• Lofty Tunnel

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania

Moderator: bwparker1

  by carajul
 
I was watching some Youtube videos made recently of bikers going thru the Lofty Tunnel in Kline, PA. The tunnel is like a river inside the water is so deep, and so is the row on the other side of the tunnel. Did the RDG ever have water trouble in the tunnel? I mean it's like the entire tunnel and row are now a river several feet deep. How did the RDG keep all that water out?

Also does CR still own the tunnel and row or did they sell it?
  by pumpers
 
One of the pics here (2003, see the link) shows the south approach and tunnel pretty much underwater. Good question about the good old days though. Actually, one of the drainage ditches (the one right at the spring in the pictures) seems pretty much filled in. JS
http://userweb.ccomm.com/sfpayer/Pictur ... yIndex.htm
  by Schuylkill Valley
 
Some one needs to take a bulldozer back there and open that drainage ditches up.
  by JimBoylan
 
ConRail never bought the tunnel from the Reading Company. When the ties were removed, some of the remaining dirt that had been between them probably wound up in the side ditches. Even when the trains were running, the water could be up to the bottoms of the ties.
  by carajul
 
If CR didn't buy the tunnel from RDG did they pay rent to use it or did the state buy it? Who owns it now? RDG gave up trains in 1976 but the tunnel was used by CR until 1978.
  by pumpers
 
lots of Catawissa line info here: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 79&t=64884
Posts there say after Conrail began it was operated for 3 years past Lofty to Ringtown (with a subsidy, so I presume Conrail operated it), but not past Ringtown, which is 10(?) miles past the Lofty tunnel.
And that it was all ripped up past west of the tunnel 1978-80, done by Reading Trustees, so I presume that means Conrail never owned it. Don't know who owns it now past Lofty.
JS
  by Schuylkill Valley
 
The road bed is own by Penn Dot. past the tunnel it's all Penn. State Game lands.
Len.