Artist Residency in Wilkes-Barre

I thought our artistically-inclined readers would be interested in Alexis Bhagat's KIELBASY "artist residency," located in Wilkes-Barre. Each project is different, so be sure to check the Kielbasy Reports blog for more info.

I think this is a fantastic project for artists, regardless of location, and I hope we can bring a little more attention to it. If you're interested in participating, be sure to tell them ForgottenPA sent you!

The old W.A.&G. Railroad

These are some photos my wife and I snapped of the remnants of the Wellsville, Addison & Galeton Railroad. The railroad last ran November 7, 1979 and ALL trackage was removed shortly afterwards. Bridges, signs, and buildings were all left to rot.

The southwest facing shot would have been where the massive yard sat. The railroad started as the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad. The brick buildings were part of their shops complex that was located here. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad took over the B&S in the early part of the 20th century and operated it until 1954 when "The WAG" railroad took over.

This shows the dilapidated condition of the office building. The bay window allowed the staff to watch incoming and outgoing trains and yard activity.

In the early 70's, a large portion of the original Buffalo and Susquehanna shop complex burned down. This was also the part that service work was being done on equipment. A new facility was built on part of the already abandoned yard to continue work. This is that building, now occupied by a construction company.

A shot of the rear of the office building. It's still full of stuff, but not train stuff, just junk. Not sure who owns it now but it appears no one has done anything inside for many years.

This caboose sits along route 6 just a stone's throw from the old tracks of the WAG. It was once one of their cabooses.

Another shot of one of the windows of the office building. Notice the curved glass window.

Another shot showing the front. Birds were flying in and out of holes in the roof.

The last shot is of the WAG bridge over Pine Creek in Watrous, PA There are still railroad ties on the bridge, but no rails. The bridge itself appears to be in very good condition.

Blackwell, PA

This is a town that time has forgotten. The hotel there mysteriously closed in 2008. Below are some pictures from town.

This is the now-closed Blackwell Hotel. The application to serve alcoholic beverages still hangs in the window, along with a note that it will reopen spring of '09. The hotel's website is also still active, but the phone number listed is now disconnected.

Glasses, napkins, plates, and signs are still inside and set out on the bar and tables.

This was the deck area where you could sit out on picnic tables and enjoy the mountain air as you ate and drank.

Alcohol permit and closed till '09 sign on door.

Don't be fooled, this church is NOT brick. It is wood. Each piece of the wood siding was cut and sculped to look like brick. Pretty convincing!

Pine Creek. The bridge in the background was the Conrail railroad bridge. The last train ran the rails in 1989 and everything was removed in 1990. The entire line has been converted into a walking and biking trail via the state's Rails To Trails program.

Protocollie's Set: The Sideling Hill Tunnel

On our trip to the Abandoned PA Turnpike, we only got as far as the Ray's Hill tunnel, leaving the longer Sideling Hill tunnel unexplored. Lucky for us, Protocollie has taken an excellent set of photos in and around the tunnel, and we've definitely got a bigger picture of what the Abandoned Turnpike looks like now.











































































Protocollie has a lot of interesting notes about these photos in his Abandoned Sideling Hill set on Flickr -- it's more than worth heading over there and reading through them. Thanks again, Protocollie!



If you'd like to see your Pennsylvania urban exploration photos on ForgottenPA, send them to spampoet0023@yahoo.com with a few words about the location.