The Laurel Line Revisited
- Thread starter LWVRR
- Start date
I guess there's a few out there that are interested.
Here's some pictures of the Pittston area.
The Laurel Line sits between the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. At the halfway point of the line sits the smaller town of Pittston. In Pittston the Laurel Line had a connection with the Erie Railroad.
The upper tracks are those of the Laurel Line. The lower track is the Erie's spur track into Pittston. Erie Railroad had a freight building here. It also served the Pittston Mill Company and the Pittston Stove Company.
This is the Erie freight shed and the Pittson Mill Company.
This last shot is of the South Pittson Flag stop on Plank Street. The picture is taken from the Erie tracks. Today all the tracks are gone in this location.
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Ewen Area
Moving out of Pittston and heading south, the Laurel Line enters the property of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. At one time this coal company had operations all over the Wyoming Valley region. This first picture shows the Laurel Line as it passes the Ewen Breaker. The #6 Washery is at the top of the picture. The #6 Breaker is just out of view to the left. All of the operations where served by the Erie Railroad.
At one time this was a common site in the Wyoming/Lackawanna Valley...coal hoppers as far as the eye can see. My Dad said that he remembers when he was a kid in the late 1930's that he would be lying in bed and could hear the coal hoppers banging together from a near by coal breaker...it was a busy place at all hours of the day.
As seen here, the area was void of any homes or grass. Piles of culm (coal waste) would be seen breaking the skyline in almost every direction. Today most all of these culm banks have been removed. The culm bank at the former Ewen Breaker is still there though.
Moving out of Pittston and heading south, the Laurel Line enters the property of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. At one time this coal company had operations all over the Wyoming Valley region. This first picture shows the Laurel Line as it passes the Ewen Breaker. The #6 Washery is at the top of the picture. The #6 Breaker is just out of view to the left. All of the operations where served by the Erie Railroad.
At one time this was a common site in the Wyoming/Lackawanna Valley...coal hoppers as far as the eye can see. My Dad said that he remembers when he was a kid in the late 1930's that he would be lying in bed and could hear the coal hoppers banging together from a near by coal breaker...it was a busy place at all hours of the day.
As seen here, the area was void of any homes or grass. Piles of culm (coal waste) would be seen breaking the skyline in almost every direction. Today most all of these culm banks have been removed. The culm bank at the former Ewen Breaker is still there though.
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Extra nice, sir.
Aint it spelled "culm"?
Anyway, nice capture of the moonscape.
Nice catch...thanks!
Well it another weekend down and another work session on the Laurel Line. This weekend I moved back to the Laurel Line's Minooka industrial branch. I added Jananton's 4th building...the Poloron building.
Poloron is known for making a lot of different products, but in this time period and this building they made army kits. They were also known for making coolers and plastic lightup Christmas decorations.
The building's design and size was taking from aerial photos from 1960 and current Bing maps. The building is still there today but it's about 3 times it's original size.
This area of the layout is basically done, I just have a few other background buildings to add.
Poloron is known for making a lot of different products, but in this time period and this building they made army kits. They were also known for making coolers and plastic lightup Christmas decorations.
The building's design and size was taking from aerial photos from 1960 and current Bing maps. The building is still there today but it's about 3 times it's original size.
This area of the layout is basically done, I just have a few other background buildings to add.
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jacksonbarno
Alco Spoken Here
I love it! I visit that area every summer, and its always a blast! Will you be doing the Lackawanna station and DL&W yards by any chance?
I have the Lackawanna Station on the layout but I'm looking to replace the building if I can ever get somebody to make a new one. I've been thinking about making the Lackawanna yards as a add-on after the layout goes public.
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This weekend I worked in the Inkerman area. There is very little population in the area but I did discover that there used to be a park here. More info on this park is here... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laure...10263261.88715.394141073976718&type=1&theater
Now on to the screenshots.
Like the Rocky Glen Park, at one time the only access to the park was the Laurel Line.
Looking toward the opposite direction of the last picture, we can see the culm bank of the Ewen colliery and the Inkerman flag stop in the back ground. The park had it's own rail spur for all the outings and events.
From this view we see the trestle that goes over Market Street. Today the park, tracks and bridge are all gone. The only thing that is left is the west side concrete abutment. Over the tree line at the top of the pic is the Susquehanna River. The Wyoming Bridge can be seen in the distance. In 2011 this bridge was finally replaced by a nice, new concrete structure. The bridge was 97 years old.
Next week...The #14 flagstop, PCC #14 breaker and the #14 coal loading area.
Now on to the screenshots.
Like the Rocky Glen Park, at one time the only access to the park was the Laurel Line.
Looking toward the opposite direction of the last picture, we can see the culm bank of the Ewen colliery and the Inkerman flag stop in the back ground. The park had it's own rail spur for all the outings and events.
From this view we see the trestle that goes over Market Street. Today the park, tracks and bridge are all gone. The only thing that is left is the west side concrete abutment. Over the tree line at the top of the pic is the Susquehanna River. The Wyoming Bridge can be seen in the distance. In 2011 this bridge was finally replaced by a nice, new concrete structure. The bridge was 97 years old.
Next week...The #14 flagstop, PCC #14 breaker and the #14 coal loading area.
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I've got to confess, I can't recall what it was, but something early on in the original thread turned me off of this route. :::hangheadinshame:::
Since you revisited the line, I figured the least I could do was revisit it too. This all looks great! I'm glad I peeked through here again. Can't wait to get my hands on "Yet Another Pennsylvania Route"!! Great work you are doing on the line, and I'll be checking in more often now!
Since you revisited the line, I figured the least I could do was revisit it too. This all looks great! I'm glad I peeked through here again. Can't wait to get my hands on "Yet Another Pennsylvania Route"!! Great work you are doing on the line, and I'll be checking in more often now!
From the beginning of this project it was always my thought that this layout has a little something for just about every kind of railfan. An electric railroad that had passenger and freight service. It's 19 mile length makes it easier to add all the details of the real historical facts of the line. I've also come to enjoy doing the research of this little railroad.
This is a will be for some time to come a "work in progress". Even after the route has gone public there will be updates and add ons. Since this railroad is basically in my own back yard I'm always find new and interesting facts that I want to add to the project.
The only problem is that there is only two people on this team so progress on the layout is slow. I'm in great need of other content creators to help move along this project. I'm in need of buildings, vehicles and people from the 40's and 50's. If there is anybody out there interested in the project please contact me.
This is a will be for some time to come a "work in progress". Even after the route has gone public there will be updates and add ons. Since this railroad is basically in my own back yard I'm always find new and interesting facts that I want to add to the project.
The only problem is that there is only two people on this team so progress on the layout is slow. I'm in great need of other content creators to help move along this project. I'm in need of buildings, vehicles and people from the 40's and 50's. If there is anybody out there interested in the project please contact me.
Nice images Scott. 
I presume those buildings in the distance of the first shot are to be the 'famous' dance pavillion.
Maybe just throw in a little restaurant for small beaverages in the mix as well and some extra picknick tables for those croudy summer sundays. :hehe:
Greetings from sunny Amsterdam,
Jan
I presume those buildings in the distance of the first shot are to be the 'famous' dance pavillion.
Maybe just throw in a little restaurant for small beaverages in the mix as well and some extra picknick tables for those croudy summer sundays. :hehe:
Greetings from sunny Amsterdam,
Jan
:hehe: I can make out the offramps on the terrain! Looks great though! Got a nice atmosphere
must be a lot of stops if they make on as big as that for a park where noone lives! Keep it up
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Yes, you got me on that one...Back in the Laurel Line days that area was covered in trees and that is how it is on the layout so in that section there was no need to take out the highway terrain. There was however other areas that I did have to do major landscaping to the terrain to erase the highway. This was the case in the South Scranton area.
Nice images Scott.
I presume those buildings in the distance of the first shot are to be the 'famous' dance pavillion.
Yes, that is a temporary building I have in place until I find a better wooden structure that fits the bill. Anybody know where I can find a nice big wooden pavilion?
This weekend I move yet further south on the Laurel Line to the Number 14 area. This flag stop was created so miners could travel on the Laurel Line to the PCC (Pennsylvania Coal Company) #14 Breaker. While the Laurel Line never had service to the coal breaker itself, in later years they made a coal loading area just down the tracks from the #14 flag stop. For real pictures of this area look at my Facebook page. This is my version of this area... Hopper cars where brought in by the Laurel Line and then the coal hoppers would be manually pushed into place to be loaded by truck.
A look from the other direction. The Number flag stoptop is across the bridge.
One more look at this area.
By the late 50's the Lackawanna railroad took over the Laurel Line. One of the first locomotives to run on the Laurel Line was a 44 tonner. The 44 tonner wasn't powerful enough to pull the hopper cars out of the Number 14 coal loading area and the railroad switched to a bigger locomotive. I forgot I had this locomotive. Can anybody see what the problem is with this picture?
This last view is of the Number 14 flag stop taken from the Saylor Ave. bridge. The only thing that is left in this area from the old days of the Laurel Line is the old railroad grade hidden behind shrubs and trees.
A look from the other direction. The Number flag stoptop is across the bridge.
One more look at this area.
By the late 50's the Lackawanna railroad took over the Laurel Line. One of the first locomotives to run on the Laurel Line was a 44 tonner. The 44 tonner wasn't powerful enough to pull the hopper cars out of the Number 14 coal loading area and the railroad switched to a bigger locomotive. I forgot I had this locomotive. Can anybody see what the problem is with this picture?
This last view is of the Number 14 flag stop taken from the Saylor Ave. bridge. The only thing that is left in this area from the old days of the Laurel Line is the old railroad grade hidden behind shrubs and trees.
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