I think you're on the right track, Chuck. While most of the funding for reconstruction came from the federal 3R program, some states were also involved, and the various beaurocracies didn't always spend the money wisely. Some of the decisions were more political than pragmatic. Maybe that's how a crafty NJ pol got some work for his underemployed constituents. It was small potatoes compared with, say, rehabbing the multiple track PRR main across PA. In the early going there was also still some uncertainty about how much traffic would go where. So it doesn't surprise me that the cutoff had a tie program in '76, and then in a year later they were dragging recently installed cwr off the Poconos and relaying it on the Delaware Div'n. I think that early on, the CR operating folks determined they wanted no part of muscling heavy freights over the Boonton line rollercoaster. So the shift back to the Erie side was pretty rapid, and after that the Scranton route saw online traffic and detours. Paul B Dear Paul B. and all, So what remained on the Scranton side once the shift to the Erie side was completed? There were definitely CR freights that operated over the Cut-Off, at least during 1976. Whether this continued in 1977, I don't know. By 1978, Port Morris to Slateford Jct. had been placed out of service. Once again, I'm curious why there was significant tie replacement on the Cut-Off after CR took over. Maybe they had all that federal money to spend, or maybe it was something else? It doesn't make any sense. Any speculation? Chuck The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
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