View source for Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad

{{Short description|Former U.S. Class 1 railroad}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name = Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 
|logo_filename = DLW.jpg
|logo_size = 160px
|system_map = {{maplink-road|from=Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.map|from2=Nicholson Cut-Off.map|from3=Lackawanna Cut-Off.map|from4=Bangor and Portland Railway.map|from5=Erie and Central New York Railroad.map|from6=Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad.map|from7=Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railway.map|from8=Oswego and Syracuse Railroad.map|from9=Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad.map|from10=Harrison Cut-off.map|from11=Boonton Branch.map|from12=Morris and Essex Railroad.map|from13=New Jersey West Line Railroad.map|from14=Warren Railroad.map|from15=Cayuga and Susquehanna Railroad.map|from16=Sussex Railroad.map}}
|marks = DLW
|gauge = {{Track gauge|56.5in|allk=on}}
|old_gauge = {{Track gauge|6ft|lk=on}}
|length = {{convert|998|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}}
|locale = [[Pennsylvania]]<br>[[New York (state)|New York]]<br>[[New Jersey]]
|start_year = 1851
|end_year= 1960
|successor_line = [[Erie Lackawanna Railroad]]
|hq_city=[[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
}}
The '''Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad''', also known as the '''DL&W''' or '''Lackawanna Railroad''', was a U.S. [[Class 1 railroad]] that connected [[Buffalo, New York]], and [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], and by ferry with [[New York City]], a distance of {{convert|395|mi|km|adj=off}}. The railroad was incorporated in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1853, and created primarily to provide a means of transport of [[anthracite|anthracite coal]] from the [[Coal Region]] in [[Northeast Pennsylvania]] to large coal markets in [[New York City]]. The railroad gradually expanded both east and west, and eventually linked [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] with New York City.

Like most coal-focused railroads in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]], [[New York, Ontario and Western Railroad]], and the [[Lehigh & New England Railroad]], the DL&W was profitable during the first half of the 20th century, but its margins were gradually hurt by declining Pennsylvania coal traffic, especially following the 1959 [[Knox Mine Disaster]] and competition from trucks following the expansion of the [[Interstate Highway System]] in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1960, the DL&W merged with rival [[Erie Railroad]] to form the [[Erie Lackawanna Railroad]] that would be taken over by [[Conrail]] in 1976.

==History==
===Pre-DL&W (1832–1853)===
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| image1            = George Inness - The Lackawanna Valley - Google Art Project.jpg
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| image2            = Hoboken 060606b.jpg
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| footer            = '''Left''': ''The Lackawanna Valley'', a painting by [[George Inness]], depicting a westbound Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad train from [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], in 1855, four years after the railroad began operations. The roundhouse sits on the present-day site of [[Steamtown National Historic Site]]; the forge of Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. and [[Lackawanna Avenue Commercial Historic District|Lackawanna Avenue]] are depicted in the background. The portrait is now on display at the [[National Gallery of Art]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] '''Right''': the railroad's [[Hoboken Terminal]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], the last active railroad terminal on the [[Hudson River]], which has been named a [[United States National Register of Historic Places|nationally-recognized historic site]].
}}

'''Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad''' was first incorporated as '''Leggett's Gap Railroad''' on April 7, 1832, though it was dormant for several years following its incorporation. The company was chartered on March 14, 1849, and organized on January 2, 1850. On April 14, 1851, its name was changed to '''Lackawanna and Western Railroad'''. The line opened on December 20, 1851, and ran north from [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], to [[Great Bend, Pennsylvania]], just south of [[Pennsylvania]]'s border with [[New York (state)|New York state]]. From Great Bend, the railroad obtained [[trackage rights]] north and west over the [[New York and Erie Rail Road]] to [[Owego (village), New York|Owego, New York]], where it leased the [[Cayuga and Susquehanna Railroad]] to [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]] on [[Cayuga Lake]] on April 21, 1855.

The C&S was the reorganized and partially rebuilt [[Ithaca and Owego Railroad]], which had opened on April 1, 1834, and was the oldest part of its system. The whole system was built to {{Track gauge|6ft}} [[broad gauge]], the same as the New York and Erie, although the original I&O was built to standard gauge and [[Track gauge conversion|converted]] to wide gauge when rebuilt as the C&S.

The "Delaware and Cobb's Gap Railroad" 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 by the [[Lackawanna Steel Company]] 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 on February 12, 1851, to continue from the bridge over the river southeast to [[Hampton, New Jersey|Hampton]], on the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]]. That section got its name from [[Warren County, New Jersey|Warren County]], the county through which it would primarily run.

===Expansion and profits (1853–1940)===
[[File:(King1893NYC) pg133 DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY, GENERAL OFFICES.jpg|thumb|The railroad's offices in [[Manhattan]] in 1893]]
The rest of the line, now known as the Southern Division, opened on May 27, 1856, including the Warren Railroad in [[New Jersey]]. A [[dual gauge|third rail]] was added to the [[standard gauge]] [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] east of Hampton to allow the railroad to run east to [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth]] via [[trackage rights]] (the CNJ was extended in 1864 to [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]]).

On December 10, 1868, the company acquired the [[Morris and Essex Railroad]] unit 1945 it was fully merged into the DL&W. This line ran east–west across northern New Jersey, crossing the Warren Railroad at [[Washington, New Jersey|Washington]] and providing access to [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] without depending on the CNJ. The M&E tunnel under [[Bergen Hill]] opened in 1876, relieving the Morris and Essex Railroad and its owners, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, from having to use the [[New York, Lake Erie and Western Railway]]'s tunnel to reach Jersey City. Along with the M&E lease came several branch lines in New Jersey, including the [[Boonton Line]], which opened in 1870 and bypassed [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] for through freight.

The railroad acquired 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, New York|Binghamton]] north and northwest via [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] to [[Oswego, New York|Oswego]], a port on [[Lake Ontario]]. The "Greene Railroad" was organized in 1869, opened in 1870, and was immediately leased to the company, providing a short branch off the Oswego line from [[Chenango Forks, New York|Chenango Forks]] to [[Greene, New York|Greene]]. Also in 1870, the company leased the [[Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railway]], continuing this branch north to [[Utica, New York|Utica]], with a branch from [[Cassville, New York|Richfield Junction]] to [[Richfield Springs, New York|Richfield Springs]] (fully opened in 1872).

{{multiple image
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| image1            = D.L. & W. R.R. yards, Scranton, Pa. between 1890 and 1901.jpg
| caption1          = The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad yards in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], a hub of the [[Pennsylvania]] coal mining industry, {{Circa|1895}}
| image2            = Syracuse, NY.png
| caption2          = A Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad train at [[Lackawanna Station (Syracuse)|Syracuse station]] in [[Syracuse, New York]], {{Circa|1910}}
| footer            = 
}}

The "Valley Railroad" 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 on October 1, 1871. By 1873, the company controlled the [[Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad]], a branch from [[Scranton, Pennsylvania|Scranton]] southwest to [[Northumberland, Pennsylvania|Northumberland]] with [[trackage rights]] over the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[Northern Central Railway]] to [[Sunbury, Pennsylvania|Sunbury]]. On March 15, 1876, the whole system was re-gauged to [[standard gauge]] in one day. The New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was chartered on August 26, 1880, and opened on September 17, 1882, to continue the railroad from [[Binghamton, New York|Binghamton]] west and northwest to Buffalo. The main line ran to the [[International Bridge (Buffalo)|International Bridge]] to [[Ontario]], and a branch served downtown Buffalo. A [[branch line|spur]] from [[Wayland, New York|Wayland]] served [[Hornellsville, New York|Hornellsville]] (Hornell).  On December 1, 1903, the company began operating the [[Erie and Central New York Railroad]], a branch of the Oswego line from Cortland Junction east to [[Cincinnatus, New York|Cincinnatus]]. That same year, it also began to control the [[Bangor and Portland Railway]]. By 1909, the company controlled the [[Bangor and Portland Railway]]. This line branched from the main line at [[Portland, Pennsylvania|Portland]], southwest to [[Nazareth, Pennsylvania|Nazareth]], with a branch to [[Martins Creek, Pennsylvania|Martins Creek]]. The [[Delaware Valley Railway (1901-1937)|Delaware Valley Railway]] was organized with visions of linking the Lackawanna north to the [[Erie Railroad]] at [[Port Jervis, New York]]<ref name="Images8">{{cite book |last1=Jacques |first1=Michelle |last2=Beljean |first2=John |page=8 |date=2017 |title=Delaware Valley Railway: 1901-1937 (Images of Rail) |location=Charleston, South Carolina |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9781467126151}}</ref> beginning with plans in 1893 and construction in 1901. Trains ran north from [[East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania|East Stroudsburg]] only as far as [[Bushkill, Pennsylvania|Bushkill]], and the twelve-mile line was abandoned in 1937.<ref name="Images9">{{cite book |last1=Jacques |first1=Michelle |last2=Beljean |first2=John |page=9 |date=2017 |title=Delaware Valley Railway: 1901-1937 (Images of Rail) |location=Charleston, South Carolina |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9781467126151}}</ref>

The primary locomotive and car shops were located in [[Scranton]]. In 1910 they were enlarged and upgraded at a cost of $2 million, including a massive machine and erecting shop measuring 582 by 342 feet. To handle the increasing roster of coal and other freight cars, new car shops were built outside Scranton at Keyser Valley in 1904. A passenger car shop was added in Kingsland, New Jersey, nine miles from New York City, in 1906.<ref>Starr, Timothy. (2022) The Back Shop Illustrated, Vol. 1.</ref>

===New terminals and realignments===
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|image1 = Paulins Kill Viaduct in Hainesburg, NJ.jpg
|caption1 = The [[Paulinskill Viaduct]] on the [[Lackawanna Cut-Off]] in [[Knowlton Township, NJ|Hainesburg, New Jersey]], was the largest concrete bridge in the world when it was completed in 1910
|image2 = Nicholson Viaduct - Oct 1988 3200 psi.jpg
|caption2 =The [[Tunkhannock Viaduct]] in [[Nicholson, Pennsylvania]], in October 1988. A [[Delaware & Hudson Railway]] train on the bridge is dwarfed by the structure, which stands {{convert|240|ft|m}} above the creek for which it is named
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The company built a [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] [[Hoboken Terminal|terminal]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], in 1907, and another [[Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel|Beaux-Arts passenger station]] (now a [[Radisson Hotels|Radisson hotel]]) in Scranton the following year. A new terminal was constructed on the waterfront in Buffalo in 1917.

The "Lackawanna Railroad of New Jersey", chartered on February 7, 1908, to build the [[Lackawanna Cut-Off]] (a.k.a. New Jersey Cutoff or Hopatcong-Slateford Cutoff), opened on December 24, 1911. This provided a [[Grade (slope)|low-grade]] cutoff in northwestern New Jersey. The cutoff included the [[Delaware River Viaduct]] and the [[Paulinskill Viaduct]], as well as three concrete towers at Port Morris and Greendell in New Jersey and Slateford Junction in Pennsylvania. From 1912 to 1915, the Summit-Hallstead Cutoff (a.k.a. Pennsylvania Cutoff or [[Nicholson Cutoff]]) was built to revamp a winding and hilly system between [[Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania]], and [[Hallstead, Pennsylvania]]. This rerouting provided another quicker low-grade line between Scranton and Binghamton. The Summit Cutoff included the massive [[Tunkhannock Viaduct]] and [[Martins Creek Viaduct]]. The Lackawanna's cutoffs had no at-grade crossings with roads or highways, allowing high-speed service.

===Passenger operations===
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|image1 = Delaware Lackawanna and Western 4-6-2 steam locomotive 1123.JPG
|caption1 = A Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad [[streamlined]] steam locomotive in the 1930s
|image2 = DLW map 1922.gif
|caption2 = A system map for the railroad, {{Circa|1922}}
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The railroad ran trains from its [[Hoboken Terminal]], its gateway to [[New York City]], to its [[Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel|Scranton]], Binghamton, [[Lackawanna Station (Syracuse)|Syracuse]], Oswego, and [[Lackawanna Terminal (Buffalo, New York)|Buffalo]] stations and to [[Utica Union Station]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
Noteworthy among these were:<ref>Lackawanna Timetable, June 22, 1947</ref><ref>Lackawanna Timetable, April 25, 1954</ref>

*Nos. 2 ''Pocono Express'' / 5 ''Twilight'' ([[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] with New York Central connections to [[Chicago]])
*Nos.  3 / 6 ''[[Phoebe Snow (train)|Phoebe Snow]]'', also known as the ''Lackawanna Limited'' (Hoboken-Buffalo)
*Nos.  7 ''Westerner'' / 8 ''New Yorker'' (Hoboken to Buffalo, with Nickel Plate ''[[Nickel Plate Limited]]'' connection to Chicago) 
*Nos.  10 ''New York Mail'' / 15 ''Owl'' (Hoboken to Buffalo)
*Nos.  1301 / 1306 ''[[Interstate Express]]'' ([[Philadelphia]] to Syracuse)
*Nos. 1702 ''Keystone Express'' / 1705 ''Pittsburgh Express'' (Scranton to [[Pittsburgh]])

The railroad also ran commuter operations from the [[North Jersey]] suburbs to Hoboken on the [[Montclair-Boonton Line|Boonton]], [[Gladstone Branch|Gladstone]], Montclair and [[Morristown Line|Morristown]] Lines.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}  Early publicity for the passenger service featured a young woman, [[Phoebe Snow (character)|Phoebe Snow]], who always wore white and kept her clothing clean while riding the "Road of Anthracite", powered by the clean-burning coal known as [[anthracite]].<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/asr/v007/7.2young.html |title=Project MUSE: Advertising and Society Review: On the Go with Phoebe Snow: Origins of an Advertising Icon |volume=7|issue=2|year=2006 |issn=1534-7311 |doi=10.1353/asr.2006.0029 |last=Young |first=Margaret |journal=Advertising & Society Review |s2cid=191578773 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Decline (1940–1960)===
The most profitable [[commodity]] shipped by the railroad was [[anthracite coal]]. 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.<ref name="Taber">{{Harvnb|Taber|Taber|1980}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2016}} The [[Pocono Mountains]] region was one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country&mdash;especially among New Yorkers&mdash;and several large hotels sat along the line in [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]], generating a large passenger traffic for the Lackawanna. All of this helped justify the railroad's expansion of its double-track mainline to three and in a few places four tracks.<ref name="Taber"/>{{page needed|date=May 2016}}

{{Rail freight
|title=Revenue freight traffic, in millions of net ton-miles
|float=left
|1925|4588
|1933|2498
|1944|5822
|1960|2580 thru 16 Oct
}}
{{Rail_freight
|title=Revenue passenger traffic, in millions of passenger-miles
|float=left
|1925|671
|1933|428
|1944|623
|1960|226 thru 16 Oct
}}

Changes in the region's economy undercut the railroad, however. The post-[[World War II]] boom enjoyed by many U.S. cities bypassed Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the rest of [[Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania|Lackawanna]] and [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Luzerne]] counties. [[Fuel oil]] and [[natural gas]] quickly became the preferred energy sources. Silk and other [[textile]] industries shrank as jobs moved to the southern U.S. or overseas. The advent of mechanical [[refrigeration]] squeezed the business from [[ice pond]]s on top of the [[Pocono Mountains|Poconos]]. Even the [[dairy industry]] changed. The Lackawanna had long enjoyed revenues from [[milk]] shipments; many stations had a [[creamery]] next to the tracks.

Perhaps the most catastrophic blows to the Lackawanna, however, were dealt by [[Mother Nature]]. In August 1955, flooding from [[Hurricane Diane]] devastated the [[Pocono Mountains]] region, killing 80 people. The floods cut the Lackawanna Railroad in 88 places, destroying {{Convert|60|mi|km}} of track, stranding several trains (with a number of passengers aboard) and shutting down the railroad for nearly a month (with temporary [[speed restriction]]s prevailing on the damaged sections of railroad for months), causing a total of $8.1 million in damages (equal to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|8100000|1955}}}} in {{Inflation/year |US}}) and lost revenue. One section, the Old River line (former Warren Railroad), was damaged beyond repair and had to be abandoned altogether. Until the mainline in Pennsylvania reopened, all trains were canceled or rerouted over other railroads. The Lackawanna would never fully recover.<ref name="Taber"/>{{page needed|date=May 2016}}

In January 1959, the final nail was driven in the Lackawanna's coffin by the [[Knox Mine Disaster]], which flooded the mines along the [[Susquehanna River]] and all but obliterated what was left of the region's anthracite industry.<ref>[http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10845647&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=460522&rfi=8 The Citizens Voice – Knox mine disaster remains in our memory because it is a story of right and wrong<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107061533/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10845647&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=460522&rfi=8 |date=January 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Rachunis | first1 = William | last2 = Fortney | first2 = Gerald W. | title = Report of Major Mine Inundation Disaster, River Slope Mine, May Shaft Section, Schooley Colliery, Knox Coal Company, Incorporated, Port Griffith, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania | publisher = U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines | date = January 22, 1959 | location = Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | url = http://www.msha.gov/District/Dist_01/Reports/Knox/cover.htm }}</ref>

The Lackawanna Railroad's financial problems were not unique. Rail traffic in the U.S. in general declined after [[World War II]] as trucks and [[automobiles]] took freight and passenger traffic.<ref name="Taber"/>{{page needed|date=May 2016}} 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]].

===Erie merger and aftermath (1956–present)===
====Erie Lackawanna====
[[File:LACKAWANNA 19520928.png|thumb|A 1952 timetable showing a streamlined passenger train traveling through the [[Delaware Water Gap]]]]
[[File:Erie MU leaves Bergen Hill Tunnels.jpg|thumb|Erie Lackawanna leaving the Bergen Hill Tunnels in 1981]]
In the wake of [[Hurricane Diane]] in 1955, all signs pointed to continued financial decline and eventual [[bankruptcy]] for the DL&W. Among other factors, [[property taxes]] in [[New Jersey]] were a tremendous financial drain on the Lackawanna and other railroads that ran through the state: a situation that would not be remedied for another two decades.<ref name="Taber"/>{{page needed|date=May 2016}}

To save his company, Lackawanna president Perry Shoemaker sought a merger with the [[Nickel Plate Road]], a deal that would have created a railroad stretching more than {{Convert|1,100|mi|km}} from [[St. Louis, Missouri]] and Chicago, Illinois to New York City and would have allowed the Lackawanna to retain the {{Convert|200|mi|km}} of double-track mainline between Buffalo and [[Binghamton, New York]]. The idea had been studied as early as 1920, when [[William Z. Ripley]], a professor of [[political economics]] at [[Harvard University]], reported that a merger would have benefited both railroads.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Grouping America's Railroads - The Transportation Act of 1920 | journal = Classic Trains | pages = 30–37 | date = Winter 2011}}</ref> Forty years later, however, the Lackawanna was a shadow of its former financial self. Seeing no advantage in an end-to-end merger, Nickel Plate officials also rebuffed attempts by the DL&W, which owned a substantial block of Nickel Plate stock, to place one of its directors on the Nickel Plate [[Board of Directors|board]]. (The Nickel Plate would later merge with the [[Norfolk and Western Railroad]].)

Shoemaker next turned, in 1956, to aggressive but unsuccessful efforts to obtain joint operating agreements and even potential mergers with the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]] and the [[Delaware and Hudson Railway]].

Finally, Shoemaker sought and won a merger agreement with the [[Erie Railroad]], the DL&W's longtime rival (and closest geographical competitor), forming the [[Erie Lackawanna Railroad]].

The merger was formally consummated on October 17, 1960. Shoemaker drew much criticism for it, and would even second-guess himself after he had retired from railroading. He later claimed to have had a "gentlemen's agreement" with the EL board of directors to take over as president of the new railroad. After he was pushed aside in favor of Erie managers, however, he left in disillusionment and became the president of the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] in 1962.<ref name="Taber"/>{{page needed|date=May 2016}}

Even before the formal merger, growing ties between the Erie and Lackawanna led to the partial abandonment of the Lackawanna's mainline trackage between Binghamton and Buffalo. In 1958, the main line of the DL&W from Binghamton west to near [[Corning (city), New York|Corning]], which closely paralleled the Erie's main line, was abandoned in favor of joint operations, while the Lackawanna Cut-Off in New Jersey was single-tracked in anticipation of the upcoming merger. On the other hand, the Erie's Buffalo, New York and Erie Railroad was dropped from Corning to [[Livonia (village), New York|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 all EL passenger trains. In addition, a short segment of the Boonton Branch by Garret Mountain in [[Paterson, New Jersey]], was sold off to the state of New Jersey to build [[Interstate 80]]. Ultimately, the west end of the Boonton Branch was combined with the Erie's Greenwood Lake Branch, while the eastern end was combined with the Erie's main line, which was abandoned through [[Passaic, New Jersey]]. Sacrificed was the Boonton Branch, a high-speed freight line thought to be redundant with the Erie's mainline. This would haunt EL management less than a decade later (and Conrail management a decade after that).

Soon after the merger, the new EL management shifted most freight trains to the "Erie side", the former Erie Railroad lines, leaving only a couple of daily freight trains traveling over the Lackawanna side. Passenger train traffic would not be affected, at least not immediately. This traffic pattern would remain in effect for more than ten years—past the discontinuation of passenger service on January 6, 1970—and was completely dependent on the lucrative interchange with the [[New Haven Railroad]] at [[Maybrook, New York]]. The January 1, 1969 merger of the [[New Haven Railroad]] into the [[Penn Central Railroad]] changed all this: the New England Gateway was downgraded, and closed on May 8, 1974 by fire damage to the New Haven's Poughkeepsie Bridge, causing dramatic traffic changes for the Lackawanna side. Indeed, as very little on-line freight originated on the Erie side (a route that was more than 20 miles longer than the DL&W route to Binghamton), once the Gateway was closed (eliminating the original justification for shifting traffic to the Erie side) virtually all the EL's freight trains were shifted back to the Lackawanna side. After the New England Gateway closed, EL's management was forced to downgrade the Erie side, and even considered its abandonment west of Port Jervis. In the meantime, the EL was forced to run its long freights over the reconfigured Boonton Line, which east of Mountain View in [[Wayne, NJ]] meant running over the Erie's Greenwood Lake Branch, a line that was never intended to carry the level of freight traffic to which the EL would subject it.

<ref name="Old Road note">The Old Road tracks into Delaware, New Jersey would be removed in May 1970, except for tracks on the Delaware River bridge to Portland and to Slateford Junction, which are still owned by Norfolk Southern and leased by the Delaware-Lackawanna Railway, respectively.</ref>

In 1972, the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] 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 EL. The trains, designated as the eastbound SE-98 and the westbound ES-99, travelled via the Lackawanna Cut-Off and were routed via the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey|CNJ]]'s [[High Bridge Branch]]. This arrangement ended with the creation of [[Consolidated Rail Corporation|Conrail]] on April 1, 1976.<ref>''Erie Lackawanna East'', Karl R. Zimmermann, Quadrant Press, Inc., 1975.</ref>

During its time, the EL diversified its shipments from the growing [[Lehigh Valley]] and also procured a lucrative contract with [[Chrysler]] to ship auto components from [[Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania]]. The EL also aggressively sought other contracts with suppliers in the area, pioneering what came to be known as [[intermodal freight transport|intermodal]] shipping. None of this could compensate for the decline in coal shipments, however, and, as labor costs and taxes rose, the railroad's financial position became increasingly precarious although it was stronger than some railroads in the eastern U.S.

The opening of Interstates [[Interstate 80|I-80]], [[Interstate 380 (Pennsylvania)|I-380]], and [[Interstate 81|I-81]] during the early 1970s, which in effect paralleled much of the former Lackawanna mainline east of [[Binghamton, New York]], caused more traffic to be diverted to trucks. This only helped to accelerate the EL's decline. By 1976, it was apparent that the EL was at the end of its tether, and it petitioned to join [[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.

====Conrail====
[[File:Arrow III train - South Orange NJ.jpg|thumb|A train on the Morristown Line in [[South Orange, New Jersey]]]]
The EL's rail property was legally conveyed into [[Conrail]] on April 1, 1976. Labor contracts limited immediate changes to the freight schedule, but in early 1979, Conrail suspended through freight service on the Lackawanna side. The railroad removed freight traffic from the Hoboken-Binghamton mainline and consolidated the service within its other operating routes. Railroad officials said the primary reasons were the EL's early-1960s severing of the [[Boonton Branch]] near [[Paterson, New Jersey]], and the grades over the Pocono Mountains.

The [[Morristown Line]] is the only piece of multi-track railroad on the entire 900-mile Lackawanna system that has not been reduced to fewer tracks over the years.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} It was triple-tracked nearly a century prior{{When|date=November 2022}}, and remains so today.

The [[Lackawanna Cut-Off]] was abandoned in 1979 and its rails were removed in 1984. The line between Slateford Junction and Scranton remained in legal limbo for nearly a decade, but was eventually purchased, with a single track left in place. The Lackawanna Cut-Off's right-of-way, on the other hand, was purchased by the state of New Jersey in 2001 from funds approved within a $40 million bond issue in 1989. (A court later set the final price at $21 million, paid to owners Jerry Turco of Kearny, New Jersey and Burton Goldmeier of Hopatcong, New Jersey.) NJ Transit has estimated that it would cost $551 million to restore service to Scranton over the Cut-Off: a price which includes the cost of new trainsets. A 7.3-mile section of the Cut-Off between Port Morris and [[Andover, New Jersey]], which was under construction, was delayed until 2021 due to environmental issues on the [[Andover (NJT station)|Andover station site]]; the Cut-Off between Port Morris and Andover is slated to re-open for rail passenger service no earlier than 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://njtransit.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=200|title=BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING - Mar 9th, 2016|website=njtransit.granicus.com|access-date=2017-03-30}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

====Delaware and Hudson (later Canadian Pacific)====
In 1979, Conrail sold most of the DL&W in Pennsylvania, with the DL&W main line portion between Scranton and Binghamton (which includes the [[Nicholson Cutoff]]) bought by the [[Delaware and Hudson Railway]]. The D&H was purchased by the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] in 1991. CPR continued to run this portion of the DL&W main line until 2014, when it sold it to the [[Norfolk Southern Railroad|Norfolk Southern]].

====New York, Susquehanna, and Western====
The Syracuse and Utica branches north of Binghamton were sold by Conrail to the Delaware Otsego Corp., which operates them as the northern division of the [[New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway]].

====Norfolk Southern====
In 1997, Conrail accepted an offer of purchase from [[CSX Transportation]] and [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]. On June 1, 1999, Norfolk Southern took over many of the Conrail lines in New Jersey, including most of the former DL&W. It also purchased the remnants of the former [[Bangor and Portland Railway|Bangor & Portland branch]] in Pennsylvania. Norfolk Southern continues to operate local freights on the lines. In 2014, it purchased the former DL&W main from Taylor, PA to Binghamton, NY from the Canadian Pacific Railway, which it continues to operate to this day.

====NJ Transit<span class="anchor" id="New Jersey Transit"></span>====
[[File:KearnyTracks.jpg|thumb|The opening of the [[Kearny Connection]] in 1996 provided a direct connection between the railroad's mainline and [[Amtrak]]'s [[Northeast Corridor]].]]
[[NJ Transit Rail Operations]] took over passenger operations in 1983. The State of New Jersey had subsidized the routes operated by the Erie Lackawanna, and later [[Conrail]]. [[NJ Transit]] operates over former DL&W trackage on much of the former [[Morris & Essex Lines|Morris & Essex]] Railroad to Gladstone and Hackettstown. In 2002, the transit agency consolidated the Montclair Branch and Boonton Line to create the [[Montclair-Boonton Line]]. NJ Transit also operates on the remaining portion (south of Paterson) of the original Boonton Line known as the [[Main Line (NJ Transit)|Main Line]]. NJ Transit's hub is at Hoboken Terminal.

Trains on the [[Morristown Line]] run directly into New York's [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Pennsylvania Station]] via the [[Kearny Connection]], opened in 1996. This facilitates part of NJ Transit's popular [[Midtown Direct]] service. Formerly, the line ran solely to the DL&W's historic terminal in Hoboken and a transfer to underground rapid transit was required to pass under the Hudson river into Manhattan, or a ferry. This is the only section of former Lackawanna trackage that has more through tracks now than ever before.

====Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority====
Since the 1999 breakup of Conrail, the former DL&W main line from Scranton south-east to Slateford in Monroe County has been owned by the [[Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority]] (PNRRA). The [[Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad]] and [[Steamtown National Historic Site]] operates freight trains and tourist trains on this stretch of track, dubbed the Pocono Mainline (or Pocono Main). Under a haulage agreement with Norfolk Southern, the D-L runs unit Canadian grain trains between Scranton and the Harvest States Grain Mill at Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania and wood deliveries to Bestway Enterprises in [[Cresco, Pennslvania|Cresco]]. Other commercial customers include Keystone Propane in Tobyhanna. Excursion trains, hauled by visiting [[Nickel Plate 765]] and other locomotives, run from Steamtown to [[Moscow, Pennsylvania|Moscow]] and [[Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania|Tobyhanna]] (with infrequent extensions to East Stroudsburg or Delaware Water Gap Station, both on the Pocono Mainline).<ref>[http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/observation-tower/archive/2015/08/28/trains-chase-guide-nickel-plate-road-765-scranton-pa-to-the-delaware-water-gap.aspx TRAINS Chase guide: Nickel Plate Road 765, Scranton, Pa., to the Delaware Water Gap]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170216025418/https://www.nps.gov/dewa/learn/historyculture/upload/cmsstgDLWRR.pdf Spanning the Gap: Pocono Mainline Rail Excursion, Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad]</ref>

The D-L also runs [[Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania|Lackawanna County]]'s tourist trolleys from the [[Electric City Trolley Museum]], under overhead electrified wiring installed on original sections of the [[Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad]] that was also purchased by Lackawanna County. It also runs trains on a remnant of the DL&W Diamond branch in Scranton.

In 2006, the Monroe County and Lackawanna County Railroad Authorities formed the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority to accelerate the resumption of passenger train service between New York City and Scranton.

====Other remnants====
===== New York =====
Most of the main line west of Binghamton in New York State has been abandoned, in favor of the Erie's Buffalo line via [[Hornell, New York|Hornell]]. The longest remaining main line sector is [[Painted Post, New York|Painted Post]]-Wayland, with shortline service provided by [[B&H Rail Corporation|B&H Railroad]] ([[Bath (village), New York|Bath]] & [[Hammondsport, New York|Hammondsport]], a division of the [[Livonia (village), New York|Livonia]], [[Avon (village), New York|Avon]], and [[Lakeville, New York|Lakeville]] Railroad). Shorter main line remnants are [[Groveland, New York|Groveland]]-Greigsville  (Genesee & Wyoming) and [[Lancaster (village), New York|Lancaster]]-[[Depew, New York|Depew]] (Depew, Lancaster & Western). The [[Richfield Springs, New York|Richfield Springs]] branch was scrapped in 1998 after being out of service for years; much of the right of way was purchased in 2009 by Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley LLC of Richfield Springs, New York, which as of 2022 operates a narrow-gauge tourist railway [https://ucsvroute.com/ Richfield Springs Scenic Railway] on a portion of the line and a walking trail on another section.  The Cortland-[[Cincinnatus, New York|Cincinnatus]] Branch, abandoned by Erie Lackawanna in 1960, was partially-rebuilt for an [[industrial spur]] about 1999.

===== Pennsylvania =====
As of 2018, the [[Reading Blue Mountain and Northern]] operates the former Keyser Valley branch from Scranton to Taylor, as well as the former Bloomsburg branch from [[Taylor, Pennsylvania|Taylor]] to Coxton Yard in [[Duryea, Pennsylvania|Duryea]]. The [[Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway]] operates the former Bloomsburg branch from Duryea to [[Kingston, Pennsylvania|Kingston]]. The [[North Shore Railroad (Pennsylvania)]] operates the former Bloomsburg branch from [[Northumberland, Pennsylvania|Northumberland]] to Hicks Ferry.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:DL&W Inspection engine.jpg|DL&W inspection engine, circa 1900
File:Dlw railroad wagon 1900.jpg|Freight car at a grade crossing, 1900
File:Hoboken Terminal Construction 1907.jpg|Hoboken Terminal under construction, 1907
File:Mt. Pocono station, D.L. & W.R.R. Related Names- Detroit Publishing Co. , publisher Date Created Published- between 1890 and 1901.jpg|[[Pocono Mountain (NJT station)|Mount Pocono Station]], late 1890s
File:Hoboken2742.JPG|Original Lackawanna R.R. sign at [[Hoboken Terminal]], [[Hoboken, New Jersey]]
File:Four Photos at Hoboken Terminal in September 1965 (24011223286) (cropped).jpg|The [[Phoebe Snow (train)|Phoebe Snow]] at Hoboken Terminal, 1965
File:Lackawanna terminal.jpg|Lackawanna RR terminal building in Hoboken as of 2018
File:NS Lackawanna Heritage Unit 2012.jpg|Norfolk Southern NS #1074, an [[EMD SD70ACe]] locomotive painted in Lackawanna Railroad livery as part of the NS heritage fleet<ref name="NSheritage">{{cite web | url=http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southernsheritagelocomotives.html | title=Norfolk Southern's Heritage Locomotives | publisher=Norfolk Southern | date=July 4, 2012 | access-date=August 6, 2015 | archive-date=July 28, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728154956/http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southernsheritagelocomotives.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Railways}}
*[[Abraham Burton Cohen]]
*[[Boonton Branch]]
*[[Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad|Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad]]
*[[Sussex Railroad]]
*[[Greigsville and Pearl Creek Railroad|Greigsville & Pearl Creek Railroad]]
*[[Syracuse and Baldwinsville Railroad|Syracuse & Baldwinsville Railroad]]
*[[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western 1151 class|DL&W 1151 class]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{Taber-DLW-20th-1}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | last = King | first = Shelden S. | title = The Route of Phoebe Snow: A Story of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad | publisher = Railroad Avenue Enterprises | year = 1991 | location = Flanders, New Jersey}}
*{{cite book | last1 = McCabe | first1 = Wayne T. | last2 = Gordon | first2 = Kate | title = A Penny A View&mdash;An Album of Postcard Views&mdash;Building the Lackawanna Cut-off in Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey | publisher = Historic Preservation Alternatives | year = 2003 | location = Newton, New Jersey}}
* {{Taber-DLW-19th}}
* * [http://elmags.railfan.net/ Scanned issues of the Erie, Lackawanna, and Erie-Lackawanna magazines, primarily for employees]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054238/http://www.wnyrails.net/railroads/dlw/dlw_home.htm DL&W pages at the Western NY Railroad Archive] (archived, 21 Sep 2003)
* [http://cwhowell2nd.com/dlwrrhs/home.html DL&W] on the Railroad Historical Society
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040811165617/http://www.erielackhs.org/Lackawanna/LACKHOME.html DL&W pages by the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society] (archive, 11 Aug 2004)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030126060319/http://gelwood.railfan.net/el/bldg/dlw-cutoff.html DL&W Booklet – The Story of the New Jersey Cutoff] (archived, 26 Jan 2003)
* [http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/map/map.html Erie Lackawanna Route Maps]
* [https://www.gvtrail.com/ Friendly, customized rail service] on the Genesee Valley Transp. Co. website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060930032929/http://www.prrths.com/PRR_hagley_intro.htm Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company] (archived, 30 Sep 2006)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030807130457/http://dlw-sussexbranch.com/History/his-dlwsb-moh.html The DL&W's Sussex Branch] (archived, 7 Aug 2003)
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=delaware%20lackawanna%20western&st=gallery DL&W photos] at the [[Library of Congress]]

{{DLW named trains}}
{{Former Class I}}
{{Pennsylvania railroads}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware Lackawanna Western Railroad}}
[[Category:Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad| ]]
[[Category:6 ft gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1960]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1853]]
[[Category:Conrail]]
[[Category:Defunct New Jersey railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct New York (state) railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Pennsylvania railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct railroads in Syracuse, New York]]
[[Category:Erie Lackawanna Railway]]
[[Category:Former Class I railroads in the United States]]
[[Category:Former components in the Dow Jones Transportation Average]]
[[Category:Lackawanna Cut-Off]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Predecessors of Conrail]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1853]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1960]]
[[Category:Standard-gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:Scranton, Pennsylvania]]