The Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad (WB&E) was a railroad that operated in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
from 1892 to 1939.
History
![Wilkes-Barre & Eastern RR 1893](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Wilkes-Barre_%26_Eastern_RR_1893.jpg)
The WB&E was a wholly owned subsidiary of the
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in th ...
(NYS&W). It was chartered in 1892 to provide the NYS&W with a route to bring coal from the mines in northeastern
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
for delivery to the port of
Edgewater, New Jersey
Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a population of 11,513,/nowiki>''sic''/nowiki> Hill Road was an important route to the top ...
.
Previously, the NYS&W was contracting the coal haulage in Pennsylvania to 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 ...
(DL&W). The DL&W originally hauled coal to their interchange with the NYS&W at
Gravel Place, Pennsylvania. From there, the NYS&W would haul the coal to an interchange with the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
in New Jersey.
With the WB&E and exclusive control of distribution facilities at the port in Edgewater, the NYS&W had a direct way to move the coal from the mine to various markets without having to rely on (and pay) two additional railroads for haulage.
Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Map, with connecting and competing railroads
About 15 miles east of
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...
, the WB&E crossed the Panther Creek ravine over a spectacular 1,650-foot
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
which stood 161 feet above the creek bed. It consisted of 20 iron towers and 42 spans, having 30-foot spans atop the towers, and 30- or 65-foot spans between towers. After some initial problems with the concrete tower foundations, the ironwork of the single-tracked bridge was erected in only six weeks and completed on August 3, 1893. Freight service over the whole length of the WB&E began on January 22, 1894 and through passenger service between Jersey City and Wilkes-Barre started on June 4, 1894. The latter was discontinued already in 1897, with mixed trains taking over local passenger business.
3-D image of Panther Creek Viaduct
In 1896, the WB&E created the
Susquehanna Connecting Railroad Susquehanna may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Susquehanna River, the source of the Chesapeake Bay
In Maryland
* Susquehanna State Park (Maryland)
In Pennsylvania
* Susquehannock tribe, Native American tribe of Pennsylvania
* Susquehanna ...
to connect its main line with additional
coal breaker
A coal breaker is a coal processing plant which breaks coal into various useful sizes. Coal breakers also remove impurities from the coal (typically slate) and deposit them into a culm dump. The coal breaker is a forerunner of the modern coal pr ...
s in Minooka and
Old Forge. The connection with the WB&E was at Paddy's Land, later renamed
Suscon Junction. 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 ...
and the
Delaware and Hudson Railway
The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...
also connected with the line in
Moosic, Pennsylvania
Moosic ( ) is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, south of downtown Scranton and northeast of downtown Wilkes-Barre, on the Lackawanna River.
Moosic is in a former coal-mining region. A few older industries existed at one time, includ ...
.
The WB&E was touted as the shortest route from the
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 ...
coalfields to the New York tidewater, being ten miles shorter than the shortest alternative route. However, its late entry into the region meant that the best routes were already taken, so the WB&E had grades and curves which limited the size and speed of its trains. After the Erie gained control of the NYS&W in 1898, it chose to divert traffic onto the Erie's Wyoming Division via the Susquehanna Connecting to Hillside Junction, and the WB&E eastward from Suscon slowly fell into disuse. Mixed train operation and hence passenger service ended on May 15, 1935.
Unable to pay the interest on its mortgage bonds, the WB&E filed for both bankruptcy in 1937. Local freight train service continued to operate on the line up to four times a week until abandonment in March 1939.
[ ] The
Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...
purchased the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
bridge at
Plains
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands.
In ...
on August 1, 1940. Except for a small stub of track in
Suscon, Pennsylvania and this bridge, little remains today of the WB&E. In actuality, there are several miles of track remaining along with several concrete structures and switches. The developer of Center Pointe East trade zone wants to restore rail service on this former line.
Historic remnants
![Wilkes-Barre and Eastern ROW at Sullivan Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wilkes-Barre_and_Eastern_ROW_at_Sullivan_Bridge.jpg)
While there are no operating sections of the WB&E extant today, one building from its car and locomotive shops (actually the NYS&W shops) was still standing at Stroudsburg in the former Katz Scrap Yard just adjacent to the south side of
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 ...
until 2005. The Stroudsburg freight station, originally located at the present site of the Shop-Rite Supermarket, was moved to Ann Street, set up on the site of the former Stroudsburg Traction Company carbarn, restored, and converted into the Driebe Museum. In addition, the freight house at Pocono Lake still stands unused just off
Route 940 in the defunct Frisbie Lumber Company yard and is visible from the road. Contrary to other reports, the present "Olde Engine Works" antique shop building in Stroudsburg had nothing to do with either the NYS&W or the WB&E, as it was simply a factory that manufactured electric motors used to power winches on fishing boats.
Motorists can trace the WB&E roadbed by following Route 940 west and some sections of
I-380 Interstate 380 may refer to:
* Interstate 380 (California), a spur from Interstate 280 to U.S. Route 101 and the San Francisco International Airport
* Interstate 380 (Iowa), a spur from Interstate 80 that starts in Iowa City and eventually ends in ...
north to the junction with I-80 in
Mount Pocono
Mount Pocono is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It is located nearly centered in the southernmost county of five in the northeastern corner that are part of the Pocono Mountains. The ...
. Long Pond Road near the village of Little Summit intersects with the right of way and was the location of a grade crossing. Following Route 940 west towards Pocono Pines, the roadbed is easily visible along the lake on the right as are remnants from a bridge. Much of the line is preserved on
Pennsylvania State Game Lands The Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGL) are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with hu ...
and is easily hiked.
References
*
* The History of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, Walter Arndt Lucas, Railroadians of America, Vol. 1, No. 1, April 1939, 2nd Ed., 1980
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkes Barre Eastern Railroad
Defunct Pennsylvania railroads
Railway companies established in 1892
Railway companies disestablished in 1940
Predecessors of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway