Was in Lebanon PA this past weekend when we passed an abandoned grade crossing on Rt 72. The line there appeared to go North West and on further examination appeared to also cross Rt 422 at the outskirts of the West side of town. This rail line appeared to be a spur of some sought that perhaps went to former factories North of 422. Does anyone have any info on this rail line ? From the looks of it, the closure was fairly recent as the crossing lights at the crossing on RT 72 were still there but turned around
Lebanon was in the heart of Reading territory. I would consult a map of Reading lines or a USGS map (available on Microsft Terraserver) to its origin and destination.
Did a search on Terraserver and the abandoned rail line shows up as a short/spur line going from the Conrail main line on a diagonal South to the town of Cornwall. It looks to be about 10 miles long. What is interesting is that there are many yards on this route which leads me to believe that this line served many former factories along the way. Just a guuess but this line seemed to have been abandoned somewhere between 1985 and 1995. It was listed as a Conrail line on the 1978 topo map. If anyone remembers rail service in Cornwall PA this would have to be it.
There were 2 lines south of Lebanon, one PRR toConewago, the other, Cornwalll RR that ran to Mount Hope.