Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad

Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad

DL RS32 #2035 switches the Diamond Branch in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Locomotive was built as NYC 8035
Reporting mark DL
Locale Northeastern Pennsylvania
Dates of operation 1993–Present
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 85 miles (137 kilometres)
Headquarters Batavia, New York
Website Genesee Valley Transportation Co., Inc.

The Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad (reporting mark DL) is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for 85 miles (137 kilometres) of trackage in Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. It is a subsidiary of holding company Genesee Valley Transportation Company, Inc. (GVT). 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]

Overview

GVT began in 1985 in Upstate New York marketing rail-related services to both private and public industry throughout the northeast.

Through a competitive bid process, the Lackawanna County Rail Authority selected GVT to operate its owned rail lines within Lackawanna and Monroe Counties from Scranton northeast to the city of Carbondale on the former Delaware and Hudson Railway's Penn Division mainline, from Scranton southeast into Monroe County on the former Scranton to Slateford part of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad main line now called the Pocono Mainline (also known as Pocono Main) 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. The Pocono Mainline has hosted a number of excursions out of Steamtown, including excursions of the Nickel Plate 765.[2][3]

In 2015 the authority extended the Delaware–Lackawanna's lease for five years.[4]

Poconos expansion

The DL interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway in Scranton and via Slateford Junction near Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania and the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad via the Duryea Yard outside Pittston, Pennsylvania, thus connecting to the Great Lakes via the Sayre Yard and New Jersey and New York City via former Jersey Central assets.

Since the summer of 1998, the DL, under a haulage agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail), has been operating unit Canadian grain trains between Scranton and the Harvest States Grain Mill at Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania. Operated by DL crews, these trains average approximately 45 cars and up to four locomotives provided by CP Rail.

DL is renowned as a bastion for both rebuilding and operating 50+ year-old ALCO diesels 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 rebuilt ALCO C425 #2457 in the summer of 2016, and now #3000 in September 2016

Recent activity

References

  1. ↑ R.R.B. Ruling 08/16/96
  2. ↑ 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
  3. ↑ https://www.nps.gov/dewa/learn/historyculture/upload/cmsstgdlwrr.pdf Spanning the Gap: Pocono Mainline Rail Excursion, Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad
  4. ↑ "Delaware-Lackawanna signs five-year operating agreement extension". Trains. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015. (subscription required)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.