Middlesex Valley Railroad

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The Middlesex Valley Railroad was formed in 1892 to build a railroad from Geneva about 30 miles to Naples. The Geneva and Southwestern Railroad was incorporated to build along this route more than 20 years earlier but only got as far as grading the route. The line was completed in 1894 and the following year the Middlesex Valley was acquired by the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The Middlesex Valley operated independently until 1903 when it became the Naples Branch of the Lehigh Valley.

Lehigh Valley Railroad transport company

The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846, for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, wares, merchandise and minerals in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the railroad was incorporated/established on September 20, 1847, as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company. On January 7, 1853, the railroad's name was changed to Lehigh Valley Railroad. It was sometimes known as the Route of the Black Diamond, named after the anthracite it transported. At the time, anthracite was transported by boat down the Lehigh River; the railroad was meant to be faster transportation. The railroad ended operations in 1976 and merged into Conrail along with several northeastern railroads that same year.


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