Wheeling/Exploring Centralia PA.

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NAXJA Forum User
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Allentown PA
Wheeling/Exploring Centralia PA. Maybe you've seen Silent Hill?

I went to pick up my Crate engine last week and we drove through the town of Centralia. You have all seen the pictures of the bare grass fields seperated by the grid layout of pavement which was once the roads and alleys of Centralia. Anyway, on the way home I was intrigued by the smoking mounds of dirt. My brother, being the asshat he is talked me into putting the old XJ into 4hi and driving up the mounds and into the woods.

As some of you may know, in the attempts to put out the fires hundreds of metal pipes were drilled into the ground and used to pump water into the mines. Weeeeeell they had to make roads to get to these pipes right?

We spent a good 3 hours with a crate engine in the trunk off roading through paths wide enough for three people to walk side-by-side through. Passing ruins of homes, old cars, you name it. We clocked 18.8 miles of paths and would have gotten lost if we hadn't gone straight at all the intersections we came to. I was going to go back up tomorrow if anyone wants to tag along we can meet at Cabelas and you can see Centralia like hardly anyone has seen before. There were several over looks which you could see for miles down at the towns of Ashland, Shamokin, and Mt. Carmel.

This is why I bought a Jeep!

Before people tell me it was unsafe. I didnt pass a single "NO TRESPASSING" "DANGER" or "WARNING" sign. We were driving on the actual street roads of Centralia, passing benches, light poles, broken stop lights, and it eventually turned from pavement to dirt, to gravel, to smoking dirt mounds then into the woods.

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he's hosting them on another forum that requires you to log in before viewing the images.

looks cool, I'll probably take a ride up there this summer.
 
whatevah said:
he's hosting them on another forum that requires you to log in before viewing the images.

looks cool, I'll probably take a ride up there this summer.

sounds cool id like to see some pics, let me know if you really decide to go I think I would, sounds like you need a decent GPS to get around there.
 
^Sorry guys, Im at work and tried loading them but Photobucket is blocked. Ill be stealing the GF's GPS next time I go up. If you look hard enough you can actually see markers people leave on the trail. Thumb tacks on threes seems to be popular.
 
Be careful driving up there! Centralia is a hop skip and a jump away from where I grew up. There are sink holes that could swallow you hole and no one would know what happend to you cause they go down DEEP. Walking around would be cool but the weight of the vehicle no way. The signs every where telling you its dangerous are there for a reason.
 
pics?
 
kndrewa said:
whats centralia?
.
Centralia has (or had) vast vanes of coal running underground. Exhausted mineshafts were used by locals to throw garbage in, and said garbage ignited and started a nearby coal vane on fire (late 60's, early 70's; not really sure) The locals eventually learned to live with it, but in the early 80's, many local residents began to get sick from the sulphuric smoke. Then there was that friggin' kid that got sucked in the ground and saved by his cousin, and the national media was all over it. The gubment stepped in and bought out all the surrounding properties and helped residents relocate. In the 90's, they once again tried to outten the fire, and, well..., failed. Today, I think there are only 18 or 19 residents of the town of Centralia. Oh yeah, My memory ain't that good. It was on History Channel this past weekend :D
 
neat anyone have any maps or know any areas that are worth visiting up there to get freaked out>?
 
I might have to make a trip up there. I was checking it out and also read about the abandened 10 mile stretch of the turnpike. too bad they dont let motor vehicles out there cause that would be a cool cruise.
 
the gasses will get you before the holes will, depending on the mixture you can create Sulphuric Acid in your lungs when you inhale.

On that note its been years since I have been through there, I grabbed a rock one time next to one of the smoking holes and that thing was still warm to the touch days later. It is a very cool place to explore, ghoast town and the history/science of it. Of course one day the whole thing will turn into a giant deep hole in the ground.

Google video has some very cool footage.
 
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