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THE D&H RAIL TRAIL
A brief history of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad
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| Bucks Falls |
In 1830, the Delaware and Hudson's 16 mile gravity railroad
constituted most of the railroad mileage in the US--a meager
total of 23 miles. This small but extremely important line
allowed coal and lumber to be shipped out of Carbondale into Honesdale.
Here it was loaded onto the canal boars of the D&H Canal Co. and
towed to Lackawaxen, through Port Jervis and on to Rondout, NY (Kingston)
on the Hudson River. It was on this line, on August 8, 1829 that the
first steam locomotive - Stourbridge Lion - to turn a wheel on
an American railroad made its first, and only run. (The engine was too
heavy for the track.)
The managers of the D&H Co. were well aware of the advantages additional
rail could offer the company. It would permit year-round movement of coal,
plentiful in the Lackawanna Valley. The canals typically shut down (froze)
shipping operations through the winter months. The company, led by a far-sighted
President, George Talbot Olyphant, increased the acquisition of coal-bearing lands.
The Civil war greatly increased the demand for coal, way beyond the production or
transportation levels available. The price was forced up (1862-63) giving the D&H
double the earnings of previous years. This provided the impetus to seek a new route
for shipping coal. Late in 1863, D&H managers decided to investigate the possibility
of shipping coal over the Erie RR from a point near Susquehanna, PA, actually Lanesboro,
to the Buffalo and Great Lakes area.
Their vision: a 37 mile link between Carbondale and Lanesboro that would
replace a round-about trip of about 120 miles involving two costly reloadings.
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| Train arriving in Forest City from Carbondale, 1948 |
Delaware & Hudson managers held conferences with the Jefferson Railroad, to consider building the line
from Carbondale to Lanesboro. The Civil War was still in progress and several years went by before any decisions
were made. However, the D&H continued to increase its coal holdings in the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys.
Vice President Thomas Dickson was given the task of coordinating all coal-related facilities
(land, mines, breakers, and feeder RR lines) and was soon sending a flood of anthracite north on rail
from the Valley Junction over the gravity line into Honesdale.
Another impetus for a connecting line was the possibility of using the A&S RR
when completed (Albany & Susquehanna -- from Albany to Ninevah to Binghamton)
in order to reach points north. The D&H Co. provided the financial backing
to keep this project moving. Thus routes were tentatively open to move coal west
(over the Erie RR) and also north.
On September 2, 1868, the managers of the D&H entered into a contract with
the Erie RR to build a line north from Carbondale over Ararat Summit, to connect
with the Erie main line at Lanesboro Junction. While this line would be built
under the existing charter of the Jefferson RR Co., labor and capital would be
furnished by the Erie. Provisions were also made to lease the Erie rail into
New Jersey and NY City. Thus began the great RR expansion of the D&H,
reaching vast new markets. On October 28, 1870, the first loads of coal rolled
north out of Carbondale on the newly completed Jefferson Railroads and on to
Binghamton where they switched to the A&S. under lease to the D&H.
Now, 130 years later: Envision the Trail!
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