Hike #126
Hike 126
Henry along the tracks in Stockertown
3/9/4
For my next trip, I was unfortunitely not able to get Tea Biscuit to join me, however I still
wanted to scout new sections, and was beginning to accept he would not be around for all
of them. Fortunitely, Henry (Matt Fenimore) was up for a long hike, and we were able to
spot cars at either end of a new section hike between Phillipsburg NJ and Belfast, PA.
Railroad tracks in Belfast PA
Junk yard (and a Camaro!) in Stockertown PA
Henry took this one of me on the Bushkill Creek Bridge. Not long after this picture was taken, this entire spur, the former Lehigh Valley Railroad, got washed out and was never repaired.
New development along the rail bed south of Tatamy PA
South of Tatamy PA
South of Tatamy PA
Old bridge south of Tatamy PA
Belfast was once the junction between several railroads including the DL&W, L&NE, and
Lehigh Valley. Where previously when Tea Biscuit and I walked on hike 110, I decided
we would walk a bit west and then south on another active rail line through the industrial
areas. As we came to the active tracks, there was a train moving there, and I recall talkin
to people working there about where the lines went. I was a bit worried we’d be in trouble
! At first we were in the woods, but soon found that it was best to stay clear of the main
right of way due to the busy looking industrial area lying ahead. We soon made our way
through a parking lot along the fill for Rt 33, and there were cameras mounted on the
buildings with many “No Trespassing” signs. We made our way along the rear ends of the
tractor trailers and then fought our way downhill to the active tracks under Rt 33. We
now were able to reach where Tea Biscuit and I hiked previously, down to the junction
with the Uhler Branch of the Lehigh and New England and the southbound Lehigh Valley
Rail line. Our route was southbound through the junkyard south of Stockertown, over
Bushkill Creek on a deck girder bridge, and south into Tatamy. Tracks were still in place
as an industrial spur into Tatamy, and we had to walk around the outside of a fence to get
to the next road. The rails were removed from here south, and there was a convenience
store in Tatamy where we stopped for a break. I got some chocolate milk.
Heading south along the Bushkill creek, the right of way was nice and clear, but we soon
had to leave it for the road where more buildings were built over it. This was no major
disaster, as the right of way was totally clear at the next road crossing, and we continued
south. It appeared that there was some work done on the right of way in this vicinity, as it
was a proposed rail trail even at this point. We passed a few houses to the west, then
continued through woodlands until we came out to a new developement under
construction. The rail route was still obvious at first, but when we reached the other side
we had to do some looking around. A new bridge was under construction below us to the
left, and there was no sign of a right of way there, and to the right there did not seem to be
anything either. Still, we followed the contour of the land and picked up the right of way
to the right, as we crossed an abandoned road and entered a shelf above the Bushkill
Creek to the west. There were soon some quarried areas to our right, and an abandoned
bridge over the creek to the left.
Old bridge across Bushkill Creek just north of Easton
Old bridge just north of Easton PA
As the shelf petered out, we continued on the west side of the creek, soon reaching what
appeart to be an old estate with a driveway heading uphill to the west. There was a little
bridge over a tributary and what appeared to be a spring house next to an old road bridge
to the east. Continueing south from here, the right of way paralleled a park to the east.
Eventually, we crossed an abandoned deck girder bridge with ties still in place over
Bushkill Creek. We continued as the area became a bit more developed with a few homes,
and we crossed the creek again to the west side after a road crossing, which I believe is
near Bushkill Park.
Just north of Easton on an old rail bed
Old rail bed in Easton
Section of former LV Railroad through industrial north Easton
Former LV rail bed at Taco Bell, Easton
Abandoned drive in movie, Easton
Abandoned drive in movie theatre, Easton
Bridge at Hugh Moore Park
Old coal chutes along Lehigh Canal, Easton
Ruins along Lehigh Canal, Easton
Ruins along Lehigh Canal, Easton
We again entered a high shelf, passing apartment buildings that may have been industrial
in the past. There was also an industrial place before that with some spur line rails still in
place. After crossing the next road, a paved trail ascended up hill to our right, but we
opted to stay on the right of way. The railbed was posted with “Not Trespassing” signs
from here, but we pretty much ignored them and continued south. We soon reached the
junction where the Lehigh Valley Railroad continued along Bushkill Creek into Easton,
the route we followed twice on the Easton hikes, which were numbers 47 and 62. The
right of way ahead was a bit intimidating, as it was obviously in very close proximity and
sorrounded by active industrial area. We hesitated for a moment, then said “screw it” and
walked quickly through. Soon we came out to the road at the other side to Wood Avenue
where we walked in the past Easton hikes. We continued on that route under Rt 22,
across Wood Ave, and onto a shelf coming out on Northampton Street behind a recieving
bay. We stopped at the Taco Bell here as I recall, but I’m not sure.
Continueing on the Lehigh Valley railroad right of way, when we reached the area near
William Penn Highway, a bridge we had used in the past had been removed, the right of
way ahead obliterated and a Wallgreens drug store and I think a mattrice place built on it.
We continued across, and even on the other side of Freemansburg Road where the railbed
was paved as a trail was closed as they were building a Home Depot next to the trail. We
headed a block up to pick up the right of way with a Jersey Central Rail line, now a trail,
which broke off the LV line here on it’s way to the CNJ main line along the Lehigh River.
South Easton bridge from Lehigh Canal
South Easton Trestle
CNJ bridge along the Lehigh in Easton
Lehigh River and South Easton Bridge from Lehigh Canal towpath
LV signal bridge, Phillipsburg
LV railroad bridge view
We walked the railbed, now a paved trail for some distance out to a municipal park where
we decided to take a shortcut south, as we still had quite a distance to walk. We came out
to a few roads heading south, and somehow found an abandoned drive-in movie theatre!
We of course had to go in and explore a bit. As we headed south, we found a paved trail
downhill on a switchback to the CNJ right of way. We opted to walk closer to the river on
another paved path out to another municipal park on the river near ballfields. We crossed
over the truss bridge into Hugh Moore Park and began walking the Lehigh Canal towpath
back into Easton. There is particularly beautiful scenery here with coal chutes between the
canal and Lehigh Valley Railroad above. We also checked out some building ruins, some
still in place along the canal.
Former LV railroad bridge from Phillipsburg Signal Bridge
Me on P Burg signal bridge
Delaware river trestle from Phillipsburg
Sunset over Easton from Union Square, Phillipsburg
After a while, the Lehigh Canal spilled off into the Lehigh River, as the canal used
slackwater from a dam from this point to where it ended at the Delaware River and canal.
When we reached the confluence of the rivers, where the Morris Canal, Lehigh Canal, and
Delaware Canal came together, we climbed up to the old Lehigh Valley Railroad bridge
and crossed the Delaware on it. I climbed up the old signal bridge again on the other side
for the view. We then climbed down to the Bel Del and walked to Union Square and the
end of the hike. We had quite a good full day!
Photography by Mike Helbing and Matt Fenimore
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