At the time of its construction, the bridge was the largest reinforced concrete railroad bridge ever built. Photos of the interior are not included in this article as it was difficult to find graffiti without vulgarity. Rob Jennings may be reached at [email protected]. Paulinskill Viaduct was one of the largest reinforced concrete structures in the world at its time and is also known as the Hinesburg viaduct. The Paulins Kill drains an area of 177 square miles (460km, This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties, Labelled "Tockhockonetkunk or Pawlings Kill" on an untitled map of Jonathan Hampton (1758) in the collection of the New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, New Jersey; also. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, "This N.J. rail bridge is beloved by many, but nobody knows what to do with it", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paulinskill_Viaduct&oldid=1105528919, Still extant (railroad tracks removed in 1984), This page was last edited on 20 August 2022, at 17:36. It is also the definition of an attractive. [52][53][54] In addition to these state forests, the Paulins Kill valley is host to a variety of common coniferous and deciduous trees, which have been harvested for lumber in the past, including: white oak and black oak, buttonwood, eastern red cedar, eastern hemlock, American chestnut, black walnut, tamarack larch, spruce, and pine. vintage.newjersey. [1] When completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world. For at least two decades, there has been talk of reviving rail service along the Lackawanna Cutoff, which ran for 28 miles between Roxbury in Morris County and Slateford, Pennsylvania, and utilized the viaduct. The tracks were removed in 1982 and the Viaduct abandoned. Walsh said he no longer sees anything like that, adding that technology has likely played a role in discouraging extreme adventures. True or not, visitors to the area do report a strange presence or eerie feeling. reviews. In addition, the address is not included as trespassing is illegal. A rogue entrepreneur set up a horizontal pulley system, someone managed to get a car onto the viaduct, and was charging $75 per jump, he said. Search. Sign up with Facebook or Sign up with email [40], Near Columbia, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad built the Paulinskill Viaduct (known also as the Hainesburg Viaduct), a bridge crossing the Paulins Kill, for the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail corridor. Along the shore of the Sandy Hook Bay lies a white wooden building that has stood since the mid-1600s. reviews. This allows the explorer to actually travel through the inside of the structure. Letter from Kenton Kilmer to Aline Kilmer (addressed to c/o Bob Holliday), November 18, 1929. quoted in Hillis, John. Kristen, Poured in Cement, Workers Ghost Wanders the Trestle, A man is supposed to haunt the trestle. Amongst non-railfans, the Paulinskill Viaduct is known for its internal chambers (used to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge), which are popular among those who enjoy urban exploration. Abandoned for years, much of the viaduct is hollow, allowing explorers to traverse the interior. [62], The Paulinskill Valley Traila network of rail trails along abandoned railroad beds of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroadhave been transformed and maintained for hiking, horseback riding, and other recreational uses, stretches for 27 miles (43km) from Sparta Junction in Sussex County to Columbia in Warren County, roughly following the entire length of the river. [23][failed verification] Often villages established and settled by German emigrants remained culturally German well into the Nineteenth Century, with German Lutheran and Reformed churches (often as "Union" churches) established shortly after the first settlements (as was the case in Knowlton and in Stillwater). [47], The Paulins Kill is a popular fishing destination for various species of trout, such as rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout. For a while, viaduct visitors were throwing stones into the Paulins Kill, but sometimes their aim was off and the rocks were landing on Station Road. Cookie Notice However it's also the home of some incredible street art; Graffiti. It was situated in Knowlton Township, New Jersey, United States. I was talking to a state trooper that is stationed around there and he said that they were arresting 15 to 20 people a month there. Paulinskill Viaduct Photograph by Jerry Fornarotto - Fine Art America Need your order in time for Christmas? An eastbound freight train crossing the Paulinskill Viaduct en route to Hoboken in March 1952.John Treen, from the collection of Mike Del Vecchio / Tri-State Railway Historical Society. Paulins Kill Viaduct Primary Photographer (s): Nathan Holth Bridge Documented: November 8, 2015 View Photos and Videos View Maps and Links Facility Carried / Feature Intersected Railroad (Abandoned Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad) Over Paulins Kill and Station Road Location Rural: Warren County, New Jersey: United States Structure Type 4 stars. Other mammals include eastern chipmunk, porcupine, black bear, striped skunk, river otter, and bobcat. We packed our equipment up and left. A rogue entrepreneur set up a horizontal pulley system, someone managed to get a car onto the viaduct, and was charging $75 per jump, he said. No matter how wide Interstate 80 in New Jersey is, even up to the Interstate 95 interchange in Bergen County, theres clearly demand for additional commuter and traveler capacity even if taking into account COVID-19s impact on future workflows. Simply put, it will be a complete loss for residents of North Jersey and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The time spent on the road by such long commutes by thousands of fellow Pennsylvanians and New Jerseyans from Lackawanna, to Monroe, to Warren, and other neighboring counties like Northampton, and Sussex Counties. NJT has proposed to restore the rest of the Cut-Off, including the Paulinskill Viaduct, and restore passenger service into northeastern Pennsylvania, possibly as far as Scranton. Fortunately, with more environmentally conscious efforts as of recent, the cutoff has now been owned by NJTransit since 2011. [19], The Paulins Kill was originally known as the Tockhockonetcong by the local Native Americans, who were likely Munsee, a tribe or phratry of the Lenni Lenape. But it didnt completely solve the issues. The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a reinforced concrete railroad bridge that crosses the Paulins Kill in Knowlton Township, New Jersey. There used to be rail service here, but a general lack of attention and investments in railroads nationwide in the 1970s and 1980s brought it to an end the culminated with the unfortunate removal of trackage by Conrail in 1984. [7] High Point, near the northeastern end of the ridge, is the highest peak in New Jersey, reaching an elevation of 1,800 feet (550m). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. When first constructed in 1908, the Paulinskill Viaduct was considered to be one of the wonders of the world. For a brief period of time the reinforced concrete arched bridge was the largest structure of its kind in the entire world (until a more massive one was built in Pennsylvania). Jeff Flynn said in 2019 that troopers respond both to complaints and do periodic checks of unattended cars in the area. [10] The Wallkill River drains the northeastern portion of the valley, flowing north to the Hudson River watershed. Home United States Pennsylvania Monroe County Tourist attraction Paulinskill Viaduct. Knowlton, N.J. Oct. 27, 2019.Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, A version of this story published on November 3, 2019. Both Shafer and Windemuth were married to Bernhardt's daughters. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. The Paulinskill Viaduct is also known for its internal chambers (used to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge), which are popular among those who enjoy urban exploration. Paulinskill Viaduct Facts Total Length 1,100 feet. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. When completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world. Follow him on Twitter@RobJenningsNJ. [8], The lower southern and eastern portions of the valley are drained by the Paulins Kill and the Pequest River, which flow generally south to the Delaware River watershed. This is one of the most interesting abandoned places in New Jersey that I have visited. The rest of the time, its a hidden treasure. I dont like the idea of having a train through here. The thing I dont like is the impetus for development if the train comes through here, he said. 7 8 It's completion marked the opening of the Nicholson Cutoff. In 1.1 miles the trail arrives at the massive Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Trestle. [28][33], The first road connecting Elizabethtown, and Morristown with settlements along the Delaware River, was the Military Road built by Jonathan Hampton (17111777) in 17551756. [41][42][43] It was the largest concrete viaduct in the world until 1915,[citation needed] when the Lackawanna Railroad opened the Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, spanning over twice the Paulinskill Viaduct's length. The tracks were removed in 1982 and the Viaduct abandoned. Find NJ.com on Facebook. William Armstrong, a local settler, built the first grist mill there along the river in 1768, and the village took root. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. These days if you may see people walking a dog, someone proposing, or base jumpers, or unfortunately even risk takers or worse. Dams were erected to power various small-town gristmills, sawmills, oil expellers, and fulling mills,[28] and the electrical power plant at Branchville established in 1903. Map of Jonathan Hampton (1758) in the collection of the New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, New Jersey. Do not enter or you're trespassing. It is fascinating how time can turn the mighty into the weak. [34] This road, which crosses the Paulins Kill at present-day Baleville, in Hampton Township, was built to supply fortifications built in the Delaware valley at this time to protect New Jersey during the French and Indian War. Click an image to enlarge! [57] Likewise, Warren County has preserved 100 farm properties, comprising over 12,200 acres (4,900ha). Thank you. [35][failed verification] New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection occasionally brings civil actions against local firms that pollute in the Paulins Kill watershed, such as a $121,500 fine for a Sussex County shopping mall sewage treatment facility which discharged pollutants into a tributary of the Paulins Kill between 1996 and 1998. Remnants of their chiefly agricultural settlements are still found in local architecture, cemeteries, farms and mills, and the area remains largely rural. 3 stars. Trout are stocked each year during the spring fishing season by New Jersey's Division of Fish & Wildlife. paulinskill-viaduct-2. Over the years, Ive always wondered why one of the most premier ski and recreation destinations in the Northeast - the Pocono Mountains - does not have passenger rail service. Neighborhood fight stopped it. NJ Transit did not immediately respond to a follow-up request for comment. No one seems to know what, if anything, the future might hold for the viaduct, which for a time was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world. The cost is also not exorbitant and is healthy for the overall socioeconomic well-being for the region. [45] This site is commonly visited by adventure-seeking individuals. Atlas Obscura identifier. Our main issue is the township of Knowlton does not own the (viaduct). Officials installed fencing making it difficult to toss anything off the viaduct in that area, he said. All rights reserved (About Us). In addition, over in Colorado, they even have seasonal ski trains, including one known as the Winter Park Express. However, by the early Nineteenth Century, many descendants of these German settlers removed to newly opened lands in the West (i.e. [63] The Appalachian Trail follows the top of Kittatinny Ridge at the northern edge of the valley. Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, John Treen, from the collection of Mike Del Vecchio / Tri-State Railway Historical Society, News never stops. It was on September 4, 1977, that an aspiring young music major was brutally murdered while practicing piano in an empty auditorium at The College of New Jersey (then known as Trenton State College). The benefit doesnt stop just for commuters in the area. Mathez said efforts have been made, to varying degrees of success, to limit access to the viaduct from the woods on either side, or at least minimize the potential harm. Newark sold their claim to the corridor in 1992 to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for $600,000, and the Paulinskill Valley Trail was created. It is also the definition of an attractive nuisance. It has been five years since Ive been there but I keep in touch with my old friends there and they do return to practice and they still feel a presence there sometimes. Several farms along the banks of the Paulins Kill produce alfalfa, wheat, corn, hay (and historically, barley, buckwheat and rye). The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (reporting mark NYSW) (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in the northeastern U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. This is on top of the Amtrak California Zephyr service to multiple ski destinations stretching from Denver, Colorado to Lake Tahoe, California. Hardly any wild trout are found. The Viaduct is now clearly marked as being owned by the state of New Jersey and there are signs thatsay the property is patrolled by the state police. He also told me that most of these people say that they hear about it from Weird NJ. Located just outside of Blairstown there is a bridge back in the woods. The train itself remains a distant memory, even if the Paulinskill Viaduct aside from the graffiti looks much as it did from more than a century ago. This project benefits both New Jerseyans by freeing up parking capacity and Pennsylvanians by giving them dedicated lots in Monroe and Lackawanna counties. The passenger train known as the "Phoebe Snow" is seen heading west on April 8, 1951, with the Paulinskill Viaduct in the background.John Treen, from the collection of Mike Del Vecchio / Tri-State Railway Historical Society. In 1910-11 it was the worlds largest Concrete Structure. We would encourage people, if they want to hike in the woods, to do it in a state park or on the state trail system. His property covers 50 acres on both sides of the Paulins Kill River (the river uses a different spelling than the viaduct). They were jumping off the middle of the bridge on the south side, Walsh said. 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