If you didn’t already know, the people who work on Endlessqwest are adventurous, free thinking and curious.  We love traveling to places that are off the beaten path or unique in some way.  Sometimes we even like to take a short journey that might scare us a little.  sometimes we “find” places that we aren’t supposed to be in! While we don’t advocate breaking the law, we do advocate exploration and the experience that comes with it.  If you are not sure whether or not you will be trespassing during your explorations, then you should not enter. If you do trespass you may be arrested, or even worse, find yourself in a dangerous or precarious situation.  Always attempt to obtain permission to explore new areas, and pay attention to any posted signs that may prohibit any such trespassing.

     When I was a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist.  I’m sure my impetus for this was in part due to growing up with Inidiana Jones’ movies.  Mostly though, it was due to my curiosity and desire to discover something new.  Every now and then we like to take a little excursion to satisfy these desires and curiosities. So this past month, NJHH (a paranormal investigative group) and Endlessqwest took a drive out to the Paulinskill Viaduct located off Rt. 94 in Knowlton, NJ.

     The Paulinskill viaduct was built between 1908 and 1910.  A viaduct, for those of you who do not know, is a bridge with arches used to carry a road or railroad across the span of a valley. At the time of its construction it was actually the largest concrete structure in the world at 1100 ft. long and 115 ft. high.  Also known as the Hainesburg viaduct, it was originally built to carry the rail line (known as the Lackawanna cut-off) across the delaware.  The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a 28.5 mile railway line that ran from Port Morris, New Jersey to Slateford, Pennsylvania.

     Once an incredible feat of “modern” engineering, as well as one of the largest construction projects the world had ever seen, it now sits abandoned in the hills of northwestern New Jersey. Featured in such magazines as Weird NJ, the viaduct obviously has some interesting history. We’ve even heard of a legend that tells of a worker who fell into the concrete as it was poured, becoming a permanent part of the bridge itself. If you are able to find your way inside (which is much easier than getting out, trust me) you would be amazed at not only the size and scope of the structure, but by the quantity and diversity of the artwork as well. some people might say there is not much to see in the viaduct, but we disagree. we were obviously not the first people there and we won’t be the last. 

     Once you’ve climbed inside you notice artwork adorning every wall. Some of it crude, some of it inspiring but all of it part of a story that spans decades at the very least. Steel ladder rungs are present nearly all the way through, which is necessary to make it from one end to the other. Once you reach the bottom of an arch, there are dark open “rooms”, which must be crossed if you are to make it to the very last arch (the footing of the bridge). These rooms span about 10 ft. across and may or may not have a makeshift wooden or steel platform for you to cross. One room however, is filled with about 5 ft.-8 ft. of water that you most definitely do not want to fall in to. Without any doubt, it is not the safest place i have explored. I’m sure it didn’t help that I had to carry a backpack with phtography gear all the while.  Now that we’ve filled you in on a little bit of history and a little bit of our experience, it’s time to get to work on the gallery! Oh…and don’t forget to come back for, “Paulinskill viaduct: Part 2″, where we will go into more detail about our trip and have a short video for you to watch as well.

Sidenote: Sorry! the Paulinskill Viaduct gallery will not be available until the end of the week (8/20/10)

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