Along the towpath

[Kree8tiviT]

A Lehigh Valley freight at Lucy's Crossing...

Exiting Lucy's Crossing, westbound towards Bethlehem, along Island Park Road & the Lehigh Canal

They encounter the "Josiah White"....a mule-drawn canalboat of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co.

The mule team of "Kate" & "Hank"

Along the towpath......

and reaching the "Chain Dam", the Lehigh Canal guard lock #8

I still need to create a Locktender's house to match the prototype one that still stands at this location........but for now, this has to do.

All screnes from my route "Lehigh Valley - Forks of the Delaware"...a continuous work-in-progress.

Regards,
Mark

 

[gfisher]

Very nice work.

 

[cascaderailroad]

The Canal period only lasted for @ 15 years and was over around 1815. I find all of the Pennsylvania canal system(s) facinating ! It took upwards of 3 weeks to get from Phila via Reading-Harrisburg-Hollidaysburg-Johnstown-Pittsburgh to St Louis. Those scenes are quite moving !(slowly moving)

 

[UP5521]

amazing shots!

 

[SPNGTyler]

The Canal period only lasted for @ 15 years and was over around 1815. I find all of the Pennsylvania canal system(s) facinating ! It took upwards of 3 weeks to get from Phila via Reading-Harrisburg-Hollidaysburg-Johnstown-Pittsburgh to St Louis. Those scenes are quite moving !(slowly moving)

I thought they ended due to the railroads comming in. Which meant they would have ended much later than 1815.

 

[cascaderailroad]

I thought they ended due to the railroads comming in. Which meant they would have ended much later than 1815.

The canal period started @ 1790 and truely ended in 1815 when the railroads started to cross Pennsylvania...the PRR Horseshoe Curve was opened for service in 1854...the Civil war was not until 1870 or thereabouts (I dunno...i wasn't born in the waybackdays, then).

 

[gfisher]

I don't have references handy, but I don't believe many railroads got started in the US before 1829 or so, and the canals remained in service for many years thereafter, though with declining revenues.

 

[SPNGTyler]

Yea. Thats whats it was. Railroads realy didnt take off till the 1830s, and even then the canals still remained open. Some even into the 1880s!

And the civil war was 1860-1865

 

[simulatortrain]

When I first saw the title, I wondered if (hoped?) you were talking about the WM beside the C&O canal. But this is looking amazing, and I'd sure run it, too!

 

[iceman2117]

hi, ...


Thats is awesome, stunning Atmophäric ..
Luv it.

greets ice

 

[Kon1786]

Looks excellent the delaware canal rolls through my town.

 

[spikerod]

The good old days, eh?
A wonderful project and amazing pictures, my congrats!

cheerio
spike

 

[jadebullet]

Looking great man. I cannot wait for this route. Just wondering, how far are you planning on taking it town wise?

And Cascade, yeah, get your dates right next time. The canals were around in the 1830s when the railroads started to surpass them. Infact, most Pennsylvania railroads, such as the PRR, were started as canal lines in order to compete against the Erie Canal in NY. They lasted until about the Civil War, but most went under before that.

That canal looks EPIC man. I am loving it.

 

[socalwb909]

-wow man, pretty impressive! keep up the great work! i'll be watching this!
-Joe

 

[evan123]

Good to see this project still underway!

 

[Kree8tiviT]

Canal history

To clear-up the discussion about correct dates: ....

Construction on the Lehigh Canal began in 1825, and it was opened in 1829.
It continued operations until the early 1930's (over 100 years).

Here is a link I used as one of my references that some may find interesting:

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carrleith/lehighcanal1.html

Thanks for the comments....
Mark

 

[stagecoachdriverdave]

Some really nice shots here - certainly has the atmosphere of a turn of the century US canal.

Incidentally, where did you find the canal boat and the group of mailboxes in the first pic?

Matt