We recently had the chance to check out the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway from Mauch Chunk, and we were thoroughly impressed. The railroad goes through the beautiful Lehigh Gorge on former right-of-way from both the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey. It passes through the gorge, running from Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe) through Lehigh Gorge State Park.
The autumn colors were just glorious. In autumn they have a festival style setup around the spacious and luxurious former Central Railroad of New Jersey rail station, which would be worth checking out, even without the fantastic train ride. You seldom see grand stations like this in great shape, and it is even less often that they are used as functional rail stations. The grand train station dates all the way back to 1873 and was built with tremendous gilded age opulence.
The Lehigh River at Mauch Chunk
Diesel locomotives pull the 20s era rail cars on their journey. Many of the rail cars were built by Bethlehem Steel and served as local commuter cars.
The Lehigh Gorge Rail-Trail goes along the course of the ride, and it is neat to see the bicyclists and hikers as you pass by on the train.
One of our favorite aspects of this beautiful train ride was that the whole family could come along, including our dog CeCe.
Crossing the Lehigh River on the new rail bridge.
We highly recommend going out of your way to check out the beautiful Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway and taking in the beauty of the Mauch Chunk and Pocono Mountains area and the beautiful Lehigh Gorge. Once you are done riding, be sure to head up into town to check out the cute boutique stores, eateries, Old Jail Museum and more. For more info on the area in the fall,
check out this article.
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