Lehigh and New England Railroad

Last updated
Lehigh & New England Railroad
Lehigh and New England Railroad
Map of the Lehigh and New England Railroad routes
Overview
Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Reporting mark LNE
Locale New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Dates of operation18951961
Successor Central Railroad of New Jersey
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length217 miles (349 kilometers)

The Lehigh and New England Railroad( reporting mark LNE) was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety [1] after the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. [2] It was headquartered in Philadelphia.

Contents

History

South Mountain and Boston and successors: 1873-1882

An 1876 map of the Lehigh and New England Railroad 1876 South Mountain & Boston.jpg
An 1876 map of the Lehigh and New England Railroad

Around 1868, serious proposals for the crossing of the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie began to appear. A charter for the Poughkeepsie Bridge Company was obtained in 1871, and the company was organized before the end of May. The charter was amended to allow placing piers in the river by 1872 (despite fierce opposition from navigation interests), and the company began raising funds. Through the influence of Andrew Carnegie, Pennsylvania Railroad president J. Edgar Thomson was persuaded to invest in the project.

This funding led to a surge of activity. The line was to be carried from Harrisburg to the crossing of the Delaware River at Portland by the South Mountain Railroad. The South Mountain and Boston Railroad was chartered in New Jersey on March 13, 1873, and also in New York to continue the line via Poughkeepsie and Boston Corners to the Massachusetts state line. At the state line, an extension of the planned Massachusetts Central Railroad would connect, taking traffic to Boston. Grading began on the various lines, known as the South Mountain and Boston Railroad, and the cornerstone was laid for a bridge pier at Poughkeepsie. However, the Panic of 1873 and the death of Thomson in May 1874 and loss of his personal support brought the project to a halt.

An attempt at revival was made in 1879. By this time the South Mountain Railroad had collapsed; a new railroad, the Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and New England Railroad, was incorporated on May 6, 1879, to follow its route from Harrisburg to South Mountain and the Boston connection in Portland. This company too would be short-lived; the South Mountain and Boston's New Jersey Division was renamed on March 11, 1880, to the Pennsylvania and New England Railroad, and that company's Pennsylvania Division was incorporated on May 5, 1880. The property of the PP&NE was sold to the P&NE (PA Division) on October 13, 1880. This does not improve the fortunes of this segment of the line; a third company, the Delaware and Slatington Railroad, was incorporated on September 9, 1881, to run from the P&NE (NJ Division) at Portland to Slatington on the Lehigh River. P&NE's New Jersey Division merged with the Delaware and Slatington on June 22, 1882, to form the Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad.

Pennsylvania construction: 1880-1891

In the meantime, the P&NE (PA Division) was successful in laying one and one-sixth mile (2 km) of track to the east of Wind Gap about 1880. However, it was foreclosed on July 25, 1881, and reorganized as the Susquehanna and Delaware River Railroad on August 23, 1881; it was foreclosed again and reorganized on July 13, 1886, as the Harrisburg and New England Railroad was supposedly reorganized as the Harrisburg and Eastern Railroad on July 31, 1891.

Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad: 1882-1887

The Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad was formed June 22, 1882, as a consolidation of the Pennsylvania and New England Railroad (NJ Division) and Delaware and Slatington Railroad, to build from Slatington, Pennsylvania, to Pine Island, New York. In December of that year, John L. Blair, who controlled the nearby Bangor and Portland Railway, acquired control of the PS&NE, in order to give the B&P direct access to New England and other points. Additionally the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Lehigh and Lackawanna Railroad could no longer access points on the B&P.

Construction was carried out through 1883, with grading finished in Pennsylvania and about 12 miles west from Sussex, New Jersey. The bridge over the Delaware River at Portland was built, and rails were laid for about half of the length in Pennsylvania. In early 1883, a dispute erupted with the Wind Gap and Delaware Railroad over the tracks between Pen Argyl and Bangor, which the PS&NE wanted to use. Later that year the company went bankrupt and construction stopped.

Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and Boston Railroad: 1887-1895

The Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad was sold at foreclosure to William W. Gibbs, president of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Company, on July 12, 1887, and was reorganized as the Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and Boston Railroad, also known as the "Pickles, Pork, and Beans" Line). Construction was begun, but the company again went bankrupt, and was sold at foreclosure December 14, 1894.

Around that time, various other companies were chartered to build the line over the Poughkeepsie Bridge, and in 1889, the Central New England and Western Railroad was completed. That part would be combined with the PS&NE in 1892 by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, but in 1893 the two parts were split. The eastern section later became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and the western section stayed independent to the end.

The Campbell Hall Connecting Railroad was chartered April 3, 1889, to obtain the right to operate the section in New York. It was originally planned to extend beyond Pine Island to Campbell Hall, the west end of the existing Poughkeepsie Bridge line.

The Philadelphia and Reading Railway gained control of the Central New England and Western Railroad in early 1892, and the PP&B soon after, giving it a route from Reading via the Schuylkill and Lehigh Railroad to Slatington, and then to New England along its new acquisitions. The Reading Company's bankruptcy in 1893 ended this control, and led to the PP&B's bankruptcy.

Lehigh and New England Railroad: 1895-1961

Revenue freight traffic, in millions of net ton-miles
YearTraffic
1925348
1933244
1944550
1956338
1960143
Source: ICC annual reports

The Lehigh and New England Railroad (L&NE) was organized April 2, 1895, as the successor to the PP&B. The route from Slatington to Pine Island was accomplished but not completed. The L&NE was able to have a route from Slatington to Pine Island even though the route wasn't completed because the L&NE had obtained trackage rights over the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's Sparta Junction to Columbia/Delaware Junction main line between Swartswood Junction (outside of Swartswood) and Hainesburg Junction; this line was built by the New Jersey Midland Railway from Sparta Junction to Blairstown, New Jersey, and by the Blairstown Railway from Blairstown, New Jersey, to Columbia/Delaware Junction and today serves as the Paulinskill Valley Trail. Despite that, a tunnel ( 40°58′44″N74°46′1″W / 40.97889°N 74.76694°W / 40.97889; -74.76694 (Tunnel) ) was built under the fill for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's New Jersey Cut-Off (opened 1911) in case the L&NE ever decided to complete its own line. Additionally, the planned route from Pine Island to Campbell Hall was cancelled, and trackage rights were obtained over the Erie Railroad's Goshen and Deckertown Railroad and Montgomery and Erie Railroad.

The Lehigh and Lackawanna Railroad and its leased Wind Gap and Delaware Railroad were operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey until February 1, 1905, when the two companies were merged into the L&NE. Around the same time the L&NE acquired the Northampton Railroad. This gave the L&NE a branch to Bethlehem, with a branch off that one to Martins Creek. Part of the main line between Benders Junction (the crossing of the original L&NE and the L&L) and Pen Argyl was abandoned in 1905, with the new route using the L&L and WG&D.

The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LC&N) gained control of the L&NE on May 9, 1904.

A yard at Maybrook, New York, opened in 1912, with L&NE trains terminating there via a section of the Central New England Railway.

On July 24, 1912, a new extension opened, splitting from the main line at Danielsville, Pennsylvania, and running west to Tamaqua to directly serve the LC&N. On December 14, 1913, the L&NE acquired the Panther Creek Railroad, running east from Tamaqua to Summit Hill, and with a connection to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Hauto Tunnel for access to Nesquehoning obtained in 1915.[ citation needed ] The Catasauqua Branch, built in part by the Crane Railroad, was completed in 1914. [3]

On June 4, 1926, the Reading Company leased the L&NE, but other railroads objected, and the Interstate Commerce Commission rejected the lease, preferring a lease by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (which was never done).

The never-used tunnel (at right) for the Lehigh & New England under the now-abandoned Lackawanna Cut-Off. NJ Route 94 uses the tunnel on the left). The tunnel is now an integral part of Knowlton's Tunnel Field, a sports and recreation area that spans the Cut-Off via this tunnel. Lehigh and New England tunnel, Knowlton, NJ.jpg
The never-used tunnel (at right) for the Lehigh & New England under the now-abandoned Lackawanna Cut-Off. NJ Route 94 uses the tunnel on the left). The tunnel is now an integral part of Knowlton's Tunnel Field, a sports and recreation area that spans the Cut-Off via this tunnel.

The LNE Board of Directors decided to end all railroad operations on October 31, 1961. Although the LNE was still profitable, the rapid decline of the anthracite coal business was seen on the horizon and the decision was made to cease operations. By this date the LNE mainline saw only one coal train per week (which usually operated on Thursdays). Trackage was removed by the following year and the bridges over the Lehigh River and Delaware River were dismantled by 1969.

While a never particularly profitable system because it paralleled the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway and did not serve any large markets, the L&NE did have a profitable cement business from its lines around Bath, Pennsylvania; the trackage which served this commodity was taken over and operated by a subsidiary of the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Lehigh and New England Railway until January 1975 and then by the Lehigh Valley until April 1, 1976, when the trackage was absorbed by Conrail. To railfans, the L&NE is best remembered for its diesel motive power, which consisted almost entirely of models built by Alco, excepting two Whitcomb Center Cab switchers, numbers 601 & 602.

Lehigh and New England Railway: 1961-

The Lehigh and New England Railway was chartered by the Central Railroad of New Jersey to take over some of the lines in Pennsylvania. Included in that sale was the main line east from Tamaqua, the old Lehigh and Lackawanna Railroad and Northampton Railroad from Bethlehem to Martins Creek, and the branch from Bethlehem west to Allentown. A short section from Pen Argyl to Wind Gap was taken over by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, connecting to the DL&W's Bangor and Portland Railway at Pen Argyl.

Notes

  1. Drury, George H. (1994). The Historical Guide to North American Railroads: Histories, Figures, and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 171–172. ISBN   0-89024-072-8.
  2. kodtrak.railfan.net
  3. Kulp (1972), p. 51.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad</span> Former U.S. Class 1 railroad

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 395 miles (636 km). The railroad was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853, and created primarily to provide a means of transport of 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 with New York City.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad in the Northeastern United States built predominantly to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania to major consumer markets in Philadelphia, New York City, and elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Railroad of New Jersey</span> Defunct Class I railroad in the U.S. state of New Jersey (1839-1976)

The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central, Jersey Central Lines or New Jersey Central, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central New England Railway</span>

The Central New England Railway was a railroad from Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, west across northern Connecticut and across the Hudson River on the Poughkeepsie Bridge to Maybrook, New York. It was part of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Route, an alliance between railroads for a passenger route from Washington to Boston, and was acquired by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in 1904. The New Haven ran the CNE as a separate company until finally merging it in 1927. The vast majority of the system was abandoned by the 1930s and 1940s. Surviving portions of the Central New England Railway are operated by the Central New England Railroad and the Housatonic Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware and Hudson Railway</span> Railroad in the northeastern United States

The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operated D&H under its subsidiary Soo Line Corporation which also operates Soo Line Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh and Hudson River Railway</span>

The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR) was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast–southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it interchanged with various other companies.

The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

The Warren Railroad was a railroad in Warren County, New Jersey, that served as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's mainline from 1856 to 1911.

The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad was a railroad running along the eastern shore of the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey north via Phillipsburg, New Jersey to the small village of Manunka Chunk, New Jersey. It became an important feeder line for the Lehigh Valley Railroad's join to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which was constructed into Phillipsburg, NJ at about the same time. This connected Philadelphia and Trenton, NJ at one end of the shortline railroad to the rapidly growing lower Wyoming Valley region, and via the Morris Canal or the CNJ, a slow or fast connection to New York City ferries crossing New York Harbor from Jersey City, NJ. In 1871 the CNJ leased various railroads in Pennsylvania, most from the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company allowing the CNJ to penetrate to the upper Wyoming Valley, over some stretches, competing directly with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and with the Lehigh Canal and the trunk road connection of the Belvidere Delaware Railroad to New York became less profitable since Philadelphia connected more easily to Northeastern Pennsylvania thereafter without needing a double-crossing of the Delaware River; a general revenue decline ensued, leading to the Pennsylvania Railroad acquiring the rights, where it served as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system, carrying mainly anthracite coal and iron ore from northeastern Pennsylvania to population centers along the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Cut-Off</span> Rail line between Port Morris, New Jersey, and Slateford, Pennsylvania

The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a rail line built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Constructed from 1908 to 1911, the line was part of a 396-mile (637 km) main line between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York. It ran west for 28.45 miles (45.79 km) from Port Morris Junction in Port Morris, New Jersey, near the south end of Lake Hopatcong about 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of New York City, to Slateford Junction in Slateford, Pennsylvania near the Delaware Water Gap.

North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County in Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1852, and began operation in 1855. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway, predecessor to the Reading Company, leased the North Pennsylvania in 1879. Its tracks were transferred to Conrail and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Old Road</span> It was opened in 1856

The Lackawanna Old Road was part of the original mainline of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). Opened in 1856, it was, for a half-century, a part of the line connecting the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Gap</span> Water gap cut by the Lehigh River through Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania

The Lehigh Gap or Lehigh Water Gap is a water gap located in the townships of Lehigh, Washington, Lower Towamensing, and East Penn in the Lehigh Valley and Coal Region regions of eastern Pennsylvania. It was formed by the Lehigh River, where it cuts through the Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blairstown Railway</span>

The Blairstown Railway (BRWY) opened in 1877 and ran between Blairstown and Delaware, New Jersey, a distance of approximately 12 miles (19 km). The single-track railroad was built under the direction of railroad magnate John I. Blair, one of the wealthiest persons in the United States at that time, who had previously built the Warren Railroad, and for whom Blairstown is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project</span> American railway infrastructure project

The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project is a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak effort to restore passenger service to the Lackawanna Cut-Off in northwest New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Line (Norfolk Southern)</span> Railroad line in central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania

The Lehigh Line is a railroad line in Central New Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line runs west from the vicinity of the Port of New York and New Jersey in Manville, New Jersey via Conrail's Lehigh Line to the southern end of Wyoming Valley's Coal Region in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillipsburg Union Station</span>

Phillipsburg Union Station is an active railroad station museum, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States, at 178 South Main Street. Opened in 1914, Union Station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) and shared with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and was situated where the lines merged before the bridge crossing the Delaware River. Designed by Frank J. Nies, the architect who produced many of DL&W stations now listed state and federal registers of historic places, the 2+12 story, 3 bay brick building is unusual example of a union station and a representation of early 20th century Prairie style architecture. The Phillipsburg Union Signal Tower, or PU Tower, is nearby, also restored to its original form, and available for tours.

The Lehigh and Lackawanna Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1864 and opened its initial line between Bethlehem, and Chapman, Pennsylvania, in 1867. At its peak, the company's line extended 25.3 miles (40.7 km) from Bethlehem to Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. The company and its line became part of the Lehigh and New England Railroad in 1904. Part of the line was abandoned in 1962; the remainder is part of the Norfolk Southern Railway's Cement Secondary.

References