Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad

Last updated
Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad
Overview
Other name(s)Northern Electric
Type Electric railway
Systemoverhead wire
Statuspartially abandoned, part rail-trail
Locale Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania
Termini Scranton, Pennsylvania
Montrose, Pennsylvania
Stations Scranton, Chinchilla, Clarks Summit, Dalton, Factoryville, Nicholson, Hop Bottom (Foster), Brooklyn, Montrose; Lake Winola
Ridership1915: 2,222,872
Operation
OpenedJuly 1, 1907 (July 1, 1907)
ClosedSeptember 21, 1932 (September 21, 1932)
Depot(s)227 Wyoming Ave, Scranton, PA,[ citation needed ] or Dalton, Chinchilla, PA[ citation needed ]
Rolling stock45-foot cars from J.G. Brill
Technical
Line length49.00 mi (78.86 km)
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification Brookside Power Plant, La Plume, PA
Operating speedscheduled average 30 mph (48 km/h), maximum 60 mph (97 km/h)

The Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad Company was an interurban railway, commonly referred to as the Northern Electric railway, which ran between downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, and its suburbs to the northwest, including Clarks Summit, Dalton, Factoryville and Montrose.

Scranton, Pennsylvania City in Pennsylvania, United States of America

Scranton is the sixth-largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat and largest city of Lackawanna County in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley and hosts a federal court building for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. With a population of 77,291, it is the largest city in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of about 570,000. The city is conventionally divided into 7 districts: North Scranton, Southside, Westside, East Scranton, Central City, Minooka, and Green Ridge, though these areas do not have legal status.

Dalton, Pennsylvania Place in Pennsylvania, United States

Dalton is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, USA. It is located approximately 8 miles north of the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania in a growing suburban area known as the "Abingtons." Dalton is also approximately 3 miles north of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, the hub of the Abington community. The population was 1,234 at the 2010 census.

Montrose, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Montrose is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, 37 miles (60 km) north by west of Scranton. The land is elevated about 1,400 feet above sea level. It is the Susquehanna County seat.

Contents

History

Formation

Incorporated on January 20, 1904, to succeed the Dalton Street Railway, [1] actual construction began in Scranton on West Market Street in mid-March 1906. [2] The approach was to incrementally build northward from Scranton to Binghamton, with the initial stretch ending in Dalton.

Except for poles and power lines, the infrastructure work was largely completed a year later. After the 45-foot trolley cars from the Brill Company arrived and the power house started generating power, [3] the first revenue car left Dalton at 5:00AM on July 1, 1907, and arrived at the terminal on Linden St. in Scranton shortly before 6:00AM. [4] Service continued that year at 40 minute intervals in each direction. By the end of 1907, service was extended to Factoryville soon after the viaduct over the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) in La Plume was installed. [5] A highly anticipated branch to Lake Winola, built by Italian-Americans, [6] opened Memorial Day in 1908. [7] On April 1, 1912, the Scranton terminal moved from Linden St. to the Eagles lodge building on Wyoming Ave. During the summer of 1912, the trolley line reached Nicholson. [8] [9] Service commenced to Foster (also called Hop Bottom) on July 6, 1915. [10] The final leg to Montrose was opened on August 16, 1915. [11] [ page needed ] The company intended to complete the line all the way to Binghamton, but those plans never materialized. Competition, primarily from increasing car and truck traffic on newly built highways, dashed that prospect.

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad transport company

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, a distance of about 400 miles (640 km). Incorporated in 1853, the DL&W was profitable during the first two decades of the twentieth century, but its margins were gradually hurt by declining traffic in coal and competition from trucks. In 1960, the DL&W merged with rival Erie Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.

Lake Winola lake of the United States of America

Lake Winola is a public, 185 acres (0.75 km2) glacial lake in Overfield Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The lake is composed of an eastern and western basin, separated by a peninsula entering the lake from north to south. The lake is managed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and operates a public boat launch located along the southeast corner of the lake. Motorized boats are permitted on the Lake, but are required to navigate counter-clockwise. The Scranton Canoe Club is located on Point Road (peninsula) offering club members a nine-hole golf course and lakeside dining.

Operations

Like other interurbans throughout the country, its heyday was in the 1910s. Passenger and freight service ran from the depot on Wyoming Ave. in Scranton, from 6:00AM until 11:00PM, every 30 minutes. Service to Lake Winola was run every 60 minutes, starting at 6:30AM, with the last return trip to Scranton leaving the lake at 10:05PM. [12] The trip from downtown Scranton always began on the Scranton Railway line on Providence Road and N. Main Ave. until the trolleys reached Providence Square (the intersection of N. Main Ave. and West Market St.) At that point they traversed Northern Electric tracks up West Market St. to the city line. Beyond that point, it used its own private right-of-way. Electric power for the line was generated at the Brookside power plant in La Plume, near Dalton, with substations at Chinchilla and Foster. A large car barn was built next to the power plant in La Plume, and a smaller one near the substation in Chinchilla. It built two trolley parks with pavilions, roller coasters and carousels; one was in Clarks Summit, the other at Lake Winola.

Interurban

The interurban is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like light electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. They were prevalent in North America between 1900 and 1925 and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Limited examples existed in Europe and Asia. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, and the cars that ran on the rails.

Scranton Railway

The Scranton Railway Company built and operated electric trolleys in and around Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 1896 until 1954.

Right-of-way (transportation) right to make a "way" (as in a type of easement) over a piece of land

A right-of-way (ROW) is a right to make a way over a piece of land, usually to and from another piece of land. A right of way is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as a highway, public footpath, rail transport, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines. A right-of-way can be used to build a bike trail. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way. In the case of an easement, it may revert to its original owners if the facility is abandoned.

Decline

Soon after the DL&W Railroad completed the Pennsylvania Cutoff in 1915 to streamline its operations, it abandoned its old route between Clarks Summit and Hallstead. It then gave the roadbed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the express purpose of building a new highway. The road, called the Lackawanna Trail, was completed in June 1922 (it is today's US Route 11 between Clarks Summit and Great Bend). [13] Since this new highway largely paralleled the route of the Northern Electric, it almost immediately began to siphon passenger and local freight traffic from the trolley line.

Hallstead, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Hallstead is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2010 census.

U.S. Route 11 in Pennsylvania highway in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 11 roughly parallels Interstate 81 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It serves Harrisburg and Scranton. Between those two cities, US 11 follows the Susquehanna River, while I-81 follows a shorter route over the mountains.

Great Bend, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Great Bend is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, 39 miles north of Scranton. According to 2010 Census data, Great Bend's population was 734, up 4.7% from 2000. Great Bend sits along the Susquehanna River, less than two miles from the New York State border. Located directly off Interstate 81, tourism is a driving force of the area's economy. Several small manufacturers also call Great Bend home. Great Bend is considered a bedroom community of the Binghamton, NY metropolitan area. Downtown Binghamton is roughly 11 miles from Great Bend. The borough provides residents and guests with three public parks. Billy Greenwood Memorial Park on Kilrow Avenue and Veterans' Memorial Park on Spring St. offer stunning views of the Susquehanna River. Children living in Great Bend are served by the Blue Ridge School District.

A plan was developed to extend operations using buses in 1926. [14] In May 1927, the company got approval for and started a small bus operation from Scranton through the Abingtons and Lake Winola to Tunkhannock, [15] but kept the trolleys running the bulk of the operation. Scranton Mayor Jermyn threatened to shut down its trolley operation in the city several times in 1928 and 1929 due to its negligence in maintaining the tracks on West Market St. [16]

Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Tunkhannock is a borough in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Wilkes-Barre. In the past, lumbering was carried on extensively. Today, many residents are employed by the Procter & Gamble plant in nearby Washington Township. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 1,836. It is the county seat of Wyoming County. Tunkhannock is in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

By 1930, the effects of declining ridership and the Great Depression came to a head. The trolley line was cut back from Montrose, at first to Nicholson, and then to Factoryville. The Lake Winola trolleys were completely discontinued in October, 1930, but the bus line continued to serve the area. [17] The Brookside power plant was also sold that year to the Abington Power Company for much needed cash. By November 1930, the railroad entered receivership due to decreasing revenues, increasing maintenance costs and incompetent management. [18]

Company officials then wanted to proceed with the plan to completely replace the trolleys with buses, but it was not given license to operate the route (it went to Frank Martz Coach Company instead [19] ). Trustees planned to end operations on the line in June, 1931, and to scrap the line by October, 1931. Operations were actually suspended on July 20, 1931. The bus line stopped operating several days earlier, its buses having been repossessed by the Mack Truck Co. [20] [21]

Before it was to be scrapped, a group of employees intervened and formed a cooperative to operate the line between Scranton and Factoryville. They began operations in mid-December 1931. [22]

Abandonment

The City of Scranton and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania decided to begin extensive construction improvements on West Market St. to the city line in Leggett's Gap (also referred to as the Notch) in 1932. The city council insisted that the Northern Electric pay for the cost of realigning its tracks along the road, which was to be widened through the Notch. [23] The railway cooperative could not afford the reconstruction costs and therefore could not comply. [24] [25]

Scranton city officials then proceeded to tear up the rails and effectively blocked its trolleys from crossing the city line at Leggett's Gap at 7:00PM on September 21, 1932, [26] abruptly and permanently ending 25 years of operation. Final liquidation of its assets occurred at the end of April, 1935. [27] The little money that came from the sale of the assets went primarily to lawyers. Miners National Bank of Wilkes-Barre was left holding a $1,800,000 mortgage on which it never did or could foreclose.

Legacy

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provided a $566,000 grant in 2011 to restore sections of the route as walking trails. The first 2.64 mile stretch from Clarks Summit to Dalton was opened on October 10, 2014. A second, 1.7 mile segment from LaPlume to Factoryville was opened in August of 2017. [28] [29]

Related Research Articles

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania County in Pennsylvania, United States

Lackawanna County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 214,437. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton.

J. G. Brill Company

The J.G. Brill Company manufactured trams/streetcars, interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almost ninety years; it was the longest lasting trolley and interurban manufacturer. At its height, Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone.

Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad

The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976.

Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad

The Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area.

Joseph A. Scranton American politician

Joseph Augustine Scranton was a Republican politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from 1881 to 1883, 1885 to 1887, 1889 to 1891, and 1893 to 1897.

Jamaica Buses

Jamaica Buses, Inc., also known as Jamaica Bus Lines or the Jamaica Bus Company, was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 30, 2006, when the MTA Bus Company took over its operations.

Streetcars in Washington, D.C., and Maryland

Streetcars and interurbans operated in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., between 1890 and 1962. Lines in Maryland were established as separate legal entities, but eventually they were all owned or leased by DC Transit. Unlike the Virginia lines, the Washington and Maryland lines were scheduled as a single system. Most of the streetcars were built with grand plans in mind, but none succeeded financially. A combination of the rise of the automobile, various economic downturns and bustitution eventually spelled the end of streetcars in southern Maryland.

Pennsylvania Route 307 highway in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Route 307 is a north–south route of the Pennsylvania Highway System that runs for 31 miles (50 km). The southern terminus is Pennsylvania Route 435 in Covington Township and the northern terminus is Pennsylvania Route 92 in Tunkhannock Township. The highway is called Scranton - Pocono Highway south of Scranton.

Pennsylvania Route 107 highway in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Route 107 is a 17.3-mile-long (27.8 km) state highway located in Wyoming and Lackawanna Counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 6 /US 11 in Factoryville. The eastern terminus is at an interchange with the US 6 freeway in Jermyn. The length of this route serves as a shortcut for through traffic on US 6 creating a bypass of Scranton and Clarks Summit. PA 107 is a two-lane undivided road that runs through mostly rural areas in the northern part of Lackawanna County. The route intersects PA 407 in Fleetville, Interstate 81 (I-81) in Benton Township, PA 247 in Scott Township, and US 6 Business in Mayfield. PA 107 was designated in 1928 between US 11 in Factoryville and US 6 at Washington Avenue in Jermyn. The entire route was paved in the 1930s. The eastern terminus was cut back to US 6 at Scranton-Carbondale Highway in the 1940s. PA 107 was extended back to unnumbered Washington Avenue in the 1970s and along a new road to the US 6 freeway in 1995.

Interurban and streetcar railways in Syracuse, New York

Interurban and streetcar railways flourished in Syracuse, New York until the automobile, airplane and bus took their place.

Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad

The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad Company (S.&I.E.R.R.Co.) was an electrified interurban railway operating in Spokane, Washington and vicinity, extending into northern and central Idaho. The system originated in several predecessor roads beginning c. 1890, incorporated in 1904, and ran under its own name to 1929. It merged into the Great Northern Railway and later, the Burlington Northern Railroad, which operated some roads into the 1980s.

Timothy Burke was a businessman who, with his brother John M. Burke, founded the Burke Brothers Construction Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the Scranton, Dunmore, and Moosic Lake Railroad.

Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal

The Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, sometimes called Washington Plaza or the Williamsburg Bridge Transit Center, is a major bus terminal and former trolley terminal located at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, one block west of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278). It is situated by the boundaries of Broadway, Havemeyer Street, Roebling Street and South 5th Street, south of the LaGuardia Playground. It contains six bus lanes and serves as a terminal for the many MTA New York City Transit Authority bus routes of Brooklyn and Queens that start and end their runs there.

Chartered in 1904 by the Beebe Syndicate, the Auburn and Northern Electric Railroad connected the city of Auburn, New York, with the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Railroad at Port Byron, New York. The New York Board of Railroad Commissioners authorized construction and a $1 million mortgage to the A&N in 1905 so it could build 12 miles (19 km) of track between Auburn and Port Byron. Lease of the line to be used by A&N was negotiated at an Auburn and Syracuse Electric Rairload stockholders' meeting in May 1907. Construction of the line was contested by the Lehigh Valley Railroad who initiated a frog war when the A&N tried to build a crossing at its tracks; the A&N obtained an injunction and continued building. The railroad began operation in 1908. Lehigh Valley Railroad kept the crossing as a point of contention with an order from the railroad commission in 1909 requiring the A&N to install and operate derails at the crossing.

Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal

The Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, also called the Essex Street Trolley Terminal or Delancey Street Trolley Terminal, was a trolley terminal located underground adjacent to the Essex Street subway station in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Passenger trolley service operated through the terminal from 1908 until 1948 when trolley service over the Williamsburg Bridge ended. The station was constructed with balloon loops for turning around streetcars after they crossed over the Williamsburg Bridge to send them back to Brooklyn.

References

  1. ↑ "Do Business Right". The Scranton Republican. February 12, 1904. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. ↑ "Trolley to Lake Winola". The Wilkes-Barre Record. March 20, 1906. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. ↑ "Rushing the Work". The Scranton Republican. March 6, 1907. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ "Was Formally Opened". The Scranton Republican. July 2, 1907. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. ↑ Lackawanna Railroad (December 7, 1907). "(untitled advertisement)". The Scranton Republican. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. ↑ "Shot and stabbed". The Scranton Republican. November 23, 1907. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. ↑ "By trolley to Lake Winola". The Pittston Gazette. May 19, 1908. p. 5 – via newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. ↑ "To open the Nicholson extension this summer". The Scranton Truth. February 21, 1912. p. 13 – via newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. ↑ "Lake Winola tomorrow". The Scranton Republican. October 12, 1912. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. ↑ "Northern Electric now operating to Foster". The Scranton Republican. July 7, 1915. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  11. ↑ Flanagan, Thomas F. (1980). Northern Electric Railway. Ben Rohrbeck Traction Publications.
  12. ↑ "Northern Electric Street Railway Company". The Scranton Truth. June 24, 1908. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  13. ↑ "The Lackawanna Trail".
  14. ↑ "Legal notices". The Scranton Republican. June 11, 1926. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  15. ↑ "Railway plans to run buses to Tunkhannock". The Scranton Republican. April 9, 1927. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  16. ↑ "Mayor Acts On Railway Co. Negligence". The Scranton Republican. September 18, 1928. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  17. ↑ "Will Discontinue Lake Winola Car". The Scranton Republican. September 13, 1930. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  18. ↑ "Directors Charged with Mismanagement". The Scranton Republican. November 17, 1926. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  19. ↑ "Bus Companies Continue Battle For Domination". The Scranton Republican. December 5, 1932. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  20. ↑ "Northern Electric Railway Suspends Operation". The Scranton Republican. July 21, 1931. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  21. ↑ "Northern Electric Suspends Operation (continued from page 3)". The Scranton Republican. July 21, 1931. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  22. ↑ "Fix Dec. 14 For Operation Of Street Cars". The Scranton Republican. December 7, 1931. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  23. ↑ "Council Acts Today to End Rail Franchise". The Scranton Republican. April 15, 1932. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  24. ↑ "Trolley Line Rails Are to Be Removed Along Notch Route". The Scranton Republican. August 16, 1932. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  25. ↑ "Tracks in Notch To Be Removed (continued from Page Three)". The Scranton Republican. August 16, 1932. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  26. ↑ "Northern Electric Discontinues Service". The Wilkes-Barre Record. September 22, 1932. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  27. ↑ "Last Chapter Is Written In Northern Electric Case". The Scranton Republican. April 26, 1935. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  28. ↑ "The Trolley Trail". Countryside Conservancy.
  29. ↑ "New Trolley Trail opens". Wyoming County Press Examiner.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.