The Stourbridge Line is a shortline railroad that operates of former Erie Lackawanna Railroad trackage between

Honesdale Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recrea ...

and

Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania Lackawaxen is an unincorporated community in Lackawaxen Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located at the confluence of the Delaware and Lackawaxen Rivers, the former of which forms the state line with New York. ...

where it connects with

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

. The line was previously owned by the Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association and operated under contract by Robey Railroads. The operation was contracted to the

Morristown & Erie Railway Morristown & Erie Railway is a short-line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey, chartered in 1895 as the Whippany River Railroad. It operates freight rail service in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas on the original Whippany L ...

in January, 2009; service ended in 2011. Service was resumed by the Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad (DL&S) on May 9, 2015.

Early history

The railroad traces its beginnings to the

Delaware & Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeaster ...

transporting barges of coal up from Pennsylvania and destined for the Hudson River and eventually the ports of New York City. A

gravity railroad A gravity railroad (American English) or gravity railway (British English) is a railroad on a slope that allows cars carrying minerals or passengers to coast down the slope by the force of gravity alone. The speed of the cars is controlled by a bra ...

was built to carry coal over the mountains from Carbondale to Honesdale in 1829. Coal would be transferred from train to canal boat at Honesdale. Seeking to haul greater amounts, the idea of steam-powered locomotion was proposed. The leaders in steam technology at the time were in Great Britain, so three engines were ordered and delivered to America. According to the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, this is the site of "the first commercial locomotive on rails in the western hemisphere" took place on August 8, 1829. The locomotive was the ''

Stourbridge Lion The ''Stourbridge Lion'' was a railroad steam locomotive. It was the first foreign built locomotive to be operated in the United States, and one of the first locomotives to operate outside Britain. It takes its name from the lion's face painted ...

''. A replica of the ''Stourbridge Lion'' steam engine is on display in Honesdale to this day. Both the gravity railroad and the canal were shut down by 1898, and the D&H left to pursue other transportation activities.

Erie Railroad era

In 1860, the Pennsylvania Coal Company began the construction of a 16-mile-long railroad from Hawley, Pennsylvania, to a connection with the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

at Lackawaxen. This new line was quickly leased to the Erie Railroad, and it was operated as its Hawley Branch. In 1868, the charter of the Jefferson Railroad was reactivated and construction progressed from Hawley towards Honesdale, hoping to reach Carbondale. This extension would never be built, even after the Erie took over in 1870. It would continue operation as the Honesdale Branch, and coal was the primary traffic. Coal traffic declined through the 1930s, but new local business took its place, warranting a five-day-a-week operation. In 1960, the Erie merged with the

Delaware, Lackawanna & 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 ...

to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad (EL). Traffic on the branch remained steady at about 3,000 cars per year.

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

hit the East on June 22, 1972. After estimating that the damage to EL, principally between Binghamton and Salamanca, New York, amounted to $2 million ($ today), EL filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

on June 26, 1972.

Moody's Transportation Manual Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...

, 1986, p. 1275 During the reorganization of the eastern railroads, it was thought that EL might be able to reorganize on its own, and there was a proposal by

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated und ...

to buy a portion of the EL. However, the operating unions could not reach a compromise, and Chessie canceled the agreement. Also, by 1975, the economy in the eastern United States was affected by the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

, hurting any hopes of EL being able to independently compete with government-rehabilitated

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

lines. Not surprisingly, EL asked to be included in Conrail. Due to the low density of traffic, the Honesdale Branch would not be included. Wayne County then made plans to purchase the line from EL to avoid abandonment.

Lackawaxen & Stourbridge

Proposals for short line operation were solicited from the

Delaware Otsego Corporation The Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO) is an American railway holding company which owns the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway and the Central New York Railroad. It is headquartered in Cooperstown, New York in Otsego County. The compan ...

, Rail Service Associates (operators of the

Bath & Hammondsport Railroad B&H Rail Corporation , formerly the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad, is a Class III shortline railroad. Initially the line served the communities of Bath, New York and Hammondsport, New York. In Bath, the railroad connected with the Erie Railroad and ...

) and TransAction Associates. Rail Service Associates (RSA) formed the Delaware, Lackawaxen & Western Railroad to take over the branch, and began its feasibility study. Early negotiations for subsidy came with the requirement that former union employees be made an offer for work at their current salary and benefit levels. Discussions with Conrail over rate divisions did not end favorably. In March, 1976, with less than a month to go before the start up of Conrail, RSA pulled out of its proposal. An inquiry was made with Delaware Otsego (DO) to see if it was still interested in operating the line. Building off its recent success with the launch of the Central New York Railroad and the revival of the

Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad The Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad (FJ&G) was formerly a 132-mile steam engine and electric interurban railroad that connected its namesake towns in east central New York State to Schenectady, New York. It had a successful and profita ...

(FJ&G), DO was confident the Honesdale Branch would be profitable. With two weeks until the deadline, DO formed the Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad (LASB). A spare locomotive from the FJ&G was shipped down to Lackawaxen in anticipation of the start-up. The ownership of the tracks was still in question, so an emergency order was handed down by the ICC directing LASB to operate the branch after March 30, 1976. The first LASB train departed from Lackawaxen on April 1, 1976. The railroad's first blow was the loss of the local Agway mill in Honesdale. The railroad was purchased from the estate of EL by the Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association (LHSA) in 1977, with operation contracted to DO. In 1979, the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce launched seasonal passenger excursions.

After DO

In June, 1989, DO ended operations on LASB. The Stourbridge Railroad assumed operations through contract to Robey Railroads, operators of the North Shore Railroad. Seasonal passenger excursions continued to run, sponsored by Wayne County. Ownership of the line was conveyed from PennDOT to L&S on January 31, 2003.stb.dot.gov
/ref> Service was suspended in 2005, when a bridge spanning the Wallenpaupack Creek was destroyed after Pennsylvania Power & Light made emergency water releases from the Lake Wallenpaupack Dam following heavy rains in April, 2005; heavy rainfalls in June, 2006 further damaged the weakened structure. L&S acquired control of the Stourbridge from Robey in July, 2006.
/ref> A grant of $800,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, plus $703,278 worth of FEMA money, were put towards repairing the trestle over Wallenpaupack Creek. In May, 2008, the line was purchased by Paul Brancato, a principal in Ideal Steel Supply Corp., who planned to build a steel fabrication plant at White Mills. Operation were initially contracted to Central Penn Railroad. The line between

Norfolk Southern Railroad The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

and Route 590 in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania was repaired in anticipation of resumed service. It was suddenly announced, in September, 2008, that operation would transfer from Central Penn Railroad to the

(M&E); operations began in January, 2009 as the Stourbridge Rail''way''. Passenger excursions to Hawley and Lackawaxen were operated on behalf of Wayne County.

Suspension and reopening

Citing a lack of funds, M&E withdrew service indefinitely in December, 2011. A news story dated September 11, 2012 provided additional details, stating "a lack of money is keeping the Stourbridge Line Railroad excursions in Wayne County idle for the first time in more than 30 years... e train needs repairs, and so do the tracks. One reason those repairs are not being made is because the land the tracks run through is up for sale... With the tracks used by the Stourbridge line being up for sale, and all the repairs that need to be made, no one is sure when, or even if, this train will be back up and running."wnep.com
/ref> The Stourbridge Line resumed operations on May 9, 2015. Operations were inaugurated by the Delaware Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad under the auspices of Myles Group.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

The Stourbridge line – Scenic Train Rides of the Northern Poconos

* ttp://www.waynecountycc.com/ Wayne County Chamber of Commerce Stourbridge Rail Line Excursions
North East Rails – Unofficial North Shore, North East Pennsylvania Shortline Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stourbridge Railroad Pennsylvania railroads Heritage railroads in Pennsylvania Companies operating former Erie Railroad lines Transportation in Wayne County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Pike County, Pennsylvania