New Jersey Cut-Off
Encyclopedia
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
between 1908 and 1911. The last major railroad mainline to be constructed in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the Cut-Off operated between 1911 and 1979. It was abandoned in 1983 and its tracks were removed the following year.
Also called the New Jersey Cut-Off, the Hopatcong-Slateford Cut-Off, the Lackawanna Highline, or simply the Cut-Off, the Lackawanna Cut-Off runs west from Port Morris Junction
Port Morris Junction
Port Morris Junction is the former railroad connection between NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line and the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western railroad, it sits in the Port Morris section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, south of Lake Hopatcong.Soon after rail...
(near the southern tip of Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, about 45 miles (72.4 km) west-northwest of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) to Slateford Junction
Slateford Junction
Slateford Junction was a railway junction created in 1911 with the opening of the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Before that, the old mainline of the Lackawanna Railroad...
near the Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap
The Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
The Lackawanna Cut-Off is an example of early 20th century right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
construction, which minimized grades and curves and was built without vehicular crossings. It was one of the first railroad projects to use reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
on a large scale. One of the largest such projects in the country at the time, its large cuts, fills, and embankment
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
s required the movement of millions of tons of fill material using techniques similar to those on the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. Running through hills and across valleys, the Cut-Off never exceeds a gradient of 0.55%, and only one curve has a speed limit of less than 70 mph (112.7 km/h).
In 2011, after a more than quarter-century effort to restore rail service on the line, construction began on the easternmost 7.3 miles (11.8 km) of the Cut-Off between Port Morris Junction (the connection with the NJ Transit rail system near Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...
) and Andover, New Jersey
Andover, New Jersey
Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ...
.
History and planning (1851–1908)
The story of the Lackawanna Cut-Off begins more than a half-century before the first train ran on the line. The Lackawanna's "Old RoadLackawanna Old Road
The Lackawanna Old Road was the main right-of-way of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in New Jersey from 1856 until the DL&W opened the Lackawanna Cut-Off in 1911...
" via Oxford, New Jersey
Oxford, New Jersey
Oxford is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Oxford Township, in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The population was 2,283 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Oxford is located at ....
, chartered in 1851 and completed in 1862 under the supervision of railroad magnate John I. Blair, was meant to provide a more or less straight route between the mainlines of the Lackawanna Railroad in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
(CNJ). But when the railroads' proposed end-to-end merger fell through, and the Lackawanna subsequently merged with the Morris and Essex Railroad
Morris and Essex Railroad
The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.-History:...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the Old Road was immediately transformed into a circuitous and, therefore, obsolete route. All this during its first decade of operation.
The operational problems caused by the Old Road only worsened as the railroad's business grew, and by the beginning of the 20th century it had become the Lackawanna's chief bottleneck. Trains were limited to 50 mph (80 km/h) on the route, and 20 mph (32 km/h) through the route's two tunnels. By 1901, the larger locomotives and train cars being built required the installation of gantlet track
Gantlet track
Gauntlet track or interlaced track is an arrangement in which railway tracks run parallel on a single track bed and are interlaced such that only one pair of rails may be used at a time. Since this requires only slightly more width than a single track, all four rails can be carried on the same...
(two overlapping tracks that in effect were a single track) through the 2996 foot (915 m) long Oxford Tunnel. A second 975 foot (300 m) long tunnel (actually two single-track tunnels) near Manunka Chunk
White Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,245 people, 1,668 households, and 1,179 families residing in the township. The population density was 155.1 people per square mile . There were 1,770 housing units at an average density of 64.7 per square mile...
also had chronic drainage problems that occasionally plagued operations.
William Truesdale
William Truesdale
William H. Truesdale was an American railroad executive, primarily known for his service as President of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad at the turn of the 20th century....
, who had become president of the Lackawanna in 1899, recognized early on that the railroad needed to replace the Old Road. By 1905, engineers had surveyed more than a dozen potential routes between Port Morris, New Jersey
Roxbury Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,883 people, 8,364 households, and 6,532 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,117.4 people per square mile . There were 8,550 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile...
, and Slateford, Pennsylvania
Slateford, Pennsylvania
Slateford is an unincorporated community in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The nearest communities are Stroudsburg to the north and Portland to the south. Slateford is approximately 1 mile from the Delaware Water Gap. Its name derives from its location at the edge of the...
. Because any east-west route in northwest New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
would cross the north-south hills at a right angle, tunneling seemed inevitable. Indeed, several of the surveyed routes would have required much longer tunnels than already existed on the Old Road. For instance, Line "C" — the surveyed lines were given letters — would have passed about a mile south of the town of Hope, New Jersey (roughly five miles (8 km) north of where the Old Road ran), and would have required three tunnels totaling four miles (6.5 km) in length. On the other hand, Line "M", which ran about 10 miles (16 km) north of the Old Road, and which of all the surveyed routes most closely mirrored the route eventually chosen, would have required no tunneling, but would have been longer and would have had speed restrictions near Roseville and Tranquility, NJ.
Indeed, the only way to avoid the operational problems associated with Line "M" would be to build the world's largest land-bridge across the Pequest River
Pequest River
The Pequest River is a tributary of the Delaware River in the Skylands Region in northwestern New Jersey in the United States.The Pequest, Native American for "open land", drains an area of across Sussex and Warren counties, consisting of ten municipalities....
Valley, which Truesdale wanted, but which the civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
s on Truesdale's staff thought impossible to build. Truesdale, an adroit corporate executive with a strong tendency towards perfectionism, was acutely aware of the political pitfalls of spending an enormous sum of company money on a railroad line that wasn't first-rate in every respect. So, Truesdale pushed for the seemingly impossible land-bridge to be built — and prevailed. The result would come to be known as the Pequest Fill.
Building the right-of-way (1908–1911)
To finance the enormous cost of building the Cut-Off, Truesdale created a new corporation in 1908, the Lackawanna Railroad of New Jersey.As built, the route ran from the crest of the watershed
Water divide
A drainage divide, water divide, divide or watershed is the line separating neighbouring drainage basins...
at Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...
to Slateford on the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap
The Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains...
. The line was 28.45 miles (45.8 km) in length, some 11 miles shorter than the Old Road's 39.6 miles (63.7 km). The new line reduced the ruling grade of 1.1% to 0.55%. The Cut-Off runs downgrade from east to west, save for a short stretch of less than 0.1% upgrade on the Pequest Fill east of Greendell that accounts for the entire 11 feet (3.4 m) of "rise and fall" on the Cut-Off.
The Cut-Off would have 1,560 degrees (more than four complete circles) less curvature than the Old Road, as well as none of the significant operational problems associated with the Old Road's tunnels. A 1024 feet (312.1 m) long tunnel at Roseville was required when construction of a cut there encountered unstable rock. This disappointed Truesdale, whose experience with the Old Road made him want to eschew tunnels on the new line. Fortunately, Roseville Tunnel
Roseville tunnel
Roseville Tunnel is a 1,024-foot two-track tunnel on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in Byram Township, NJ. It was on a tangent track, around milepost 51.6 on the Cut-Off, exactly five miles west of Port Morris Junction...
caused no major operational problems, and a 70 mph (113 km/h) speed limit was permitted through the tunnel.
The line was built without grade crossings
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
, a modern design feature that the Lackawanna was already introducing to the east; grade separation
Grade separation
Grade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...
eliminated the nuisance and hazard of automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles crossing the right-of-way
Right-of-way
Right-of-way or right of way may refer to:*Right of way , legally granted access*Right-of-way , a strip of land granted for a transportation facility...
.
Construction began August 1, 1908, and was divided into seven sections, each the responsibility of a different contracting company.
Each required heavy cuts and fills. A total of 14621100 cubic yards (11,178,633 m³) of fill material was required for the entire project, more than could be obtained from the project's cuts, so the Lackawanna Railroad bought about 760 acres (3.1 km²) of farmland
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
for borrow pit
Borrow pit
A borrow pit, also known as a sand box, is a term used in construction and civil engineering. It describes an area where material has been dug for use at another location. Borrow pits can be found close to many major construction projects...
s. The earth and gravel was scooped out to a depth of 20 feet (6.1 m) and hauled up onto the embankments. During construction, several foreign governments sent representatives on inspection tours.
The Pequest Fill extended westward from a point 1 miles (1.6 km) east of Andover, NJ, to 1 miles (1.6 km) west of Huntsville, New Jersey
Green Township, New Jersey
- History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,...
. It is 110 feet (33.5 m) tall and 3.12 miles (5 km) long, and required 6,625,000 cubic yards of fill. The original Huntsville, New Jersey
Green Township, New Jersey
- History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,...
schoolhouse is buried under the Pequest Fill; the DL&W paid for a second schoolhouse to be built nearby.
The line's largest cut, Armstrong Cut, just west of Johnsonburg, NJ, is 100 feet (30.5 m) deep and 1 miles (1,609.3 m) long, mostly through solid rock. It was the site of a massive rockslide in 1941. The line's deepest cut is Roseville Cut, just west of Roseville Tunnel
Roseville tunnel
Roseville Tunnel is a 1,024-foot two-track tunnel on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in Byram Township, NJ. It was on a tangent track, around milepost 51.6 on the Cut-Off, exactly five miles west of Port Morris Junction...
, at 130 feet (39.6 m) deep.
During the summer of 1911, as construction fell behind schedule on the Roseville section, contractor Waltz & Reece Company used torchlight, as there was no electricity available, to work around the clock.
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
structures include underpasses, overhead bridges, culvert
Culvert
A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...
s, and, most notably, two viaducts.
The Paulinskill Viaduct
Paulinskill Viaduct
The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a railroad bridge which crosses the Paulins Kill in Knowlton Township, New Jersey....
(sometimes called the Hainesburg Viaduct after a nearby town) crosses the Paulins Kill
Paulins Kill
The Paulins Kill is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States...
. At 115 feet (35.1 m) high (about the height of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
from crown to foot) and 1100 feet (335.3 m) long, it was at the time the world's largest reinforced concrete viaduct.
The Delaware River Viaduct
Delaware River Viaduct
The Delaware River Viaduct is the sister bridge of the Paulinskill Viaduct on the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line between eastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey. Built in 1908-10, this reinforced concrete bridge crosses the Delaware River about two miles south of the Delaware Water Gap...
, 65 feet (19.8 m) tall and 1450 feet (442 m) long, has five arches that span 150 feet (45.7 m) each. For stability, its abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s were excavated 62 feet (18.9 m) down to bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
.
Three reinforced concrete stations were built in the towns of Greendell
Green Township, New Jersey
- History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,...
, Johnsonburg and Blairstown. Greendell
Green Township, New Jersey
- History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,...
and Johnsonburg, located in rural areas, provided only modest business for the railroad, whereas Blairstown was more of a regional center and became a regular stop for passenger trains.
Three reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
interlocking towers were built on the line: Port Morris Junction and Greendell Towers in New Jersey and Slateford Junction
Slateford Junction
Slateford Junction was a railway junction created in 1911 with the opening of the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Before that, the old mainline of the Lackawanna Railroad...
Tower in Pennsylvania. Greendell Tower, about 12 miles (19.3 km) west of Port Morris, controlled the crossovers, long passing siding, and short freight siding there. It was manned until 1938, when its operation was transferred to Port Morris Tower. Slateford Jct. Tower, which controlled the junction with the Old Road, remained in operation until January 1951, when its functionality was transferred to East Stroudsburg Tower, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west. Port Morris ("UN") Tower, which controlled the junction with the line to Washington, New Jersey
Washington, New Jersey
Washington is a borough in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 6,461. The borough is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
, remained in operation until the end of freight operations on the Cut-Off in January 1979.
The Cut-Off cost $11,065,511.43 to build in 1911. The Lackawanna Railroad of New Jersey remained a separate corporate entity until 1941, when it was merged into the Lackawanna Railroad.)
Operations
The first revenue train crossed the Cut-Off westbound during the early morning hours of December 24, 1911.The Cut-Off shaved 20 minutes off the schedule for passenger trains and saved freight trains a full hour. Long-distance trains, such as the Lackawanna Limited, which traveled from Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, and provided sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
service on to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and St. Louis, shifted to the Cut-Off. The Old Road was immediately downgraded to secondary status.
The Cut-Off was built to permit an unrestricted speed of 70 mi/h on curves with a degree of curvature
Degree of curvature
Degree of curve or degree of curvature is a measure of curvature of a circular arc used in civil engineering for its easy use in layout surveying....
of 2°. The overall speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
on the line was later raised to 75 mi/h and then to 80 mi/h, in response to the installation of heavier rail and the fact that roughly 85% of the line was tangent (straight) track. Making up time (exceeding the speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
when trains were late) was reported to have occurred on occasion, although such a practice would only have occurred when the railroad crew confirmed that no railroad officials were on board the train.
The western end of Roseville Tunnel
Roseville tunnel
Roseville Tunnel is a 1,024-foot two-track tunnel on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in Byram Township, NJ. It was on a tangent track, around milepost 51.6 on the Cut-Off, exactly five miles west of Port Morris Junction...
posed a few minor operational problems, including snow and ice buildup and occasional rockslides. A watchman
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
was posted in a shanty to keep an eye out for slides until a mechanical detector was installed to change trackside signals to red when such occurred. Over the years, the daylighting (removal of the land above) Roseville Tunnel
Roseville tunnel
Roseville Tunnel is a 1,024-foot two-track tunnel on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in Byram Township, NJ. It was on a tangent track, around milepost 51.6 on the Cut-Off, exactly five miles west of Port Morris Junction...
has been occasionally discussed. The cost and scale of such a project has never been calculated. Indeed, even with the upcoming reactivation of rail service through the tunnel, it is not considered a high priority.
At the outset, the Lackawanna's woman in white—Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Snow (passenger train)
Phoebe Snow was a named passenger train operated by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and the Erie Lackawanna.It travelled across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and western New York.-Lackawanna passenger train :...
—advertised the Cut-Off in posters that showed the Pequest Fill and proclaimed the Lackawanna as the "Shortest Route" to Buffalo. In 1949, when the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Snow (passenger train)
Phoebe Snow was a named passenger train operated by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and the Erie Lackawanna.It travelled across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and western New York.-Lackawanna passenger train :...
, the Lackawanna's premier streamlined
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
train, was inaugurated, the Cut-Off was considered a scenic highlight of the trip to Buffalo, NY
Buffalo
-Bovine:* African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo * American Buffalo, North American colloquial name for American Bison * Wisent, or Eurasian Buffalo...
.
Rise and decline of the Lackawanna Railroad
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
shipped by the railroad was anthracite coal
Anthracite coal
Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...
. For instance, in 1890 and during 1920–1940, the DL&W shipped upwards of 14% of the State of Pennsylvania's anthracite production. Other profitable freight included dairy products, cattle, lumber, cement, steel, and grain. At the time, the Pocono Mountains region was one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country—especially among New Yorkers—and several large hotels sat along the line in Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
, generating a large amount of passenger traffic for the Lackawanna. All of this helped justify the railroad's expansion of its double-track mainline to three and in some places four tracks. The Cut-Off had several passing sidings and together with the Old Road effectively was the equivalent a four-track mainline between Slateford and Port Morris Junctions. The Old Road's route provided extra capacity when the Cut-Off could not handle peaks in traffic.
But changes in the region's economy ultimately undercut the railroad. The post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
boom enjoyed by many U.S. cities bypassed Scranton and the rest of Lackawanna
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
and Luzerne
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
counties. Oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
quickly became the preferred energy sources. Silk and other textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
industries shrank as jobs moved to the southern U.S. or overseas. The advent of refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
squeezed the business from ice pond
Ice pond
An ice pond is a large volume of ice or snow produced and stored in the winter to be used for cooling/air conditioning in the summer. The best known experiment is the 'Princeton ice pond' by Ted Taylor in 1981. He then convinced the Prudential Insurance Company to use a bigger pond to provide air...
s on top of the Poconos. Even the dairy industry changed. The Lackawanna had long enjoyed revenues from milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
shipments; many stations had a creamery
Creamery
In a dairy, the creamery is the location of cream processing. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream returned to the skimmed milk....
next to the tracks, including Johnsonburg on the Cut-Off.
Perhaps the most catastrophic blow to the Lackawanna, however, was dealt by Mother Nature
Mother Nature
Mother Nature is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. Images of women representing mother earth, and mother nature, are timeless...
. In August 1955, flooding from Hurricane Diane
Hurricane Diane
Hurricane Diane was one of three hurricanes to hit North Carolina during the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season, striking an area that had been hit by Hurricane Connie five days earlier...
devastated the Pocono Mountains region, killing 80 people. The floods cut the Lackawanna Railroad in 88 places, destroying 60 miles (97 km) of track, stranded several trains (with a number of passengers aboard), and shutting down the railroad for nearly a month (with temporary speed restrictions prevailing on the damaged sections of railroad for months), causing a total of $8.1 million in damages and lost revenue. The Cut-Off was not directly affected by the flooding, but until the mainline in Pennsylvania reopened, all trains were cancelled or rerouted over other railroads. The Lackawanna would never fully recover.
Then, in January 1959, the Knox Mine Disaster
Knox Mine disaster
The Knox Mine disaster was a mining accident that took place in Port Griffith, a town in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittston, on January 22, 1959....
flooded the mines and all but obliterated what was left of the region's anthracite industry.
The Lackawanna Railroad's financial problems were not at all unique. Rail traffic in the US in general declined after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as trucks and automobiles took away freight and passenger traffic. Declining freight traffic put the nearby New York, Ontario and Western Railroad and Lehigh & New England Railroad out of business in 1957 and 1961, respectively. Over the next three decades, nearly every major railroad in the Northeastern US would go bankrupt.
E-L merger and Conrail (1957–1979)
By the late 1950s, all signs pointed to continued financial decline and eventual bankruptcyBankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
for the DL&W, prompting Lackawanna president Perry Shoemaker to seek a merger with the Nickel Plate Road. The deal would have created a railroad stretching more than 1,100 miles (1700 km) from St. Louis, Mo. to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and would have allowed the Lackawanna to retain the 200 miles (322 km) of double-track mainline between Buffalo, and Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. Interestingly, there was historical precedent for a Lackawanna-Nickel Plate merger going back to a 1920 report issued by William Z. Ripley
William Z. Ripley
William Zebina Ripley was an American economist, lecturer at Columbia University, professor of economics at MIT, professor of political economics at Harvard University, and racial theorist...
, a professor of political economics at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, who concluded (within the so-called Ripley Report) that such a merger would have been financially beneficial to both railroads.
But 40 years later, the Lackawanna was but a shadow of its former financial self and although the Lackawanna had accumulated a substantial block of Nickel Plate stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
, the Nickel Plate was not interested in an end-to-end merger, rebuffing attempts to seat a DL&W director on its board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, indicating that the Lackawanna's financial position would not have benefited Nickel Plate stockholders. (The Nickel Plate would later merge with the Norfolk and Western Railroad). As such, starting in 1956, the Lackawanna aggressively sought joint operating agreements, and potential mergers, with the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
and the Delaware and Hudson Railway
Delaware and Hudson Railway
The Delaware and Hudson Railway is a railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, although CPR has assumed all operations and the D&H does not maintain any locomotives or rolling stock.It was formerly an important...
; in the end, neither the LVRR nor the D&H was interested.
As if all these factors weren't bad enough to endure, property taxes in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
were a tremendous financial drain on the Lackawanna and other railroads that ran through New Jersey, a situation that would not be remedied for another two decades.
With the Nickel Plate out of the picture, Shoemaker sought a merger with the DL&W's longtime rival, the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
. As a result, the Cut-Off was single-tracked in 1958 in anticipation of the Erie merger, except for the sidings at Port Morris, Greendell and Slateford. The merger would be formally consummated on October 17, 1960.
Shoemaker would receive much criticism for orchestrating the merger, and would even second-guess himself after he had retired from railroading. Indeed, Shoemaker later claimed to have had a "gentlemen's agreement" with the E-L Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
to take over as president of the new railroad, but was pushed aside in favor of Erie Railroad
Erie
Erie is a city in Pennsylvania, United States.Erie may also refer to:*Erie , a tribe of Native Americans-Places:*Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes of North America*Erie Canal, a canal running from the Hudson River to Lake Erie...
managers, causing him to leave in disillusionment to became the president of the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
in 1962. In the end, the merger would lead to the abandonment of most of the Lackawanna's mainline trackage between Binghamton, NY and Buffalo, NY.
Soon after the merger, the new E-L management shifted most freight trains to the "Erie side", the former Erie Railroad lines, leaving only a few daily freight trains traveling over the Cut-Off. Passenger train traffic would not be affected, at least not immediately. This traffic pattern would remain in effect for over ten years—past the discontinuation of passenger service on January 6, 1970—and was almost completely dependent on the lucrative interchange with the New Haven Railroad at Maybrook, New York
Maybrook, New York
Maybrook is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,084 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
.
The 1970 merger of the New Haven Railroad into the Penn Central Railroad changed all this: the New England Gateway was closed, causing dramatic traffic changes for the Cut-Off. Indeed, as very little on-line freight originated on the Erie side, once the Gateway was closed (eliminating the original justification for shifting traffic to the Erie side), virtually all the E-L's freight trains were shifted back to the Lackawanna side and now traversed the Cut-Off once again. After the New England Gateway closed, E-L's management downgraded the Erie side and seriously considered its abandonment.
The year 1970 also saw the E-L abandon the Lackawanna's Old Road as a through route. The tracks were removed, except for short stretches at either end of the line: in Washington, New Jersey (to serve a local industry, a service that is provided by Norfolk Southern to this day); and in Delaware, New Jersey (to provide additional trackage for coal train operations across the Delaware River to the Med-Ed power plant in Portland, Pennsylvania
Portland, Pennsylvania
Portland is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. Portland is located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. It is part of Pennsylvania's Slate Belt.The population of Portland was 579 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
).
In 1972, the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
abandoned all its operations in Pennsylvania (which by that time were freight-only), causing additional through freights to be run daily between Elizabeth, NJ on the CNJ and Scranton on the E-L. The trains, designated as the eastbound SE-98 and the westbound ES-99, travelled via the Cut-Off and were routed via the CNJ
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
's High Bridge Branch
High Bridge Branch
The High Bridge Branch was a branch line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey that started in High Bridge, New Jersey at a connection with the CNJ main line and continued north to iron-ore mines in Morris County...
. This arrangement ended with the creation of Conrail
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
.
During its time, the E-L diversified its shipments from the growing Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
and also procured a lucrative contract with Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
to ship auto components from Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
Mount Pocono is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state.As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 2,742.-Geography:Mount Pocono is located at ....
. The E-L also aggressively sought other contracts with suppliers in the area, pioneering what came to be known as intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
shipping. However, none of this could compensate for the decline in coal shipments, and, as labor costs and taxes rose, the railroad's financial position, while stronger than some railroads in the eastern U.S., was becoming increasingly precarious.
The opening of Interstates I-80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
, I-380
Interstate 380
Interstate 380 may refer to:*Interstate 380 , a spur from Interstate 280 to U.S. Highway 101 and the San Francisco International Airport...
, and I-81
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
during the early 1970s, which in effect paralleled much of the former Lackawanna mainline east of Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, encouraged more traffic to be diverted to trucks. This helped accelerate the E-L's decline and its inclusion into Conrail, a new regional railroad that was created on April 1, 1976, out of the remnants of seven bankrupt freight railroads in the Northeastern U.S.. Initially, Conrail's freight schedule over the Cut-Off did not much change from the E-L's due to labor contracts that restricted any immediate alterations. This, too, would change. In early 1979, Conrail suspended freight service on the Cut-Off, citing the E-L's early-1960s severing of the Boonton Branch
Boonton Branch
The Boonton Branch refers to the railroad line that was completed in 1870 and ran 34 miles from Hoboken, NJ to Denville, NJ as part of the Morris & Essex Railroad, which in turn was part of the Lackawanna Railroad...
near Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
, and the grades over the Pocono Mountains as the primary reason for removing freight traffic from the entire Hoboken-Scranton route and consolidating this service within its other operating routes.
The end of service on the Cut-Off and the Old Road severed a corridor that had operated continuously since the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Efforts to save the Cut-Off (1979–1984)
When Conrail removed the Cut-Off from service in early 1979, all routine maintenance on the line was discontinued, and two sections of rail were removed at Port Morris Jct., effectively disconnecting the main track, although the Port Morris Wye track was left in place. Yet Conrail had already replaced thousands of crosstiesRailroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
on the Cut-Off after its takeover, so the line was arguably in better physical condition than it had been since the Lackawanna days.
Supporters of the Cut-Off convinced Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
to operate an inspection train between Hoboken and Scranton to investigate the possibility of operating intercity trains on the line. The 133-mile (215 km) inspection trip (dubbed the "Pocono Mountain Special") was operated over the line on a dreary November 13, 1979. Unfortunately, with no Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
funding available and insufficient political support, the idea of Hoboken, NJ
Hoboken
Hoboken may refer to:*Hoboken, New Jersey, United States*Hoboken, Antwerp, a district of Antwerp, Belgium*Hoboken, Georgia, United States*Hoboken, Alabama, United States*"Hoboken", a song on Operation Ivy's 1988 album Hectic-See also:...
–Scranton rail service faded. This would be the only Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
train—and the last passenger train—to operate on the Cut-Off during the 20th century.
Several attempts were made to purchase the line from Conrail. The Monroe County
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there are 176,567 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile...
Railroad Authority in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
pursued funding to pay for the $6.5 million price-tag that Conrail had set for the 88-mile (142 km) section of track between Port Morris and Scranton. The agreement was to have included a $4.1 million loan (at 3.25% per annum) from the federal government, plus a bond issue to cover the balance of the purchase price, plus additional unspecified rehabilitation costs. Conrail was to receive permission to remove one track from Analomink, PA, to Scranton (about 40 miles, 65 km), with an option for the state to purchase the second track to Moscow, PA, for Steamtown
Steamtown
Steamtown may refer to:* Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre, museum in Peterborough, South Australia* Steamtown, Peterborough Railway Preservation Society Inc., former heritage railway in Peterborough, South Australia* Steamtown, USA, former Vermont museum...
operations out of Scranton. Part of the agreement stipulated that the designated operator of the railroad would be expected to repay the loan using revenue from operations.
On August 10, 1983, Monroe County officials were informed by the US Department of Transportation that the federal loan guarantee had been revoked in favor of the financially ailing Detroit and Mackinac Railroad in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. In spite of this, a list of 16 potential operators was gathered, of which seven submitted proposals on August 26, 1983. Even with the revocation of the federal loan guarantee, officials in Monroe County continued to be optimistic that Congress could be convinced to provide the needed financial support to the project.
In the end, it would be the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
(ICC) that would provide Conrail with the legal ability to abandon the Cut-Off. In 1983, the ICC ruled that from that time onward, track that had been out of service for two years would be exempt from regulation for abandonment. Until that time, a rather lengthy process had existed, which discouraged railroads from abandoning unwanted routes. After the ICC ruling, however, any track segment would be considered as "out of service" if it had no originating or terminating shipments for two years and was not required for service to any other trackage. The Cut-Off, placed out of service four years before the ICC ruling and free of shippers left on the line, immediately met the requirements for abandonment.
Even without the federal loan guarantee, the Monroe County Railroad Authority (with support from PennDOT and the bizarre threat of the use of a privately-owned World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
tank against Conrail) would block Conrail's attempt to completely remove the track in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. However, the political support could only delay temporarily Conrail's removal of the tracks on the New Jersey section of the Cut-Off.
Abandonment and further efforts to save the line (1984–2001)
A Conrail train began removing track in summer 1984. Starting at the east end of the Delaware River Viaduct, the train worked eastward, and pulled the last rail on October 5.. The wooden ties and rock ballast were left in place, which was somewhat unusual for Conrail, which typically removed all components (rails, wooden ties, signals, poles, rock ballast) when dismantling a rail line.The following year, Conrail sold all of the now-abandoned right-of-way, except for the easternmost 1.5 miles (2.4 km) (which Conrail temporarily retained ownership to), to Jerry Turco, a developer. Turco said he had never intended to buy the Cut-Off, discovering its availability after approaching Conrail in late 1984 to acquire a small parcel of the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway
Lehigh and Hudson River Railway
The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast-southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it...
(L&HR) right-of-way in Andover so that he could expand his adjacent nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
operation. Conrail, the owner of the abandoned L&HR, reportedly countered by offering to sell Turco the entire 32-mile L&HR right-of-way from Sparta Junction in Sparta, NJ to BD Junction in Belvidere, NJ. Conrail further offered to add the Cut-Off (the L&HR right-of-way crossed under the Pequest Fill near Tranquility, NJ), offering Turco a package deal for a total of nearly 60 miles (97 km) of rights-of-way. Turco accepted, reportedly paying roughly $2 million for the package. Conrail removed the track from the L&HR, as Turco had only acquired the land and not the track.
In 1986, Turco announced plans to remove the Pequest Fill and other large fills from the Cut-Off and to dump garbage and construction materials into the large cuts. While it was never entirely clear if Turco was serious about pursuing his proposed Rebar Landfill, as it was called, or if it was just a ploy to stir up public opposition to the plan in order to gain political support and to force the New Jersey state government to step in and acquire the Cut-Off by condemnation
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, it is clear that the controversial Turco proposal became a rallying point for preserving the Cut-Off, and galvanized support for a $25 million state bond issue for acquiring abandoned rail rights-of-way in New Jersey.
During this time, Conrail sold the remaining 1.5-mile (2.4 km) parcel of right-of-way near Port Morris to Burton Goldmeier, a developer who reportedly wanted to use the Cut-Off as an access road to a proposed development project. It was rumored that Conrail initially retained ownership of the Goldmeier parcel so as prevent Turco from entering into an agreement with a competing freight railroad that might attempt to reactivate the Cut-Off. Whether that is true or not is not known, but by the time Conrail sold the Goldmeier parcel, it had already placed additional constraints into its agreement covering the Pennsylvania trackage west of Slateford Junction, strongly suggesting that Conrail was uneasy about the possibility of another railroad entering the New York market via the Cut-Off.
As such, when voters approved the bond issue in November 1989, it opened the door for the preservation of the Lackawanna Cut-Off. As expected, the New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
began the use of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
against the corporations that Turco and Goldmeier had established in New Jersey for the Cut-Off. Of the two parcels, acquisition of Turco's parcel was by far the most complicated as Turco had established separate corporations for the sections of right-of-way in each municipality that his section of the Cut-Off ran through: Knowlton
Knowlton Township, New Jersey
- Local government :The Knowlton Township Committee consists of Mayor Frank Van Horn , Deputy Mayor Ronald Farber , Theresa Capriccio , René Mathez and Scott Odorizzi ....
, Blairstown
Blairstown Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,747 people, 2,040 households, and 1,638 families residing in the township. The population density was 185.3 people per square mile . There were 2,136 housing units at an average density of 68.9 per square mile...
and Frelinghuysen
Frelinghuysen Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,083 people, 722 households, and 578 families residing in the township. The population density was 88.9 people per square mile . There were 755 housing units at an average density of 32.2 per square mile...
townships in Warren County
Warren County, New Jersey
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 108,692. Its county seat is Belvidere...
; Green
Green Township, New Jersey
- History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,...
, Byram
Byram Township, New Jersey
Byram Township — "The Township of Lakes" — is a Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 8,350...
, and Andover
Andover Township, New Jersey
Andover Township is a Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 6,319....
townships and Stanhope
Stanhope, New Jersey
-Transportation:Route 183 is the main access road that serves the borough. U.S. Route 206 also passes through in the western section and is partially a limited access road which connects to I-80 in neighboring Mount Olive.-Demographics:...
and Andover boroughs in Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
; and Roxbury Township
Roxbury Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,883 people, 8,364 households, and 6,532 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,117.4 people per square mile . There were 8,550 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile...
in Morris County
Morris County, New Jersey
Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....
. In addition, separate corporations had been set up for the Paulinskill Viaduct and the Delaware River Viaduct, as well as for the mile (1.6 km) of right-way in Pennsylvania (which would be subsequently acquired by Pennsylvania's Monroe County Authority). In addition to these corporations, Turco created a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
to oversee these other companies: OLC, Inc., OLC standing for Old Lackawanna Cut-Off.
Efforts to restore rail service (2001–present)
By 2001, the State of New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
had acquired their respective portions of the Cut-Off for a total of $21 million, a process. In 2003, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
secured initial funding for the restoration of passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
for review and approval. The following February, the Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
and Monroe County
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there are 176,567 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile...
Railroad Authorities were merged to form the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority
Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority
Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania and Monroe County, Pennsylvania to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania....
. One of the objectives of the rail authority was to help expedite the effort to restore passenger service on the Pennsylvania side of the Lackawanna Cut-Off project.
In May 2008, the North Jersey Transportation Authority approved funding to rebuild the first 7.3 miles (11.7 km) of the Cut-Off between Andover and Port Morris Junction (NJ). By 2009, the environmental assessment for the rest of the project to Scranton was completed, with a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI). The EPA subsequently concurred with this finding in July 2009.
Brush removal and general preparation for the relaying of tracks between Port Morris and Andover
Andover, New Jersey
Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, was to have originally begun in 2010, but two problems delayed the work. One was wetlands near County Route 605 in Stanhope, NJ. These wetlands date to the construction of the Cut-Off, although adequate drainage had prevented the right-of-way from flooding. With abandonment of the line, regular maintenance on the adjacent drainage ditches ceased, resulting in an area that technically met the definition of wetlands.
The second problem resulted when the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, an environmental group, objected to brush clearing along the line during the mating season of the Indiana bat
Indiana bat
The Indiana bat is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in eastern and midwestern states and in parts of the south of the United States. The Indiana bat is gray, black, or chestnut in colour and is 1.2–2 inches and weighs about 1/4 an ounce...
, an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
As of 2011, the right-of-way between Port Morris and Lake Lackawanna has been prepared (cleared of trees and debris and has been ballasted), but the section between Lake Lackawanna and Andover is still awaiting approval of environmental permits. The laying of railroad track began at Port Morris, NJ in September 2011 and is slowly progressing westward.
One additional construction concern exists at County Route 602 in Hopatcong: a grade crossing was created here in 1990 to eliminate a low-clearance underpass that went under the Cut-Off's right-of-way. Another grade crossing was created on the Cut-Off just west of the Greendell station site when an overhead bridge over the Cut-Off on County Route 606 was eliminated in the late 1990s. It is thought that the Greendell grade crossing may eventually be eliminated after the reinstitution of rail service farther west on the line, but due to topography it is unlikely that it will ever be feasible to eliminate the County Route 602 crossing.
New Jersey Transit proposal
In 2008, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) approved a proposal by New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
to restore rail service to the Lackawanna Cut-Off and onward along the old DL&W mainline in Pennsylvania to Scranton. The approval made the project eligible for Federal Transit Administration
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
(FTA) funding for engineering and design work.
The NJT proposed to reopen train service in two phases:
- Phase I, also known as the Minimal Operating Segment: Extend rail service to Andover, NJ. (7.3 miles, 11.8 km). Build a new station in AndoverAndover, New JerseyAndover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ...
, at Roseville Road, with 125 parking spaces. This site was chosen because it is the area's only land parcel of sufficient size that is next to the Cut-Off and near a major highway; the site is about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from US Route 206 and about 0.9 miles (1.5 km) from Sussex County Route 517. Initially operate this section as a single-track railroad with a 70 mph (113 km/hr) speed limit, using dual-mode locomotivesALP-45DPThe ALP-45DP is a dual-mode locomotive currently being built by Bombardier Transportation. It was unveiled to the public on September 21, 2010 at Innotrans 2010.-New Jersey Transit:...
. Run 12 daily trains in Midtown Direct between Andover and New York, six eastbound and six westbound. Estimated cost: $35 million. Status as of 2011: under construction. (Photos of the progress that is being made in rebuilding the line to Andover can be seen in the Andover Extension Photo section below.)
- Phase II: Extend rail service along the remainder of the Cut-Off (21 miles, 34 km) and into Pennsylvania to Scranton (60 miles, 97 km), a total of 88 miles (142 km). Rebuild the remainder of the Cut-Off as a single-track railroad, but with an 80 mph (129 km/hr) speed limit, reflecting the more favorable curvature of the line west of Andover. Install passing sidings west of Andover station and in Blairstown, New Jersey. Lay the track so as to permit the addition of a contiguous second track. It is anticipated that the entire Cut-Off will receive a track-bed consisting of continuously-welded rail with concrete railroad ties. Reopen the station at Blairstown (230 parking spaces). Build a maintenance-of-way facility at Greendell, a former station site. Estimated cost: $516 million to rebuild the 21 miles (34 km) of the Cut-Off (track, station sites, signals, and bridgework); to upgrade the 60 miles (97 km) between the Delaware Water Gap (at Slateford Junction) and Scranton (station sites and signals); and to acquire additional trainsets (locomotives and passenger cars) for this service. Substantial restoration work on the Delaware River Viaduct will be required, including removal and rebuilding of the entire bridge deck. The Paulins Kill Viaduct also needs work, although it is thought that this work will be primarily cosmetic in nature. Roseville Tunnel will also require rehabilitation to fix the drainage.
Stations in Pennsylvania would include Delaware Water Gap (a new station near the Delaware Water Gap Visitors' Center in Smithfield Township, with 900 parking spaces in a five-story parking garage); East Stroudsburg (a new station site, slightly south of the old station site, with 228 parking spaces); Analomink (a new station, near the old station site, with 250 parking spaces); Pocono Mountain (a new station, near the old Mount Pocono station, with 1,000 parking spaces); Tobyhanna (an existing station, with 102 parking spaces); and Scranton (a new station, west of the existing station, with 30 parking spaces). All stations on the line would have high-level platforms and would comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
Passenger service to Scranton would consist of 18 trains a day (nine eastbound and nine westbound) between and Hoboken or New York City). By 2030, it is estimated that the service would carry 6,000 passengers a day from northeastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey to jobs in New Jersey and New York City.
Future commuters traveling to Hoboken using this service would board a Port Authority Trans-Hudson
Port Authority Trans-Hudson
PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...
(PATH) train to travel into lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
or would switch to a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
train to points along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. A two-hour travel time from northeastern Pennsylvania to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
has been estimated, about the same as rides from New York's northern suburbs of Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
, Brewster, and New Haven, Connecticut. NJ Transit will operate the service to Scranton, which is projected will cost about $26 million a year.
Stations and landmarks (Port Morris – Scranton)
| Milepost* | Town | Station/Landmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45.7 | Roxbury Township Roxbury Township, New Jersey -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,883 people, 8,364 households, and 6,532 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,117.4 people per square mile . There were 8,550 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile... |
Port Morris Junction Port Morris Junction Port Morris Junction is the former railroad connection between NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line and the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western railroad, it sits in the Port Morris section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, south of Lake Hopatcong.Soon after rail... |
Junction between Lackawanna Cut-Off and Montclair-Boonton Line Montclair-Boonton Line The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street,... to Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey... and Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (New York City) Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also... in Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square... (via Midtown Direct Kearny Connection The Kearny Connection in Kearny, New Jersey, allows suburban passenger trains from New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines to run to New York Penn Station,instead of their traditional ferry terminal on the river in Hoboken. New Jersey Transit dubbed the new service Midtown Direct; the... service) – nearest station at Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong (NJT station) Lake Hopatcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey. It is named for the nearby Lake Hopatcong. The station is located at the intersection of Landing Road and Lakeside Boulevard... (MP 45.5). NJT's Port Morris rail yard is also located here Morris Canal Morris Canal The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s.... passed under Cut-Off just west of tower (canal filled-in by mid-1920s). |
| 51.6 | Byram Township Byram Township, New Jersey Byram Township — "The Township of Lakes" — is a Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 8,350... |
Roseville Tunnel Roseville tunnel Roseville Tunnel is a 1,024-foot two-track tunnel on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in Byram Township, NJ. It was on a tangent track, around milepost 51.6 on the Cut-Off, exactly five miles west of Port Morris Junction... |
No station, 1024 foot (315 m) double-track tunnel. |
| 53 | Andover Andover, New Jersey Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ... |
Andover Andover, New Jersey Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ... |
Proposed NJT station - new station on Cut-Off. |
| 57.6 | Green Township Green Township, New Jersey - History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,... |
Greendell Green Township, New Jersey - History :On November 20, 1824, the southern portion of Sussex County was set off to create Warren County. The northern portions of both Hardwick and Independence Townships, remained in Sussex County and were incorporated as Green Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 27,... |
Future maintenance-of-way facility on Cut-Off. Station and tower closed in 1938. |
| 60.7 | Frelinghuysen Township Frelinghuysen Township, New Jersey -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,083 people, 722 households, and 578 families residing in the township. The population density was 88.9 people per square mile . There were 755 housing units at an average density of 32.2 per square mile... |
Johnsonburg | No station currently proposed. Old station closed 1940, partially rebuilt in early 1990s; demolished in 2007. |
| 64.8 | Blairstown Township Blairstown Township, New Jersey -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,747 people, 2,040 households, and 1,638 families residing in the township. The population density was 185.3 people per square mile . There were 2,136 housing units at an average density of 68.9 per square mile... |
Blairstown Blairstown Township, New Jersey -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,747 people, 2,040 households, and 1,638 families residing in the township. The population density was 185.3 people per square mile . There were 2,136 housing units at an average density of 68.9 per square mile... |
Proposed NJT station using existing station building. The only regularly scheduled stop for passenger trains on the Cut-Off. |
| 71.6 | Knowlton Township Knowlton Township, New Jersey - Local government :The Knowlton Township Committee consists of Mayor Frank Van Horn , Deputy Mayor Ronald Farber , Theresa Capriccio , René Mathez and Scott Odorizzi .... |
Paulinskill Viaduct Paulinskill Viaduct The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a railroad bridge which crosses the Paulins Kill in Knowlton Township, New Jersey.... |
No station. Also known as Hainesburg Viaduct. |
| 73 | Stateline (NJ/PA)(Delaware River Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then... ) |
Delaware River Viaduct Delaware River Viaduct The Delaware River Viaduct is the sister bridge of the Paulinskill Viaduct on the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line between eastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey. Built in 1908-10, this reinforced concrete bridge crosses the Delaware River about two miles south of the Delaware Water Gap... |
No station. passes under arches of viaduct on New Jersey New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware... side of the river. |
| 74.3 | Slateford Slateford, Pennsylvania Slateford is an unincorporated community in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The nearest communities are Stroudsburg to the north and Portland to the south. Slateford is approximately 1 mile from the Delaware Water Gap. Its name derives from its location at the edge of the... |
Slateford Junction Slateford Junction Slateford Junction was a railway junction created in 1911 with the opening of the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Before that, the old mainline of the Lackawanna Railroad... |
Junction between Lackawanna Cut-Off and Old Road - Interlocking Interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant... tower (no station) |
| 77.2 | Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains... |
Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap (NJT station) The Delaware Water Gap is a proposed rail station to be built south of the right-of-way at PA Route 2028 in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania... |
Proposed station. Old station (about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) east of proposed station) vacated in 1967. |
| 81.6 | East Stroudsburg East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg is the most populous municipality in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state. Originally known as "Dansbury", East Stroudsburg was renamed for geographic reasons when the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad opened a... |
East Stroudsburg | Proposed station (south of old station site). |
| 86.8 | Analomink Analomink, Pennsylvania Analomink is a section of Stroud Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.- Transportation :The Analomink Station is a proposed station stop for railroad service between New York City, New Jersey, , the Poconos, including Scranton, PA and East Stroudsburg, PA... |
Analomink Analomink (NJT station) The site for the Analomink Station is located along PA Route 191 in Analomink, Stroud Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. PennDOT and Stroud Township own the two parcels that comprise the proposed site. While the Township-owned portion is currently vacant, the parcel under PennDOT ownership is... |
Proposed station (near old station site). |
| 100.3 | Mount Pocono Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania Mount Pocono is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state.As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 2,742.-Geography:Mount Pocono is located at .... |
Pocono Mountain Pocono Mountain (NJT station) The Pocono Mountain Station is a proposed rail station located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania and is part of a site currently vacant that was formerly utilized as a summer camp. The proposed station site, which will include a 1,000-space surface parking lot, is located northwest... |
Proposed station north of former station in Coolbaugh Township near PA SR 611. |
| 107.6 | Tobyhanna | Tobyhanna Tobyhanna (DL&W station) The Tobyhanna Station site is located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania and forms part of a site owned by a number of public and private entities including the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority. The site is adjacent to the former rail station; the building is still in... |
Station closed January 1958. Proposed station using existing station building. |
| 133.1 | Scranton Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S... |
Scranton Scranton (NJT station) Scranton is the proposed terminus for New Jersey Transit passenger rail service from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey, via the Lackawanna Cut-Off to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Currently, NJ Transit provides rail service to Port Morris, New Jersey via the Lake Hopatcong station... |
Proposed station (existing station building Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel The Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, built as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station, is a neo-classical building in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was built as a train station and office building in 1908; closed in 1970; listed on the U.S... currently a Radisson Hotel Radisson Hotels Radisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson... ). |
(* Note - Milepost refers to the number of miles west of Hoboken, NJ.)
See also
- North Jersey Rail Commuter AssociationNorth Jersey Rail Commuter AssociationThe North Jersey Rail Commuter Association is a not for profit railroad advocacy organization that was formed and incorporated in the USA in 1980. During its history, the organization and its members have been involved in the successful advocacy of a number of projects involving NJ Transit Rail...
- Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail AuthorityPennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail AuthorityPennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania and Monroe County, Pennsylvania to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania....
Other sources
- The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Nineteenth Century (1 volume) by Thomas Townsend Taber III, Lycoming Printing Company, 1977.
- Farewell to the Lackawanna Cut-Off (Parts I-IV), by Don Dorflinger, published in the Block Line, Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., 1984-1985.
- Erie Lackawanna - Death of an American Railroad, 1938-1992, by H. Roger Grant, Stanford University Press, 1994.
- The Lackawanna Story - The First Hundred Years of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad , by Robert J. Casey & W.A.S. Douglas, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1951.
- Erie Lackawanna East, by Karl R. Zimmermann, Quadrant Press, Inc., 1975.
- The Route of Phoebe Snow - A Story of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, by Shelden S. King, Wilprint, Inc., 1986.
- The Lackawanna Cut-Off Right-of-Way Use and Extension Study (for the Counties of Morris, Sussex and Warren), Gannett Fleming and Kaiser Engineers, Corp., September 1989.
- Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, Timetable No. 85, November 14, 1943
- Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Company, Timetable No. 4, October 28, 1962
- Map of Proposed Route of Lackawanna Railroad From Hopatcong to Slateford. L. Bush - Chief Engineer. September 1, 1906.
Further reading
- New Jersey Transit - Lackawanna Cut-Off
- The Great Lackawanna Cutoff - Then & Now
- DL&W Booklet (1911) - The Story of the New Jersey Cutoff
- Touring the Lackawanna Cutoff (Skylands Visitor magazine)
- Lehigh & New England Railroad map of Hainesburg (NJ) area