Hike #598; Wilkes Barre and Eastern

 Hike #598; Wilkes Barre and Eastern Railroad

11/26/11 Wilkes Barre and Eastern Railroad, Moosic to Wilkes Barre with Shelly Janes, Danny Janes, Jack Lowry, Victor Savitskiy, Susan Eckhardt, Doug Bradley, and Jason Kumpas

Along the WBE Susquehanna Connector Railroad bed

My next hike would be a point to point to complete the old Wilkes Barre and Eastern Railroad, the last in a series I'd been working on for a couple of years.

This time, to finish the WBE line we only had to go from where we'd left off at Dupont near Pittston PA to Wilkes Barre, but that would only be something like seven miles, so I added to the beginning the old WBE Susquehanna Connector Railroad that was built in 1894 to the beginning, just another branch of the same line. We would cover the branch from Moosic south as well.

At K Mart in Minooka PA

After meeting at the McDonalds on South River Street in Wilkes Barre, we shuttled to the beginning point, the shopping center with the K Mart and Big Lots in Moosic. I found a Google Earth link that had showed me all of the former railroads between Wilkes Barre and Scranton and had a field day the night before going through all of them. I found out where we needed to go, which was right behind the K Mart.

View into Lackawanna Valley behind Moosic K Mart

Lackawanna valley, Moosic PA

Lackawanna valley, Moosic PA

Descending from the K Mart

Lackawanna River from the WBE rail line

Walking the rail bed near K Mart in Moosic

Big tank in the woods

We made our way around the fence line behind the store, and then began to descend through grasses that had been frozen the night before. The frozen dew on the grass got our feet way earlier on in the hike than we'd hoped to have happen. Either way, it warmed up so much that we were fine within an hour or so.

This was the Moosic Breaker historic location, a wide field that also once had a narrow gauge rail line in it. There was no sign of anything except for a trench going through the center which may or may not have been significant to rails or mining.

As we descended, we could see a through style truss bridge to the left over the Lackawanna River. This would have been the Central Railroad of NJ's line heading north to Scranton area. The Delaware and Hudson Railroad that Jillane and I had recently followed would have stayed on our side of the river, and they had a junction point called Minooka.

The Moosic Branch that we were following would have ended right in here. We began following the historic route, although at first there was nothing to even recognize. We walked toward the active tracks and the trestle, and a rail bed soon became evident in the disturbed area. We were able to follow it along the river on a high shelf for a bit, but it became hard to say exactly which spot it was in. Apparently the shelf on which it sat had been obliterated by later construction. We ended up walking an ATV path which was probably higher up than the rail bed.

The ATV paths went by a giant metal tank. This area, known as Oak Hill, once had a narrow gauge railroad on it, as well as a Colliery that was in operation until 1888.

Probably the Moosic Branch

We eventually regained what we thought was probably the right of way, but it disappeared all too soon when we got to where the PA Turnpike obliterated it. We came to a cut in the path when we saw the bridge over the Lackawanna River. The area was also getting much more disturbed and not flat enough to be a rail bed at this point.As we neared the bridge, we were very close to someone firing off a gun. We ducked down as we walked through the area. An ATV path descended to below the fill for the PA Turnpike and we went down to the former CNJ and D&H railroad tracks.

PA Turnpike bridge over Lackawanna River

PA Turnpike underpass on former CNJ tracks

Former Minooka Branch/WBE

Danny climbing to get insulators near Moosic

The gun shots stopped as soon as we got down within sight of the bridge, thankfully. The former Oak Hill Narrow Gauge railroad apparently had the highway built over it in the area south of us.

We walked along the tracks for a bit because there was very little sign of the Mossic Branch to the left of the active tracks. I figured it was obliterated when the highway bridge was built by construction vehicles.

I soon saw a grade above us, so we all went up to walk on it. It was pretty obviously the Moosic Branch, and we were able to follow it for a little bit until it again was obliterated. Danny climbed up an old telegraph pole to retrieve some insulators while the rest of us ascended. When the line ended, I made my way through woods to see if I could find any more remnants, but ended up having to come back out.

Danny retrieving insulators along the former CNJ line, Moosic

I'm not sure if the line we were walking was referred to as the "Moosic" or "Minooka Branch", because I think I've seen both.

We continued walking south along the active tracks once again until I saw another spot where the rail bed seemed to resume. This time, the right of way was getting much higher up than the active line below. I knew it needed to do so to get to the Minooka Junction where the Lackawanna Viaduct once spanned the river and other rail lines. Across from us on the other side of the river was the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western's line which was also still active at this point.

WBE Moosic Branch

Minooka Branch

Awesome culvert below the rail bed

Victor on the rail bed

The rail bed after crawling through Rhododendrons

The right of way was now walkable, but one could tell that not many would make the attempt. In many parts there was a luch green moss on the surface. The narrow shelf was washed away a bit in some spots. At one point we got to an area with thick Rhododendrons where we actually had to crawl on our hands and knees in order to get through.

We continued ahead rather easily on the rail bed, and it started to turn away from the river and the active rail lines. Somewhere in this section was the historic location of Lackawanna Viaduct, a large presumably steel bridge that carried the Old Forge Branch of the WBE across the valley. The area became wider and was certainly the site, but we didn't see anything. We continued south as the rail bed became a more used dirt road.

The road made a turn to the right when the rail bed disappeared under the interchange between Rt 11 and 81. We continued along the road and came out onto Rt 11 and turned right. There was a convenience store we took advantage of, and it had Clover Farms Chocolate milk which I love. Many of us actually had some. Jack laughed and picked on the fact that one pint of that had fifty percent of needed daily calories or something. I hope we burnt it off.

We soon turned left onto Springbrook Ave. There was another convenience store I ran into for some Tilt. We then continued under the 81 bridge. This was also apparently an iron and coal company location back in the 1880s. To the left of us was another railroad right of way, a D&H spur line that ended at industries soon ahead.

Spring Brook, Moosic PA

Lane's Lifts...owned by the sons of a former hiking friend

Old Powder Mill road in Moosic PA

Spring Brook Viaduct location

Spring Brook Viaduct south abutment

Old road near Spring Brook viaduct site

View from Spring Brook Viaduct site

We continued along the road and soon came to he intersection with Powder Mill Road where we turned right. On the corner was Lane's Lifts, a hydraulic lift company owned by the sons of an old hiking friend, Howard Lane, who had hiked the old Lehigh Valley Railroad abandonment with me on New Years day many years before. He now has dementia and is in an assisted living home, sadly.

We headed up Powder Mill Road and could see the one remaining abutment of the Spring Creek Viaduct. The Susquehanna Connecting Railroad of the WBE crossed over the Spring Brook here on another huge trestle that is now gone.

I also found another interesting fact in my research, that the early Spring Brook Railroad once passed beneath this railroad and under 81 where we passed as well. This old rail line was one who's right of way we walked briefly the day we started at Watres Reservoir and ended in Dupont. I can find very little on this former rail line and why it existed.

Danny on the south abutment of Spring Brook Viaduct

We climbed to the top of the viaduct's only remaining abutment, and it was amazing to look across and imagine what this amazing bridge would have been like. We could see no abutment on the other side, only a few scattered stones that might have been part of it. It was certainly destroyed for the construction of Rt 81 across.

View from Spring Brook Viaduct site

There was also a fantastic view out to the mountains to the northwest. This hike was opening up many more worlds of hiking opportunities for me, with all of the rail lines and trails that weave through the area.

We made our way into the woods from the viaduct site and were able to follow the rail bed easily.

WBE Susquehanna Connector Railroad just south of Spring Brook Aqueduct site

Presumably an old mine entrance from above

Erie Railroad Hilltop Junction site with WBE

Former Erie Railroad at Hilltop

Ruins along Erie Railroad bed

Abandoned along the WBE south of Hilltop and Moosic

WBE Susquehanna Connector Railroad

ATVs had been using the right of way ahead, but turned onto the more prominent routes to the left and right of us, and we continued on the WBE line south through a cut. Along the way, we found what appeared to be a shut off old mine to the right side of the right of way. It had wood at it's entrance, and I climbed over top to have another look. I wasn't going to dare step over what could be a deep entrance.

We continued on, and an active track appeared ahead. This was the site of the former Hilltop Junction between WBE and Erie Railroad lines. Many coal breakers and such were up on this hilltop. Just to the south of us was the Wlkes Barre Scranton International Airport. We could see and hear planes landing close by. To the right of us was a giant fill of dirt that had been built up for the runway. I was worried we'd not be able to follow the line being so close to the air port, but we had no problems.

We followed at first an ATV path parallel with the somewhat active and cleared railroad tracks for convenience, then got on the tracks themselves. The rails were not rusty, but didn't appear to be used very much. Danny and I spotted another rail grade to the right, probably another former Erie branch, and followed it up to a spot where there were a few ruins, but nothing spectacular.

We made our way back down to the WBE tracks which took us along the hillside and turned south.

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

Abandoned dynamite plant

We continued south and the PA Turnpike was soon close to us, below to the east. The railroad was on a shelf with many other paths going off to the right. The area must have once been full of rail lines.

As we walked, we spotted an abandoned building off to the right of the tracks. Danny and Shelly went up to check it out, but it didn't look like anything big.

We continued on, and after making a corner, the tops of a large building came into view to the right. This was the ruins of the abandoned dynamite factory of Moosic. Jason Kumpas told us later in the day that the place had exploded several times before they finally closed it up.

We climbed up the hillside to the buildings, of which there appeared to have been at least five or so. There was a large main building to the left, then a long building to the right. A few more foundations were further back. Shelly and Danny showed up on an old road that must have connected the building that they went in with this one.

I went over to the upper building first. There were blocks of wood stepping up over two tiers to reach the entrance. There were several rooms all in a line. No roof remained on any building here. It seemed like the south wall of each room had some sort of crazy graffiti on it. It was actually not vulgar and quite interesting looking.

I made my way down the line to each of the rooms, and then descended on a set of steps back down over the two tiers.

I realized stepping down that these tiers were actually rail beds. There were narrow gauge tracks going along either end for loading and unloading presumably. There were still some ties in place, and they were much smaller than that of the standard gauged railroad. I then entered the largest building. More so than the previous building, this one was very obvious that it had burned. The north facing section was originally made of wood, but only one east side framework was still standing, with a little piece of swiveled tin room. There was a smaller building across that might have actually been connected with this one prior to burning. The main room had a concrete thing up the center of it, and there was a smaller, tall room to the west.

The main room had obviously once had two floors, but the I Beams that had supported the second story were cut off with some sort torch, probably for scrap. I made my way out of the building and then up to the level above the two levels of rail bed to find yet another rail bed directly behind the longer building. I followed it to the left, which led to yet another ruin of a building. This one was just the foundation with most of the structure of the building collapsed into it. Danny joked that this was the swimming pool.

The coolest part about this building was that we could still see hangers on the walls, below which was painted a picture of the tool that belonged in that space. When Shelly walked up, I pointed to it and commanded that all tools must be returned to their appropriate locations. Danny and Doug noticed that the rail bed was leading to the tracks where we wanted to end up anyway, so we continued down them. There was another building foundation we passed on the right that had only the frame to some steps still existing.

Soon, we came to a pile of debris blocking the right of way, after which there was a whole line of ties still in place. We continued to descend and soon came to where both the siding and the WBE lines crossed over the PA Turnpike.

Spur line crossing PA Turnpike

View south on PA Turnpike

View north of PA Turnpike

WBE line after the Turnpike bridges

Tracks heading south

The spur line into the dynamite plant had it's own bridge over the PA Turnpike next to the WBE tracks. The junction site was just after both bridges. We could see up and down the PA Turnpike from here. There appeared to be somewhat of a grade to the right of the southbound 476 which might have been another rail line, but not sure.

After crossing, the tracks continued to parallel the Turnpike for a little while, and then there was a switch where the used tracks continued to the right, while the original Susqhehanna Connector went left and was obviously little used. It continued ahead into a cut, and weeds began to appear growing from between the rails and ties.

Now abandoned WBE Susqhehanna Connector Railroad

WBE Susquehanna Connector Railroad at New Rail Dam

"New Rail Dam" along WBE line

View toward Scranton/Wilkes Barre Airport

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

We soon came to "New Rail Dam", at what was referred to as a Spring Brook Intake Pond on Google. The tracks went out onto a dam that impounded water on the left, with a house close by. A guy was out cutting fire wood I think, and watched us as we walked on by across the top of the dam. There were a couple other houses on the opposite shore, and a nice flat rock reaching to the creek on the far side.

We continued around a corner on the tracks, which continued to get more overgrown at this point. Now, young pine trees were making their way up out of the tracks. We got to a point that was more open on a higher shelf where we could see the observation tower of the airport, and beyond to the mountains and valley of the southwest.

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad bridge

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Susquehanna Connector Railroad

Seasonal view from the tracks

Susquehanna Connector Railroad near Suscon

We soon reached a point where someone had been removing sections of the rails. Rather than pull the spikes out that held them in place, it appeared they had been using a torch and cutting parts of the heads off of them altogether. We continued on the ties, and the rails soon resumed.

There was a good clear section for a while, and we went through a really cool cut that was kind of narrow until coming out to the access road which led to a distribution center or something that I think was Herr's Foods. Langen Road paralled the tracks very closely in this section, and so I chose to head over to that. The tracks ahead were very overgrown and weren't worth going through for how close we could be on the road.

We followed the road, and it became Freeport Road. We then turned left off of the road back onto the rail bed. It was a little weedy to get through at first when we crossed the next road, Sathers Drive, but as we got more into woods it got easier. We also crossed a bridge still in place over a little creek.

At one point, it got difficult to follow due to heavy thorn growth, so we had to ascend to the left up hill a bit, then come back down to it when it got clearer. There was also another section of rails that had been cut off in this vicinity.

We soon came closely parallel with Renfer Road, and a couple other ATV accesses joined which made walking along the tracks much easier for a time. We continued along, and again the railroad tracks turned away from the road into more woods. It wasn't long and we had some seasonal views off to our right into the valley, and the main Wilkes Barre and Eastern railroad bed appeared above us on a much higher shelf.

Rails cut off at Suscon Road

We soon reached Suscon Road. Doug pointed out the fact that the name "Suscon" was actually named for the "Susquehanna Connector", something that probably should have been more obvious but that I didn't realize. The rails had been cut, and there was a steep slope to descend to the pavement.

View west from Suscon Road

Suscon Road offered us a lovely view of the mountains beyond.

WBE railrod at Suscon Junction

WBE railroad just west of Suscon Junction

We crossed over Suscon Road, and then made our way around on probably the former alignment of the road onto the Wilkes Barre and Eastern again, at the former site of Suscon Junction. I had already been here before on the previous hike. We made this spot, where the Suscon Station once was, our lunch break. I had some nutty bars that I'd gotten earlier at the convenience store.

After eating, we continued on the rail bed, which was now more obliterated than the previous time.

New road construction from the railroad bed

Another old rail line south of Suscon

Unknown rail right of way below Suscon

Unknown rail rights of way below Suscon

Unknown rail rights of way below Suscon

Unknown rail right of way below Suscon

Unknown rail right of way below Suscon

The ground was all very disturbed. A new development road had been put in across the right of way, and was paved and landscaped already to a certain degree.

We continued only shortly beyond and realized the rail bed would dead end ahead from the construction, so we cut over to the right onto some dirt roads through the area. In doing this, I inadvertently came across what must have been several other old rail beds, criss crossing and connecting through the area.

I knew there was once a junction in the area out on the first "S" curve known as "Westminster Junction", where the Central Railroad of NJ's Everhart Branch connected with the WBE, but all signs of this junction had been erased by construction of a large distribution center at the site.

I noted what looked like a right of way, but at first thought it was a retention pond until I saw the size of the tree stumps. Trees had recently been removed that were far to old to be on the edge of a modern retention pond. I turned right, then left along another right of way leading off into the woods. This led to another little junction, with another side path leading right and then back to rejoin the one it started from to the left. These lines were up on built up fills and were certainly not roads. They had to have been for railroad or tram way.

Unknown rail right of way below Suscon

The rights of way were located well before the "S" curve where once was the Westminster Junction, so I am at a loss as to what all of these lines could have been.

Construction area below Suscon. The Berm is the former WBE grade.

View across a new road construction of the former WBE grade.

Shelly coming up to the rail bed from the new roads

We continued as the little rail lines disappeared and we descended off into a brushy field parallel with the east end of the distribution center. We made our way across, and then over a berm and a small waterway onto another dirt road used for recent construction. From this road, we turned right and made our way down hill next to a scenic little creek they  had managed to keep from developing right to the edge, complete with a small oasis of woods around it.

The dirt road took us down hill and back to the edge of the new paved road that had recently been constructed. We made our way up onto the paved road to an intersection with another paved road on the left. There was an earth mover and a tractor parked in the area, but we couldn't find the keys to get them started and didn't want to do any hot wiring.

It was at this intersection that the WBE once passed through. I recognized the fill on the east side as being it from previously. After turning left on this road, another immediately broke to the right to simply dead end after maybe thirty feet. We went up to the former rail fill here.

The former WBE grade is now a knife edge of dirt, topped with occasional black cinder

Wilkes Barre and Eastern Railroad between Suscon and Dupont

View from the WBE rail bed near Dupont

The fill was half plowed away, much in the way it was previously. A knife edge was all that remained of the former grade, occasionally topped with black cinder dirt looking almost like a topping on an ice cream cone. This time, the right side of where we were walking was planted over with ornamental grass, which looked odd on such a steep slope.

We could see across from where we climbed up where the rail bed once went. As we walked around the remainder of the "S" curve, the right of way widened to it's recognizable state and turned again to the southwest. It was here we got the great view out over the Lackawanna and Susquehanna Valleys.

WBE cut near Dupont

WBE rail bed near Dupont

WBE grade near Dupont

It was nice to see the really cool railroad cut at the end of the last bit of "S" curve still intact, though I wouldn't expect it to stay that way  much longer. There was obviously heavy construction going on on a daily basis throughout this area, including up to and through the cut.

WBE railroad cut near Dupont

View from the WBE rail bed near Dupont

WBE rail bed in Dupont

Leaving the Wilkes Barre and Eastern cut near Dupont

WBE rail bed in Dupont PA

View from the WBE rail bed, Dupont PA

We went on through the cut, and the view on the opposite side across the valleys was as great as I remembered it. Below us there was a guy walking out to a giant Komatsu earth mover, wearing a construction hat. He saw us, but did not try to flag us down or anything. We continued on the rail bed which had some heavy machine tracks on it.

WBE rail bed, Dupont PA

View from the WBE rail bed, Dupont PA

View from the WBE rail bed, Dupont PA

WBE rail bed view, Dupont

View from the WBE rail bed, Dupont PA

In this area, I got a text message from Jason Kumpas, who really wanted to go on this hike but had to tend to family matters. It was ironic that he was nearby enough that he would be able to join us right at the point where we left off on this line during the previous hike! He was heading to park his car at the same park and ride lot we'd used before and join us for the remainder of the Wilkes Barre and Eastern's main line he really wanted to do.

We continued on along the cleared rail bed out to a business and turned off on it's storage lot.

Pipes along the WBE rail bed

View from WBE rail bed, Dupont

The WBE rail bed is visible in the hillside from Armstrong Road, Dupont

We turned right to descend via the access road out to Armstrong Road. On the way down, the man wearing the hard had we had seen from the rail bed was walking in from the open field area and up to a jeep or something that was parked along the access road. He didn't give us any trouble, but rather commented "nice day for a walk" much in the way that I always do when I greet people.

At Armstrong Road, we turned left and headed along an open section of road. From the road, we could look up into the industrial area and at one point see the former WBE grade shelved below one of the buildings.

Maintain a speed of no greater than 35 on this lawn!

Abandoned former Armstrong Road

Passing under PA Turnpike on Rt 315

We made our way out to where the former route of Armstrong Road was, now abandoned, and turned off into the grass pass a "Speed Limit 35" sign that was left there. We then crossed a section of pavement that still had it's yellow lines, now used for equipment storage. We went straight through a line of cedar trees and came out on Centerpoint Boulevard, and turned right under the PA Turnpike, Rt 476. I could see nothing of where the WBE would have crossed.

We turned off of Centerpoint and down along the edge of a retention basin along Rt 315 out to Oak Street, across from the commuter lot where Jason was parked. Together, we turned left through the commuter lot and and onto a grassy hill, then descended to the 315 underpass below the PA Turnpike.

Along Rt 315, under 476, Dupont

Old road, Dupont PA

Possible old rail bed?

Old mine area

Woods near Pittston PA

Toilet near Pittston PA

Old mining areas near Pittston, Jenkins Junction

Shack near Jenkins Junction

Near Jenkins Junction

We passed under on the slanted slope, and made our way down past a couple neat abandoned roads as well as a business on the right. Jason pointed out just at the corner of the business how something to the right looked like a railroad right of way. I agreed, but thought the WBE line was a bit further down. I was wrong.

The line Jason had noticed crossing here was indeed the original WBE right of way we should have turned at. We instead continued on and bushwhacked a utility right of way to get to the active former Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks, which went from the rest of the line I'd followed from White Haven on it's way to Falls.

Once at the tracks, we didn't see how there could possibly have been a rail bed on the utility right of way. We continued south on the LV line, and I saw what appeared to be a bridge site, but the top looked nothing like a rail bed. There were a bunch of oddities in the woods there; piles of rubble and tailings, old mine entrances, a toilet, a shanty building, etc. Not much looked like rail line though.

We made our way through the rubble strewn area of hills, tailings, and junk and then descended steeply to the power line again, to follow it west. Curiously, while the first section of power line to the Lehigh Valley Railroad was not a railroad line, this section was supposedly the route of the Wilkes Barre and Eastern's connection with the LV grade. Perhaps it used one of the above ground wooden trestle systems? If only we had known we were just south of the main rail line route. This area was known as Jenkins Junction.

We followed the power line and then crossed over Pittston Ave. Although we saw nothing, this site was supposed to be where the junction between the main WBE and the connector to the LV track was. I don't see how it could have worked because the power line heading up hill ahead of us was rather steep, a slope a rail line would not have conquered.

Power line that was supposed to be part of the WBE rail bed

Even as we reached the top of the hill and continued on the power line, it did not at all look like it could have been the railroad bed. My best guess is that the rail bed came in from the north side of the power line, crossed it at a site that is now obscured at Pittston Ave, and then went where new homes were constructed directly to the south and parallel with the power line. This makes more sense as the rail bed became evident in that area further ahead. The power line soon got closer to new homes, which we skirted on the left. We were walking on mowed grass following the power lines, and at one time a home owner had put reflectors on a stone bedding bordering their lawn, apparently to stop cyclists and ATV riders from driving onto their land.

We soon went out to the right, to Passan Drive which ran right along side the former Delaware and Hudson Railroad tracks, still active at this point. The main Wilkes Barre and Eastern would have turned away to the left at this point along the edge of a few industries. We would not have been able to easily get through the yards and businesses here, so we instead crossed the tracks and got on a right of way on the opposite side. This was also the Wilkes Barre and Eastern, it's connector with the D&H line. Just barely west of here was Yatesville Junction, it was called.

WBE line near Yatesville Junction

We walked along the right of way, which was nice and clear and started gaining elevation away from the D&H line below to the left. We then came to a

Old mail truck along the WBE grade

Along WBE grade

Old mail truck along WBE grade

Along this stretch we found abandoned old mail trucks as well, three of them. Danny and Jack got into one.

After a little bit, just barely after the first warehouse building on the left across the active tracks, there was a single bridge abutment, with nothing on the other side. I did not know this at the time, but this was where the WBE main line joined with the connector to the D&H. This was also the site of Yatesville Station, which would have been next to the right of way here. We did not see any remnants. In addition, there would have been a turntable at this site which we did not even think to look for. Beyond, there was apparently once a yard as well.

View along WBE rail bed

We continued very clearly along the rail bed until we approached Laflin Road. I believe we had to turn away from it just before here. I recall the ATV path turned away from the rail bed and lost some of it's gradual terrain. The path took us out on Laflin Road. Rather than stay on the rail bed because it would be inaccessible, we turned right up Laflin Road, and then left onto an old woods road of some sort. It actually had some pavement on it, but was long abandoned.

Old road near Laflin PA

WBE rail bed, Laflin PA

WBE rail bed, Laflin PA

We continued along this, passed two intersections with other abandoned paved roads, and came out on a gas right of way or something. We followed this briefly, then turned left down hill to regain the railroad bed.

This next section was actually pretty nice, wide and clear. We made our way along the route which soon skirted the backs of people's  yards, but remained cleared by ATVs until we got to East Saylor Street/Mail Road.

Mining area on the former WBE line

We crossed the road directly, and then headed slightly right behind a building on the obvious former railroad bed. This took us into a heavily disturbed area, apparently a huge strip coal mine. There was definitely coal in the rock, but it also looked like many trap rock quarries I'd seen. We skirted along the edge of the steep slope for a bit.

WBE rail bed along the mining area

The rail line actually skirted the north side of the quarried area for a bit, and we saw the right of way. We recognized it as the right of way but questioned whether or not this was it or not. As it turned out, the line skirted the north end and then made a sharp turn to the left, a site that is now obliterated from the mining.

Maxwell Drift area quarry

Quarry

Quarry

View from the quarry

Quarry

Quarry

Quarry

The area is marked  historically as "Maxwell Drift". We stayed atop the edge of a steep drop off, which looked really cool. This area also offered us some great views to the southwest. We continued along the ledge until there was a sort of switch backing roadway, not in great shape, descending into the quarried out area. Jason had reservations about going actually into the quarry, but to stay at the top of the slopes also looked dangerous and would take quite a bit more time. I opted to head down into the quarry via the switch back and cross directly. I used my GPS going across so that we would emerge exactly where the rail bed came out from under the disturbed area. I was a little worried when we finally saw it because there was something to the right of it that looked like it could have been a fill as well, and I didn't know to expect if the line was in a cut or on a fill at this point, but all worked out.

Quarry view

To the right of us there was a great view off across the valley once more. I made my way down the steep slope of quarried tailings first to make sure that the route we were heading to was the correct one.

WBE rail bed as seen from the quarry pile

Descending from the quarry to the rail bed

Once everyone had safely made it down from the top of the pile, we continued on a nicely cleared railroad bed for a nice long stretch of woods. The right of way continued in the last big swath of woods we would pass through on this hike before being in more urban areas.

WBE rail bed near Hilldale

Sunset at Madiera Breaker site

Sunset at Madiera Breaker site

We continued along the rail bed toward the area of Hillside PA. While walking this nice section, we came across some incredible mountain biking jumps with a group of kids riding on them. They were incredibly well constructed, and some of them even using stones. Two kids crossed the path in front of us, and waited somewhat cautiously to the right side as we passed by. We commented on how it was a nice track they'd built, and I invited them to show us their stuff. They didn't hesitate to take off, and continue with an incredible display of jumps and turns on their course, quite a thing to see!

Sunset at Madiera Breaker

Sunset at Madiera Breaker

Sunset almost done

The rail bed soon skirted the rears of more homes yet again, and we turned away to follow a path further up above. The shape of the line was effected by development so it was again a questionable place to figure out where to go. Danny and I tried following a little spur, but it ended in a small creek valley. We soon found that the right of way was actually down along the backs of the houses, and kept clear by bikes, so we didn't hesitate to follow it. There was a huge pile of coal and tailings in this area, and the sun was setting beautifully, so we climbed to the top of the pile to watch it. Amazing.

Sunset from Plains PA

Sunset from Plains PA

WBE rail bed in Plains PA

Plains PA night view from cemetery

In Plains PA

This site was once known as the Madiera Breaker. We continued as the rail bed skirted on a shelf next to the intersection of Grace Drive and Garden Drive, and then continued along the backs of people's houses. The line remained clear and took us all the way out to Williams Street in Plains PA. The very last leg of this was through someone's yard, but no one gave us a hard time.

We turned right up Williams Street to a cemetery on the left hand side. I was not happy to see that it was fenced off with sharp topped chain link. I made my way down steps into the cemetery to see if there was a way out on the other side, but there was not. The WBE rail bed ahead was obliterated, so we wouldn't have been able to go through people's yards. Danny tried and got away with it, but I wasn't going to bring the group through. There was one section of the rail bed ahead that had had a small street built over it, and one other space we could get through by way of a parking spot, but it would have involved pointless out and back walking, so we instead walked out to Garden Street to Hopkings Street. We then turned left on Mill Street, and then right onto the former Delaware and Hudson Railroad, still active. This line was one that WBE had trackage rights on anyway. The WBE was actually a short distance away from us to the right this entire time, as it passed by Plains Station, then went through what was now a school yard with ball fields and then an industrial area.

There were a couple of rail beds below us to the left. The Central Railroad of NJ had something called the Canal branch closer to the creek below, and the WBE had the Algonquin Siding, which connected with the D&H. We continued on along the active tracks, only once having to scurry down to the other abandonment when a trail came through fast.

Walkway on truss bridge, Wilkes Barre

Truss bridge near the end in Wilkes Barre

After the train had passed, we continued back up to the tracks and headed west into Wilkes Barre. It was now quite dark, and we passed under Rt 309 followed by a grade crossing of South Main Street. We knew by this time we were nearly finished.

We soon came to a huge through style truss bridge over a creek, just past Algonquin Junction. Somewhere just around Rt 309 the WBE joined with the track we were following. We were now on it heading to South River Street. We crossed the bridge on a nice metal walkway next to the tracks.

Jack on the bridge

We made our way out to the bridge over River Street, and turned off the tracks to the road. We crossed River Street with care, and passed the McDonalds back to the cars. I wasn't quite finished at this point, however, because I had not yet seen the Susquehanna River.

Done...almost..Wilkes Barre PA

I walked across the parking lot behind a large building that was in the parking lot we used. There was a small access road that sharply turned to the right. I made my way onto it, and could see the railroad trestle as well as the road bridge up stream over the Susquehanna River. This was the first of all of my connective hikes that reached the Susquehanna, another milestone I had long wanted to meet. I've now connected this site by foot with countless other places, and it was an incredible moment. The back of the building was lit with tiki torches that lit up the edge of the river adding to the ambiance. Danny came over to have a look at the river as well before we headed on.

My first view of the Susquehanna on my continuously connected hikes. Wilkes Barre PA

We had a nice dinner at Jason Kumpas's favorite pizza place in Old Forge to finish off the night of another fantastic hike.