TS Today - Creating a Vision for the Future of Vacation Ownership Issue #142, Jul/Aug 2015 | Page 19
TimeSharing Today
Page 19
Pennsylvania
Viaduct Wonders
Jul/Aug, 2015
WONDERS CONTEST ENTRY
By Lynda Pallone, Horseheads, NY
Our home resort, Endless Mountain
Resort in Union Dale, PA, is nestled in the
smaller mountains of Pennsylvania south of
the New York State border. During the early
years of our ownership, we took a steam
train ride from Scranton, PA, and stopped
on top of the Nicholson Bridge.
A steam train ride is still available in
Steamtown, USA, in Scranton. Train enthusiasts of any age would love it. You can
watch as the trains use a roundhouse, climb
on train engines, and learn all about the
early train years.
An electric trolley ride also is available. Scranton is known as the “Electric
&LW\´EHFDXVHWKHQDWLRQ¶V¿UVWVXFFHVVIXO
FRQWLQXRXVO\ RSHUDWLQJ HOHFWUL¿HG WUROOH\
system was established there in 1886. Don’t
forget Scranton’s coal mine tours, either.
7KH1LFKROVRQ%ULGJHZLWKDWUDLQ&UHGLWV$OOSKRWRVFRXUWHV\RIDXWKRU
long and towers 240 feet (when measured
from the creek bed). Built for the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad ComSDQ\ LW ZDV ¿QLVKHG LQ ²WKH ODUJHVW
concrete structure in the world at that time.
It was built to replace the winding,
hilly section between Scranton and Binghamton, NY, saving 3.6 miles—21 minutes
of passenger-train time and one hour of
freight-train time.
Finding the Viaducts
One of the driving trips during our
ZHHN¶VVWD\ZDVDLPHGDW¿QGLQJWKHWUDLQ
viaducts (concrete arch bridges) over the
Tunkhannock Creek.
:H VXFFHHGHG LQ ¿QGLQJ QRW RQO\
the viaducts but also a freight train en
route north. We spotted it on the smaller
Tunkhannock Viaduct and hurried to catch
it as it also went through Nicholson, PA.
The Nicholson Bridge is 2,375 feet
$WUDLQRQWKHVPDOO7XQNDKDQQRFN
9LDGXFW
Seventeen Arches
In Lanesboro, PA, on State Road 1009,
we found the Starrucca Viaduct, built for
the Erie Railroad and completed in 1848.
The original route cut across northern
New Jersey and along the upper Delaware
River, climbing a rugged ridge 1,373 feet
high and then descending into the Susquehanna Valley at Binghamton. This new
route would bypass the ridge, but the deep
valley of Starrucca Creek was a problem.
This viaduct, the choice of ci