Lewisburg, PA

In about two weeks, I'll be up in Lewisburg, PA for the day. I may have some free time on my hands and I notice some railroad tracks pass through town. Can't seem to find much info or pics online. Just curious if that spot sees any freight service.

Thanks.

Much better luck on the other side of the river, on the NS Buffalo Line. You won't see anything in Lewisburg. Try Northumeberland, which is reasonably close if you're interested in actually getting to see something.

Brooks

I believe in Lewisburg, there is an excursion train called the West Shore.

The westshore ceased operations in the mid to late 1990's

Brooks

The tracks in Lewisburg belong to the Union County Industrial Railroad, part of the North Shore system operated by Dick Robey. These tracks once belonged to the Reading. Some additional information can be found here: http://www.nshr.com/UCIR/ucir.shtml

Thanks for all of the info. I'll see if I can get over to the other side of the river then that day. If not, well, at least I'll get to see some rails in Lewisburg.

Photo from August 1996, north of Lewisburg:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1886452

I would imagine the original poster was only there his one weekend four+ years ago, he probably didn't move in permanently.

When I lived in the area I never went more than a few hours between trains in Sunbury, PA. Plus, if you can find information on when it runs, there is an NS local that operates a branch referred to as the Selinsgrove Branch which is easily railfan-able.

While in the area, check out BJ's, a rib joint, in Selinsgrove. Excellent food.

I just drove through Lewisburg yesterday, and along the side of Route 15 I noticed a collection of cabooses and an industrial 0-6-0 marked "Pennsylvania Light and Power Co." Interesting stuff. Anyone have more information on this collection (particularly the locomotive)? Thanks!

I know Delta Place Station, the former tourist train beginning point was still being maintained along with the equipment even though it has been years since any tourist train ran. There are constant rumors that the tourist line will run again along the river although they never come true.

I remember when the tourist line started in Mifflinburg in the the late 80s and I stopped by on a weekday and asked if they were running. The owner asked me if I could come back tomorrow as he was picking up a boxcar and would be running then. I couldn't since I was leaving and he said he wanted to have at least 15 to make the afternoon trip or it cost him too much money. We went to Woodward's cave and talked up the railroad on the tour and about twelve showed up for the train ride. He decided to do the run to Lewisburg and back even though he had no freight to pick up. That turned out to be my only ride on that branch although I had several along the river in Lewisburg.

Judge:

That loco and caboose(s) used to be stored at the very end of the line in Mifflinburg near a furniture? factory of some type, which is still open to the best of my knowledge. The consist was hauled into Lewisburg probably a couple of years ago, just before the NSHR pulled up all of the track on the WestShore. Let me see if I can find the link to that thread.

BWP

Here is the link:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... =Westshore

Man, I am good, I even managed to find the old email in my no longer used hotmail account. Here is the photo of the train being pulled through Mifflinburg into Lewisburg.

I remember that tourist line. That was YEARS ago when I was like 5 or 6 (21now). I rode it maybe once or twice. I'm from Elmira Ny & that rr was 2nd closest from my hometown. Sad it didn't last long. My bf who's from Williamsport area didn't even know about the rr till. I said it isn't like Strasburg or Tioga Central.

Lot of railroads I've been on that have either closed or don't use all their old engines. Fond memories for me. Thanks for more info on the rr.

In better days, Lewisburg had two railroads. The Reading operated two distinct routes between Pottsville and Williamsport -- one via Catawissa and Danville, which got most of the freight traffic due to easier grades, and one via Sunbury and Shamokin, which got the passeneger traffic, plus a fair amount of local coal-mine runs. The latter also had some severe grades in tha vicinity of Gordon, Penna.

Thr Pennsylvnia on the east shore of the Susquehanna saw four daily passenger moves, plus about twelve freghts, until the late 1960's. A bracnh to Bellefonte diverged from the PRR main at Montandon, crossed the river and the Reading at an interlocking tower designated UR. As traffic fell off, the line was cut back to Mifflinburg, then sold off as the West Shore.

Incidentally, the West Shore, North Shore (Sunbury-Berwick), Lycoming Valley and several other spinoffs operated by the Robey Group are all managed from Northumberlad, about ten miles downriver from Lewisburg. And the former PRR Wikes-Barre Branch, now under joint NS/Cpr operation as the Sunbury Line, has witnessed a substantial increase in activity since its rehabilitation in the late 1990's.

All in all, not a bad neighborhood for a railfan.