| Extent | Wilkes-Barre - Sunbury |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | independent: 1869-1872 Pennsy: 1872-1968 Penn Central: 1968-1976 Conrail: 1976-1980s CP: 1980s-present |
| Other names | Wilkes-Barre Branch |
The Sunbury Line is a rail line once owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad connecting its core system with the other anthracite rail lines in and around Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It is presently jointly-owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Norfolk Southern Railway.
The original line ran from downtown Wilkes-Barre southwest to Sunbury[1] along tracks on the east (left) shore of the North Branch Susquehanna River. Today the line from Wilkes-Barre to Hanover Township is owned by Luzerne County and operated by the Luzerne Susquehanna Railway. The original line now runs Sunbury to Hanover Township in what was the Buttonwood Yard of the PRR. There it connects with CP's line north on the former Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad trackage to Hudson, PA. and the former Delaware and Hudson Railway mainline north to Scranton and beyond.
At Sunbury, the line meets the Norfolk Southern Railway's Buffalo Line, along which CP has trackage rights south to Harrisburg.
The Danville, Hazelton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad opened from Sunbury to South Danville in 1869[2] and past Catawissa to Tomhicken in 1871.[3] The North and West Branch Railway opened the line from Catawissa to Wilkes-Barre in the early 1880s, completing the current Sunbury Line.[4] The line became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad through leases and mergers. In 1976, the line was taken over by Conrail, with trackage rights assigned to the Delaware and Hudson Railway. The D&H acquired the line in the early 1980s, and is now part of CP.[1]