| Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad | |
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DL RS32 #2035 switches the Diamond Branch in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Locomotive was built as NYC 8035 |
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| Reporting mark | DL |
| Locale | Northeastern Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1993–Present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Batavia, New York |
| Website | Genesee Valley Transportation Co., Inc. |
The Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad (reporting mark DL) is a shortline railroad operating in Pennsylvania.
The DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for 85 miles of trackage in Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. It is a subsidiary of holding company Genesee Valley Transportation Company, Inc. It was founded by Jeffrey Baxter, Charles Riedmiller, John Herbrand, Michael Thomas and David Monte Verde who continue to make up its corporate ownership.[1]
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GVT began in 1985 in Upstate New York marketing rail-related services to both private and public industry throughout the northeast.
The Lackawanna County Rail Authority approached GVT to operate its owned rail lines within Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. From Scranton northeast to the city of Carbondale on lines of the former Delaware and Hudson Railway's Penn Division mainline; from Scranton southeast into Monroe County on lines of the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad; and from Scranton southwest to Montage Mountain, Moosic on lines of the former Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad third-rail interurban streetcar line.
These are the lines hosting the seasonal passenger trains of both the Steamtown National Historic Site and the Electric City Trolley Museum and now under the jurisdiction of the new Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority.
Since the summer of 1998, the D-L, under a haulage agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway, has been running unit Canadian grain trains between Scranton and the Harvest States Grain Mill at Pocono Summit, PA. Operated by D-L crews these trains average about 45 cars and up to 4 locomotives provided by the CPR. Even though CPR EMD SD40-2s are the rule, occasionally a rare specimen will make its way onto the D-L.
The D-L Railroad, according to its website, provides "friendly customized service" to over 25 customers in the Scranton / Pocono region, and interchanges with two Class I carriers: Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific Railway. The D-L also interchanges with the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad at Pittston by way of the former Laurel Line.
Delaware–Lackawanna is renowned as a bastion for both rebuilding and operating 50-year-old ALCO diesels up and down the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania on a daily basis. It is the only railroad operating four ALCO RS-3s.
A new unified color scheme of gray and white with red and yellow stripes was to be applied to GVT system units beginning in 2006 as they exit the South Scranton shops; the most recent being Alco Century 420 No. 405, in the fall of 2009, displaying a dedication to deceased partner CJ "Chuck" Riedmiller on the side of the cab.[2]
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