Remains of the LV railroads Bowman’s creek branch. Noxen, Wyoming county PA.

Hello friends. I recently took a drive up to the Ricketts Glenn state park area. Upon arrival at the park I decided to change plans. While scanning Google maps I noticed a train station in Noxen PA. With this only being a couple miles away I decided this was the new plan. Upon arrival at the station my curiosity started getting to me. Who built this was my biggest question. Much to my surprise it was the Lehigh Valley railroad. The station was built in 1893, which is when the Bowman’s Creek branch was completed as a through line. It broke off the mainline in Wilkes Barre and rejoined in the Towanda area. But who actually built the grade itself. The stone work in the bridge abutment looks nothing like typical LV construction. Could these stones have been placed by a previous owner? This is what I came up with.

This is curtesy of Harold E. Cox’s Wyoming Valley Trolleys: Street railways of Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke and Pittston.

“Harvey’s Lake has the distinction as the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania. Its appeal as a summer resort developed in the late nineteenth century and was enhanced in the 1880’s by the construction of Wilkes-Barre and Harvey’s Lake railroad Co. Chartered on September 26 1885, the line was organized by Albert Lewis, a local lumber and ice magnate who purchased lands in Dallas, Lake and Ross townships. It appears that Lewis was also in league with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the WB&HL was designed as part of a new rail route between the Wyoming Valley and New York State. The road opened on June 16th 1887 and was sold to the LV that August. The connection to form a through line was to Towanda and New York state was not made until July 1st 1893.”

If I have read this correctly then I believe that the WB&HL railroad built this bridge. Again I am never certain of anything however I feel confident about this. Let me know what you think.
Industry along this line included lumber mills, tannery’s, ice houses and minimal coal mining.
Thank you for watching.