# The Gantlet Between Kingston and Wilkes-Barre PA



## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

This past summer, I was waiting for my wife at a doctor appointment. I have wanted to get photos of a massive trestle and raised on steel rail line that crosses the Susquehanna River between Kingston and Wilkes-Barre called the Gantlet. I haven't researched the origin of the name yet, but that is on my list. Anyway, I took several photos on the Kingston side in the summer, and several more from the W-B side during two of my wife's doctor appointments recently. I also took several photos of remnants of abandoned rail and trolley bridges that parallel the river. I will break these up into three weekly segments, as there are quite a few photos. I will start this segment on the Kingston side. This rail line is now used by Norfolk Southern.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Don F said:


> This past summer, I was waiting for my wife at a doctor appointment. I have wanted to get photos of a massive trestle and raised on steel rail line that crosses the Susquehanna River between Kingston and Wilkes-Barre called the Gauntlet. I haven't researched the origin of the name yet, but that is on my list. Anyway, I took several photos on the Kingston side in the summer, and several more from the W-B side during two of my wife's doctor appointments recently. I also took several photos of remnants of abandoned rail and trolley bridges that parallel the river. I will break these up into three weekly segments, as there are quite a few photos. I will start this segment on the Kingston side. This rail line is now used by Norfolk Southern.
> View attachment 574614
> View attachment 574615
> View attachment 574616
> ...


The ties look new?

Edit, I missed this last line. This rail line is now used by Norfolk Southern.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Coming out of Binghamton on 81, just past Scranton where 380 starts you go over a long bridge.
There is an old RR trestle bridge that goes under the highway. Might be the same RR?
I always felt like stopping and getting pictures, it is kind of hard shooting a picture of that while rolling, I can't get a good picture of it.
I have rolled over it 100's of times thru out the years.
And not safe to park with the tanker. 
I guess you know where I mean, you may have driven over it?

Edit, because of this (This rail line is now used by Norfolk Southern. )
Where I am talking about I think is OOS. (out of service)

You need a drone.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

Big Ed said:


> Coming out of Binghamton on 81, just past Scranton where 380 starts you go over a long bridge.
> There is an old RR trestle bridge that goes under the highway. Might be the same RR?
> I always felt like stopping and getting pictures, it is kind of hard shooting a picture of that while rolling, I can't get a good picture of it.
> I have rolled over it 100's of times thru out the years.
> ...


I've been that way infrequently, and don't recall seeing the trestle. I'm usually watching for exit signs.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Don F said:


> I've been that way infrequently, and don't recall seeing the trestle. I'm usually watching for exit signs.


Yeah, in a car you may not see it, riding high in the truck you can.
Right after 81s 84e cutoff you roll down a hill and there is a long bridge, got to be at least a 1/4 mile long, with an upwards hill coming at you.

Being lower you may not see them, forgot about that.
I was right, the ties are new.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

In pictures 5 and 8 it appears there was a second line...know anything about that?


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

Fire21 said:


> In pictures 5 and 8 it appears there was a second line...know anything about that?


I've been trying to research the bridge, but so far all I found is that it is the Sunbury line. There was a second line at one time. I found this aerial image possibly by Hank Rogers. This is a more recent photo with only one line.Kingston is in the foreground. The bridge remnant on the W-B side to the right of the trestle was the Laurel Line Trolley.


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## highvoltage (Apr 6, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> Yeah, in a car you may not see it, riding high in the truck you can.
> Right after 81s 84e cutoff you roll down a hill and there is a long bridge, got to be at least a 1/4 mile long, with an upwards hill coming at you.
> 
> Being lower you may not see them, forgot about that.
> I was right, the ties are new.


I know exactly what you are talking about. It's 380 and 84 at that point, 380 continues south and 84 splits off and heads east. We used to go that way all the time when we drove from MD to NH. I hated I-95 after getting stuck on it for hours one year, so I found the "mountain route" as I call it, and we used that for the remainder of our time in NH. Yes, those tracks are a very scenic view from that bridge, but rather hard to get a picture unless you have a passenger on board. Stopping there is out of the question, heavy traffic area.

I followed the tracks on Google maps, and they head west into Scranton. But in downtown Scranton they blend into a large switching yard, from there I couldn't follow them anymore.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Gauntlet tracks are interlaced so maybe that was the configuration at one time.

Originally CNJ? Erie?


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

Here's what I found so far. This doesn't mention the Gauntlet, but in other references the gauntlet is listed as part of the Sunbury Line.








Sunbury Line - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

The next installment of photos will have to be done in several posts, as I can only upload 10 to a post. These are from the East side of the Susquehanna.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)




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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)




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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

These photos are of the former Laurel Line Trolley, and Lehigh Valley lines to the Dorrance Colliery just north of this location. Again, I have to do this in a few posts.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

My wife had another Dr appointment, so I continued taking photos of the nearby rail line. These are a small bridge that crosses River Street on the border between Wilkes-Barre and Plains Twp.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Great photos!

Thanks for sharing them. I especially like the ones of the river with the bridge piers in them. I'm getting ready to model an area of the Ohio River, and these photos are great for studying things I may want to incorporate.

🤓


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

JeffHurl said:


> Great photos!
> 
> Thanks for sharing them. I especially like the ones of the river with the bridge piers in them. I'm getting ready to model an area of the Ohio River, and these photos are great for studying things I may want to incorporate.
> 
> 🤓


I'm glad you enjoyed them, and that they may be of use for your modeling. Post updates on the appropriate forum as your project progresses.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

My wife had another Dr apt in Kingston, so I snapped some pics of the same line south of the previous location. This girder bridge crosses Pierce Street. The track level photos are facing north along Third Ave.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Post 13 photo 4 is pretty cool in that it shows the depressions in the ties where one of the gantlet rails’ tie plates were spiked long ago. 
Neat stuff.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

These are pics of the line continuing into Wilkes-Barre after it crosses River Street. There is another line below that runs from the Hanover Industrial Park just south of Ashley, and crosses under River Street, then turns north toward Pittston. This line is operated now by RJ Corman, and is owned by the Luzerne County Rail Authority.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

I have to do this in several posts, as I can only load 10 pics at a time.




































__
Image uploading. Refresh page to view


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Spectacular!!!

Thanks for sharing those awesome pictures! 👍


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

My wife was at therapy, so I walked into the nearby woods to get some pics of a long abandoned trestle that crossed the Susquehanna between Nanticoke and West Nanticoke. At some point, I will have to see if the auto bridge along side this has a walkway to get more photos, and I'm not sure if there is a vantage point on the opposite side of the river for photos on the west side. I will have to add the remaining pics in another post.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)




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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Wow... those pictures remind me of a similar bridge (although much shorter) that went over a small river and a dirt road that hugged the river on one side. It was also abandoned, and the rails were already gone, like that, but the large girders were still there. It was one of Ohio's many "Cry Baby Bridges" and also where many teenagers went to watch the submarine races.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

Here are some more photos of the bridge as it spans the river. I found out that is a former PARR line connecting with the DL&W and the CNJ Bloomsburg branch. I took these from a bridge just north of this span going form west to east, but unfortunately, the walkway is on the north side, so I had to contend with the bridge structure and utility lines. My next series will hopefully be from the west side, if I can get access to the river. I did see a path in one of the photos, but there are sever homes posted as private property in this area.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

These are the remaining pics from this expedition.


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