East Stroudsburg is an historic train station built by the

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

in 1856. The station served as the local stop for both East Stroudsburg and

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence of the Brodhead, McMichaels and Pocono Creeks in Northeastern Pennsyl ...

. The depot, recently known locally as the Dansbury Depot for the restaurant that used the building, is located on Crystal Street in East Stroudsburg. Service to East Stroudsburg ended on January 6, 1970, when the

Erie Lackawanna Railway The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...

discontinued the '' Lake Cities''. A proposal is currently in place to extend

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

service to a rebuilt East Stroudsburg station. In spring 2021,

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

announced plans for potential New York–Scranton route. It is currently used by some of

Steamtown National Historic Site Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). The museum is buil ...

's excursion trains.

History

The station had served several

and then Erie-Lackwanna passenger trains. Aside from the ''Lake Cities,'' these included the ''Owl''/''New York Mail,'' ''Twilight''/''Pocono Express'' and the DL&W flagship train, the ''

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "San Francisco Bay Blues", "Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited g ...

.''

Station building

Redevelopment

The Stroudsburg area is served by

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

, which links the Pocono Mountains to

Northern New Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrativ ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. High traffic volumes on the highway routinely cause congestion beginning at the Delaware Water Gap (just east of the Stroudsburg area) and extending across

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

towards

. The former DL&W "cutoff" mainline roughly parallels I-80 across New Jersey, and could potentially alleviate congestion on the highway once tracks are fully-restored between Slateford Junction, PA and Port Morris, NJ (28.6 miles). On October 26, 2009, a fire rushed through the station depot. In early July, 2010 local developer Troy Nauman entered a contract to purchase the East Stroudsburg station, and announced plans to demolish the historic station and replace it with a new three-story apartment building. The impending loss of the station caught the community by surprise, and several preservation movements were started by residents, several of whom coalesced under the Save the Dansbury Depot Citizens Group. The group lobbied elected officials for a "cooling-off" period and attempted to negotiate a waiting period with the station's new owner, who had announced plans to redevelop the site. Its Facebook page attracted over 3,600 members who were urged to attend local public meetings and donate funds to save the building. Preservation efforts included a pledge of $500,000 from Dr. Joseph Mattioli, who owned

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...

Long Pond, Pennsylvania Long Pond is an unincorporated community in Monroe County in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, a part of the Appalachian Mountains. Long Pond is located within the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed. Its ZIP code is 18334. Geography Long Po ...

. Although a judge delayed the demolition with an injunction on July 24, 2010, it was reversed by another judge only four days later and demolition had begun, despite much outcry.

New location

In response to public outcry, a plan for rehabilitation and reuse of the oldest part of the original station was implemented by The Eastburg Community Alliance. In spite of the start of demolition, no significant part of the original station was lost. The station itself was moved temporarily to a public parking lot on the eastern side of the

Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna and Monroe counties to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The designated freight operator of the Pe ...

railroad track, to await a concrete pad on which to be set permanently. As of the Summer of 2011, the station has been set on a new permanent foundation across the tracks from its original site. Renovation work was underway to return the station to its earlier appearance with the Lackawanna railroad. The side of the station facing the tracks is the face that had originally faced the tracks; the station was spun 180 degrees during its move. The station is just a stone's throw from the Lackawanna Signal Tower, also being preserved by a local group. Even though the DL&W railroad has long been out of business, one track from Stroudsburg west to

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

and beyond is still in use. The

Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area. DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for of trackage in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, La ...

runs a short-line freight service on the line. Scranton is also the home of

. Some tourist excursions from Scranton (less than 50 highway miles away) to Stroudsburg also use the remaining track. Crossing signals have been upgraded to meet current standards. The original station site has been developed—the proposed apartment building has been built next to the track. The original platform shed, closed-in when the station was converted to other commercial uses, still exists as an extension of the new apartment building.

NJT station

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

, the commuter railroad primarily feeding the

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

areas, has purchased the former DL&W right-of-way in New Jersey and has begun re-laying track at the eastern end of the New Jersey Cutoff, with the intent of relaying track westward across New Jersey to re-connect the DL&W rails through to Stroudsburg. As part of that rebuilding, New Jersey and Pennsylvania plan to include a station stop in East Stroudsburg. The plan is for a station just south of the former station site, located between the track and Crystal Street. It is proposed to have 228 parking spaces and one side level platform. The station is about from New York City, and would become part of the new Lackawanna Cut-Off line ultimately sought between Port Morris, NJ and Scranton, PA. The

Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project is a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak effort to restore passenger service to the Lackawanna Cut-Off in northwest New Jersey. Begun in 2011 and underway as of 2022, the project's Phase 1 is meant to exten ...

is underway for restoring passenger service to East Stroudsburg and the Poconos. The NJ Transit board approved in April 2022 a $32.5 million contract for improving a tunnel and restoring track to part of the line between Blairstown, New Jersey and Port Morris Junction, New Jersey,''Trains,'' April 13, 2022, "NJ Transit awards contract to restore tunnel on Lackawanna Cutoff: Roseville Tunnel subject of $32.5 million rehabilitation project" https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/nj-transit-contracts-lackawanna-cutoff-tunnel-restoration/ a segment in which trackage had been removed in the 1980s.

References

External links

Lackawanna Cut-Off map
{{EL Main Line stations Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad stations Queen Anne architecture in Pennsylvania Railway stations in the United States opened in 1856 Railway stations closed in 1970 Transportation buildings and structures in Monroe County, Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Pennsylvania Railway stations in Monroe County, Pennsylvania