map]]
The ('''D&H''') is a subsidiary of the
Canadian Pacific Railway , giving it access to
New York City and other parts of the northeastern
United States . It was formerly an important
Bridge Line , connecting New York with
Montreal, Quebec . The company started out as the '''Delaware and Hudson Canal''', running from
Kingston, New York on the
Hudson River southwest to
Port Jervis, New York on the
Delaware River and beyond to the
Anthracite coal fields at
Honesdale, Pennsylvania . The canal company later built a
Railroad , one of the
First Railroads In The United States , later known as the '''Delaware and Hudson Company''' and then the '''Delaware and Hudson Railroad''' until
1968 . The railroad company has called itself "America's oldest continually operated transportation company".
The was chartered by separate laws in the states of
New York and
Pennsylvania in
1823 , allowing
Maurice Wurts and his brother
William to construct the canal. The New York law, passed
April 23 ,
1823 , incorporated "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company", and the Pennsylvania law, passed
March 13 of the same year, authorized the company "To Improve the Navigation of the
Lackawaxen River ". Ground was broken on
July 13 ,
1825 , and the canal was opened to navigation in October
1828 . The line of the canal began at
Rondout Creek at the location known as
Creeklocks , between
Kingston (where the creek fed into the
Hudson River ) and
Rosendale . From there it proceeded southwest alongside Rondout Creek to
Ellenville , continuing through the valley of the
Sandburg Creek ,
Homowack Kill ,
Basher Kill and
Neversink River to
Port Jervis on the
Delaware River . From there the canal ran northwest on the New York side of the
Delaware River , crossing into Pennsylvania on
Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct at
Lackawaxen and running on the north bank of the
Lackawaxen River to
Honesdale .
To get the
Anthracite from the Wurts' mine in the
Moosic Mountains near
Carbondale to the canal at Honesdale, the canal company built a
Gravity Railroad . The state of Pennsylvania authorized its construction on
April 8 ,
1826 . On
August 8 ,
1829 , the D&H's first
Locomotive , the ''
Stourbridge Lion '', made history as the first locomotive to run on rails in the United States.
Westward extensions of the railroad opened to new mines at
Archibald in
1843 ,
Valley Junction in
1858 ,
Providence in
1860 and
Scranton in
1863 . Passenger service began west of Carbondale in
1860 .
As railroads grew in popularity, the canal company recognized the importance of replacing the canal with a railroad. The first step of this was the
Jefferson Railroad , a line from
Carbondale north into New York, chartered in
1864 , leased by the
Erie Railway in
1869 and opened in
1872 . This was a branch of the Erie Railway, running south from the main line at
Lanesboro to Carbondale. Also built as part of this line was a continuation from the other side of the D&H's gravity railroad at
Honesdale southeast to the Erie's
Pennsylvania Coal Company railroad at
Hawley . The Jefferson Railroad (and through it the Erie) obtained
Trackage Rights over the D&H between its two sections, and the D&H obtained trackage rights to Lanesboro.
The other part of the main line was the
Albany And Susquehanna Railroad , which the D&H leased on
February 24 ,
1870 , and the connecting
Lackawanna And Susquehanna Railroad , chartered in
1867 and opened in
1872 . The Albany and Susquehanna provided a line from
Albany southwest to
Binghamton , while the Lackawanna and Susquehanna split from that line at
Nineveh , running south to the Jefferson Railroad at Lanesboro. Also leased in
1870 was the
Schenectady And Duanesburg Railroad , connecting the Albany and Susquehanna at
Duanesburg to
Schenectady , opened in
1872 (as the Schenectady & Susquehanna Railroad until
1873 ).
In
1870 the
Valley Railroad opened, providing a non-gravity line between
Scranton and
Carbondale .
On
March 1 ,
1871 the D&H leased the
Renssalaer And Saratoga Railroad Company , which, along with its leased lines, provided a network stretching north from Albany and Schenectady to
Saratoga Springs , and continuing northeast to
Rutland, Vermont , as well as an eastern route to Rutland via
Trackage Rights over the
Troy And Boston Railroad west of
Eagle Bridge . The D&H also obtained a 1/4 interest in the
Troy Union Railroad from this lease.
On
March 1 ,
1873 the D&H got the
New York And Canada Railroad chartered as a merger of the
Whitehall And Plattsburgh Railroad and
Montreal And Plattsburg Railroad , which had been owned by the
Rutland Railroad . This provided an extension north from
Whitehall to the border with
Quebec , completed in
1875 ; a branch opened in
1876 to
Rouses Point . Lines of the
Grand Trunk Railway continued each of the two branches north to
Montreal .
The D&H obtained
Trackage Rights over the
Lehigh And Susquehanna Railroad in
1886 , extending the main line southwest from
Scranton to
Wilkes-Barre .
On
July 11 ,
1889 the D&H bought the
Adirondack Railway , a long branch line heading north from
Saratoga Springs along the
Hudson River .
The canal was last used on
November 5 ,
1891 , and the gravity railroad closed
January 3 ,
1899 . On
April 28 ,
1899 the name was changed to the to reflect the lack of a canal, which was sold in June of that year. Between
Port Jackson and
Ellenville , the
Right-of-way for the canal was used by the
Ellenville And Kingston Railroad , a branch of the
New York, Ontario And Western Railway , chartered in
1901 and opened in
1902 .
In
1903 the D&H organized the
Chateaugay And Lake Placid Railway as a consolidation of the
Chateaugay Railroad ,
Chateaugay Railway and
Saranac And Lake Placid Railway . In conjunction with the
Plattsburgh And Dannemora Railroad , which had been leased by the Chateaugay Railroad, this formed a long branch from
Plattsburgh west and south to
Lake Placid .
In
1906 the D&H bought the
Quebec Southern Railway and
South Shore Railway , merging them into the
Quebec, Montreal And Southern Railway . This line ran from
St. Lambert , a suburb of Montreal, northeast to
Fortierville , most of the way to
Quebec City . The D&H sold that line to the
Canadian National Railway in
1929 .
The D&H incorporated the
Napierville Junction Railway in
1906 to continue the line north from
Rouses Point to
St. Constant Junction near
Montreal, Quebec , from which the D&H obtained
Trackage Rights over the
Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal. This line opened in
1907 , forming part of the shortest route between
New York City and Montreal.
In
1912 the D&H incorporated the
Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad , providing a straighter connection between
Scranton and
Wilkes-Barre , opened in
1915 .
On
April 1 ,
1930 the property of the Delaware and Hudson Company was transferred to the , incorporated
December 1 ,
1928 .
In
1938 the D&H started to act as a
Bridge Line , carrying large amounts of freight between other connecting lines.
In
1968 the company was reorganized as the , and was bought by
Dereco , a
Holding Company that also owned the
Norfolk And Western Railway and
Erie Lackawanna Railroad . Following the bankruptcy of numerous northeastern U.S. railroads in the
1970s , N&W abandoned Dereco and EL was placed in the federal government's nascent
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), while D&H was again made an independent railroad. The creation of Conrail also saw D&H receive
Trackage Rights over large parts of the Conrail system, which allowed D&H to operate as far south as
Philadelphia and
Washington, DC , using former
Delaware, Lackawanna And Western Railroad and
Lehigh Valley Railroad trackage.
units.]]
In
1984 ,
Guilford Rail System purchased the D&H as part of a plan to operate a larger regional railroad from
Maine and
New Brunswick in the east, to
New York and the midwest in the west,
Montreal in the north, and the Philadelphia/Washington DC area in the south. For only $500,000, Guilford purchased the entire railroad, lock, stock and barrel. The price tag reflects the horrid financial shape and the condition of the physical plant. At the time of the purchase, the D&H was basically a disaster area with little freight traffic and relying on Federal and State money to keep operating. The plan did not come to fruition and Guilford declared the D&H bankrupt in
1988 , abandoning its operation.
With the D&H in limbo, the federal government appointed the
New York, Susquehanna And Western Railway to operate the D&H under subsidy until such time as a buyer could be found. Guilford claimed that the D&H had assets of $70M at the time of the bankruptcy. In
1991 , the
Canadian Pacific Railway purchased the D&H to give the transcontinental system a connection between Montreal and the New York City metropolitan area.
Under CPR, the D&H trackage was upgraded signficantly, although for a time, the D&H was again in limbo as CPR placed it and other money-losing trackage in the eastern U.S. and Canada into a separate operating company named
St. Lawrence And Hudson Railway between
1996 and
2000 . SL&H was merged back into CPR in recent years and the D&H connection to New York City is starting to prove its worth. The D&H is, and has been, a difficult money making venture for some time. Constructed as a coal hauling route, when that business declined it proved difficult to turn a profit. It operates in some of the most rural areas of New York State, and what few industrial customers it had in the Albany and Binghamton areas are long gone. Currently, the future is looking probably the best that the D&H has seen in a very long time. Along with the NYC connection, haulage agreements with other railroads are greatly increasing traffic. There are also major signal and track projects underway to modernize the D&H, suggesting that the future is bright for what is said to be America's Oldest Continuously Operated Transportation Company.
Nicknamed "The Bridge Line to New England," or just "The Bridge Line," the D&H has several unique spots in North American railroading history:
- A loyal customer of American Locomotive Company , as D&H served Alco's Schenectady, NY headquarters. D&H took part in the development of roller bearing side-rods and high pressure water tube boilers. It was also one of the early railroads to adopt 4-8-4 Northern locomotives for Passenger Train s, and 4-6-6-4 Challenger locomotives for freight trains.
- During the diesel era, the D&H became famous for its operation of 4 ex- Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe Railway ALCO PA locomotives for its passenger trains, which were painted in the classic D&H blue and grey/silver with a yellow stripe. The railroad applied the same paint scheme to two Baldwin RF-16 locomotives it acquired from the Monongahela Railway in August, 1974.
The presidents of the railway were as follows:
- - Includes a good route-map of the canal
