LEHIGH VALLEY Rail Road - POTTSVILLE Traditional Cache
sclave: Due to unforseen circumstances many of Sclave's caches are being archived to make room for others,he had meant to do this but never had the time. Those that remain will most likely be adopted out,as I hope they will remain in place in his memory.
LEHIGH VALLEY Rail Road - POTTSVILLE
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I'm bringing you to what remains of the Lehigh Valley Rail Road in Pottsville! There is a path by utility pole near road.Not Handicapped accessible. A undestructable tube w/log.
F.Y.I. - 701 Ft. above Sea Level.
This brings you to what remains of the Lehigh Valley R.R. in Pottsville. This branch starts just south of Lehighton(Lizard Creek Junction) and ends in Blackwood.It basically follows present day Pa.St.Rt.443 This branch is a little over 50 miles long and was built (around 1890) to get at the western Schuylkill county coal fields(Anthracite).The Reading Railroad got the prime western (easy)R.O.W. following the rivers & the Pennsy got second dibs with the eastern side a little later.The LVRR had to play catch up for coal field access and bushwack it through some pretty difficult terrain. If you follow this R.O.W through the county you'll find many hand-made abuntments and arches out or red large stones weighing in around 500 pounds each! (A abuntment just down from Sheetz on Pa.St.Rt. 901 across walk bridge,left onto Blue Mtn. & Reading tracks,across river bridge,behind switch hand;The red abuntment to a WYE.)
This was the shortest route of any railroad to NYC harbor & docks! From the Anthracite coal fields!
Anyhow the LVRR was made up of little railroads named for the rivers they used;First canals,later horse drawn coal cars on wooden rail! Then Asa Packer of Mauch Chunk(Jim Thorpe) consolidated the Deleware,Lehigh,SusQuehanna & Schuykill railroads into the Lehigh Valley RR. January 7th.1853 and later built the head Quarters in downtown Jim Thorpe(red building across from station)
It was called The Route of the "Black Diamond"
The headqaurters where later moved to Bethlehem,Pa. about 50 years later and a huge yard & shops at Sayre was built in 1901 and was called the "Heart of the LHVRR"
Asa's son couldn't get accepted into most colleges so;He built and organized Lehigh University! Guess who got in?
In1962 Pennsy bought out the LVRR and in 1976 it and all of LVRR went bankrupt and became Conrail.
This branch served the Colitz collery(westwood flats cache) and connected to Peoples railway;Later Reading.
The last Passenger Locomotive was fired down September 14,1951 In nearby Delano(18220) and was a mikado type #432. Most likely because it was made at the nearby Delano locomotive shops!
Ward Kimbel a train expert, says; that Disney copied the LVRR.station at Pottsvill,Pa. for it's parks!
There was no station for the LVRR in Pottsville!.........?
The cache is on the abandoned LVRR branch at Westwood and is a Undestructable plastic tube behind caboose, I think you'll enjoy!
Also a log,(NO PEN) .
Happy Caching;Sclave
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
N Cynfgvp ghor Oruvaq ynfg pne bs gur genva.
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