Things to do in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Lancaster, Tunkhannock: hotel, homes, taxi)

[Midwesterns45]

I live in the greater newark/elizabeth area and I'm really thirsty to get out of the area for maybe a day or two without having to make air fares.
I don't know much about scranton and wilkes-barre but have always been curious about those two cities and want to check them out. How long is the drive from Newark to scranton or wilkes-barre? Are their any muesums or places to see in the area? How is the architecture and infanstructure here? I'm interested in the railroad, Does scranton/wilkes- barre have any interactive train muesums?
Any additional info would be great for what a person can do there for a weekend or day visit. Thanks!

[The-Electric-City]

The drive from Newark to Scranton/W-B is about 2 - 3 hours depending on traffic. Scranton is home to the Steamtown national Historic Site where you can get close up with old locomotives or even take a ride on an excursion. There is also the Electric City Trolley Museum if you are interested in trolleys. Visit the link below for more information.

My Scranton - Your guide to Scranton PA
Scranton Guide

Visit the Top 10 section under attractions.

Hope this helps!

[Midwesterns45]

wow! thanks for the awesome website, thats just what i was looking for ;-)

[ScranBarre]

Wow! Your web site is really coming along well! Great job! The only critique I have is that in your directions to attractions you should note that the Lackawanna Avenue Bridge is still closed, so you should probably provide a detour around it!

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Wow! Your web site is really coming along well! Great job! The only critique I have is that in your directions to attractions you should note that the Lackawanna Avenue Bridge is still closed, so you should probably provide a detour around it!

And who knows when it will open again, it's part of the city's so called "progress".

[The-Electric-City]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Wow! Your web site is really coming along well! Great job! The only critique I have is that in your directions to attractions you should note that the Lackawanna Avenue Bridge is still closed, so you should probably provide a detour around it!

Thanks for pointing that out. I completely forgot about it!

[scrantonluna]

NEPA has a lot of rail history. Steamtown and the Electric City Trolley Museum have already been mentioned, and are very much worth checking out. My only caveat is that you try to plan ahead; Steamtown runs excursions that you should really not miss, but these are limited in number (I'm not counting the in-the-yard runs here). The trolley museum runs more consistent trips, thursday through sunday, a couple runs each morning. I would also highly recommend the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour.

The Lackawanna Historical Society is doing a historic home tour on June 21st, where you'll be able to tour the inside of 6 or so historic homes. The downtown is filled with items of architectural interest, but there is really no guide. I would recommend that you spend a few minutes on the top floors of the downtown parking garages; this will give you great views of the city and great camera angles if you want to photograph some things as well.

For lodging, you might want to consider the Radisson hotel, which is in the former Lackawanna train station. Rates are reasonable and the rooms are clean, and it's right in the downtown.



You may also want to visit the 'Bridge over Nicholson,' which is believe is the larges concrete rail bridge anywhere. It's a bit of a drive from Scranton, but if you're a rail fan, it's worth it. Steamtown will be running an excursion out to Nicholson, but I don't know the date off hand.

[blip]

E-C and Luna have covered all the key info. I'd second the recommendation for the Radisson--I stayed there a couple years ago and it's neat. Some rooms are a little oddly laid out, as they were converted from offices, but it was comfortable, quiet and clean. There's a lot for a railroad buff here--hope you have a great visit!

Recently heard of another railroad museum in PA-- it's far from here, down near Lancaster, but may be worth a visit some time if you want another short road trip. (Or even a train + taxi trip.) RR Museum of PA :: Welcome

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

You may also want to visit the 'Bridge over Nicholson,' which is believe is the larges concrete rail bridge anywhere. It's a bit of a drive from Scranton, but if you're a rail fan, it's worth it. Steamtown will be running an excursion out to Nicholson, but I don't know the date off hand.

Wow, that looks really cool. I was looking up where Nicholson is, and found the bridge on google map's street view too. I've been < 5 miles from it a number of times and had no idea it was there..

[scrantonluna]

Here's their excursion listing for 09

http://www.nps.gov/stea/loader.cfm?u...&PageID=191410

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Here's their excursion listing for 09

http://www.nps.gov/stea/loader.cfm?u...&PageID=191410

Too bad there's only one excursion this year it seems, to the Tunkhannock Viaduct (the "Nicholson bridge" is so named, officially for the creek through Nicholson). I bet folks who haven't seen it think those images are Photoshopped.