The ('''DL&W''' or '''Lackawanna''') was a
Railroad connecting
Pennsylvania 's
Lackawanna Valley , rich in
Anthracite Coal , to
New York City ,
Buffalo and
Oswego, New York . It merged with the
Erie Railroad in
1960 , forming the
Erie Lackawanna Railroad , and
Conrail in
1976 .
The was incorporated on
April 7 ,
1832 , but stayed dormant for many years. It was chartered on
March 14 ,
1849 and organized
January 2 ,
1850 . On
April 14 ,
1851 its name was changed to the '''Lackawanna and Western Railroad'''. The line, running north from
Scranton, Pennsylvania to
Great Bend , just south of the
New York state line, opened on
December 20 ,
1851 . From Great Bend the L&W obtained
Trackage Rights north and west over the
New York And Erie Rail Road to
Owego, New York , where it leased the
Cayuga And Susquehanna Railroad to
Ithaca on
Cayuga Lake (on
April 21 ,
1855 ). The C&S was a re-organized and partially re-built
Ithaca And Owego Railroad , which had opened on
April 1 ,
1834 , and was the oldest part of the DL&W system. The whole system was built to 6 ft 0 in (1829 mm)
Wide Gauge , the same as the New York and Erie, although the original I&O was built to standard gauge and converted to wide gauge when re-built as the C&S.
The was chartered
December 4 ,
1850 to build a line from Scranton east to the
Delaware River . Before it opened, the Delaware and Cobb's Gap and Lackawanna and Western were consolidated into one company, the '''Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad''', on
March 11 ,
1853 . On the
New Jersey side of the Delaware River, the '''Warren Railroad''' was chartered
February 12 ,
1851 to continue from the bridge over the river southeast to
Hampton on the
Central Railroad Of New Jersey . That section got its name from
Warren County , the county through which it would primarily run.
The rest of the line, now known as the Southern Division, opened on
May 27 ,
1856 , including the New Jersey section (the Warren Railroad). A
Third Rail was added to the
Standard Gauge Central Railroad Of New Jersey east of Hampton to allow the DL&W to run east to
Elizabeth via
Trackage Rights (the CNJ was extended in
1864 to
Jersey City ).
On
December 10 ,
1868 , the DL&W bought the
Morris And Essex Railroad . This line ran east-west across northern New Jersey, crossing the Warren Railroad at
Washington and providing access to
Jersey City without depending on the CNJ. The M&E tunnel under
Bergen Hill opened in
1876 , also relieving it of its use of the
New York, Lake Erie And Western Railway in Jersey City. Along with the M&E lease came several branch lines in New Jersey, including the
Boonton Branch (opened in
1870 ), which bypassed
Newark for through freight.
The DL&W bought the
Syracuse, Binghamton And New York Railroad in
1869 and leased the
Oswego And Syracuse Railroad on
February 13 ,
1869 . This gave it a branch from
Binghamton north and northwest via
Syracuse to
Oswego , a port on
Lake Ontario .
The
Greene Railroad was organized in
1869 , opened in
1870 , and was immediately leased to the DL&W, providing a short branch off the Oswego line from
Chenango Forks to
Greene . Also in
1870 the DL&W leased the
Utica, Chenango And Susquehanna Valley Railway , continuing this branch north to
Utica , with a branch from
Richfield Junction to
Richfield Springs (fully opened in
1872 ).
The was organized
March 3 ,
1869 to connect the end of the original line at
Great Bend, Pennsylvania to
Binghamton, New York , avoiding reliance on the Erie. The new line opened
October 1 ,
1871 .
By
1873 the DL&W controlled the
Lackawanna And Bloomsburg Railroad , a branch from
Scranton southwest to
Northumberland (with
Trackage Rights over the
Pennsylvania Railroad 's
Northern Central Railway to
Sunbury ).
On
March 15 ,
1876 the whole system was re-gauged to
Standard Gauge in one day.
The was chartered
August 26 ,
1880 and opened
September 17 ,
1882 to continue the DL&W from
Binghamton west and northwest to
Buffalo . The main line ran to the
International Bridge to
Ontario , and a branch served downtown Buffalo.
On
December 1 ,
1903 the DL&W began operating the
Erie And Central New York Railroad , a branch of the Oswego line from
Cortland Junction east to
Cincinnatus .
By
1909 the DL&W controlled the
Bangor And Portland Railway . This line branched from the main line at
Portland, Pennsylvania southwest to
Nazareth , with a branch to
Martins Creek .
The DL&W built a major terminal in
Scranton, Pennsylvania in
1908 .
The was chartered in New Jersey on
February 7 ,
1908 to build the
New Jersey Cut-Off , opened
December 24 ,
1911 . This provided a
Low-grade cutoff in northwestern New Jersey. From
1912 to
1915 the
Summit Cut-Off was built north from
Scranton , including the massive
Tunkhannock Creek Viaduct .
On
October 17 ,
1960 the DL&W merged with its former rival, the
Erie Railroad , to form the
Erie Lackawanna Railroad (EL).
With the merger into the EL, much of the DL&W trackage was redundant. The main line of the DL&W from
Binghamton west to just east of
Corning closely paralleled the Erie's main line, and was abandoned. On the other hand, the Erie's
Buffalo, New York And Erie Railroad was dropped from Corning to
Livonia in favor of the DL&W's main line. Most passenger service was routed onto the DL&W east of Binghamton, with the DL&W's
Hoboken Terminal serving passenger trains.
Conrail absorbed the EL in
1976 .
New Jersey Transit has taken over most of the former DL&W (
Morris And Essex Railroad ) lines in New Jersey, including the main line east of
Hackettstown (operated by Conrail under
Trackage Rights ). With the
1998 breakup of Conrail, what remains of the DL&W main line (as well as large parts of the former Erie system) is now operated by
Norfolk Southern . The
New Jersey Cut-Off has been abandoned, and was purchased by the state of New Jersey in 1998 with hopes of restoring passenger service between Hoboken and Scranton. The same is true of the majority of the main line west of Binghamton, abandoned in favor of the Erie's
Buffalo And New York City Railroad .
