don’t know what the NJ Department of Transportation Plan is for the site yet, but it seems the Pequest Viaduct is inaccessible, and this potentially severs a section of Warren Highlands Trail.
Tea Biscuit has some hot dogs
We followed the right of way on the other side of Rt 46, by which point it started raining pretty good. I think it started lightly just out of Oxford, but by this point it was coming down hard and pretty cold. This was all the more reason to descend from the rail bed and have a bite at Hot Dog Johnny’s. I only had a few bucks, but Jeff spotted us for the rest of it. I was pretty hungry too.
We hung out here for a bit and enjoyed the food. We must have looked like a mess coming in out of the rain, when they were getting ready to close up. A young guy doing the mopping looked none too happy about it, but oh well. When we were done eating, Red Sean decided to call it quits as well.
Jeff enjoys some hot dogs
Jeff, Ken, Tea Biscuit, and I climbed steeply up the slope across 46 from Johnny’s, then turned left on the rail bed.
We made our way left on a parallel path that circumnavigates a section of the rail bed obliterated through the quarrying, and then descended to cross a more level area. I was slipping a bit because it was so muddy from the rain.
We came out at the far end of the sand quarry, and even it seemed aligned differently where the ATV path accessed. We continued then across Rt 519 at Bridgeville Station, which was still not demolished despite the fire that occurred there just several months earlier. Hopefully the old station will just get a new roof and remain.
It continud to rain for a bit, but eventually let up a bit before we finished. We crossed over Hope Crossing Road, followed by Sarepta Road, then Upper Saretpa Road, all with the right of way clear as ever. We then skirted it at the approach to Manunka Chunk Tunnels.
1960s view of Manunka Chunk
It was wet as ever approaching the east portal of the tunnel, and crossing Catherine’s Run on the old wooden planks was a bit too slippery, but we all got by with no real problem.
We even passed through Manunka Chunk Tunnel, usually the more stressful of the two, without incident.
1913 flood at Manunka Chunk
The tunnel there has been prone to flooding ever since it was built. It seems like an unwise place do build because Catherine’s Run flows right through the right of way. Regardless, we got through that and followed the section beyond with no trouble. I think we skipped the section at Ramseyburg because Rt 46 was an easier shot and we were tired of being wet. Also, the slope up there would have been deadly in the mud to try to get down!
The hike left me with a lot ot think about. This was a definite realization that change is inevitable, and not always for the better. It was rather mournful for me to think it would be the last group through Oxford Tunnel, maybe ever. It had always been a staple, but it’s also a reminder that we need to be fresh. There needs to be new staples. The old Warren Railroad hike will always be changing. While I never have to stop doing the anniversary hike, it will never be the same experience it was.
I also made phone calls to NJ DOT. The collapse at the tunnel was so bad that it could be undermining the integrity of Rt 46 above. It’s been almost fifty years since the tunnel has seen a bit of maintenance, and the amount on the floor from the collapse is alarming. The state will have a nightmare with this, because they can’t just blast it shut. The tunnel is now a permanent waterway. If it were stopped, the cut on the north side would fill up with thirty feet deep water and cause other liability issues, maybe worse ones. It does have to remain open. Maybe the answer will actually be to make it into a tourist draw. If they could do what was done with famous trail tunnels like the Paw Paw Tunnel on C&O Canal, or the Poe Mountain Tunnel in the Penn’s Creek area, it could be an economic benefit to the area. Either way, something needs to be done, and I intend to be part of it.
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