The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, The Route of Phoebe Snow

(Please note that the photos here feature images of successor, Erie Lackawanna, not the DL&W.)

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (better known as simply the Lackawanna and not to be confused with the current shortline, Delaware-Lackawanna), while never one of the Northeast’s largest railroads (like most, it was dwarfed by bitter railroad rivals New York Central and Pennsylvania) it was perhaps the grandest, which it is likely best remembered for; builder of the New Jersey Cutoff (between Port Morris, New Jersey and Slateford, Pennsylvania) and the Nicholson-Hallstead Cutoff these magnificent feats of engineering were home to several stunning viaducts (made from reinforced concrete), the most notable of which was Tunkhannock Viaduct (also known as Nicholson Viaduct).

Although the DL&W would have a number of smaller railroads making up its system the final integral pieces of the railroad was the Morris & Essex (which built a line between Newark and Morristown, New Jersey) and New York, Lackawanna & Western (which built a line between Binghamton and Buffalo, New York). With the ownership of these lines the DL&W’s main line was basically complete and, in all, stretched from Buffalo, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey just across the Hudson River from downtown New York City (Manhattan).

Along with its renowned Hoboken Terminal train station the DL&W is famous for its two cutoffs and the impressive viaducts that were found along both. Although both cutoffs featured several viaducts including Martins Creek Viaduct and Paulins Kill Viaduct (Paulins Kill and Slateford Viaduct are located along the now-defunct New Jersey Cutoff), Tunkhannock dwarfs them all (named for the small creek which runs below it). Topping out at 240 feet above the valley floor and roughly a half-mile long at 2,375 feet the structure is a striking sight (made all the more impressive by Lackawanna R.R. located across the center arch).

The DL&W was also a very well managed company; beginning with president Samuel Sloan who led the company from 1867 to 1899 the railroad would never fall into receivership during its entire lifetime. Part of this success was due to the DL&W having a diverse traffic base and tapped the once lucrative anthracite coal found in the region.

The end for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad began in the 1950s when it began discussing a possible merger with rival Erie Railroad, and the two would later formally merge in the fall of 1960 forming another now classic fallen flag the Erie Lackawanna Railroad (EL). While somewhat successful the merger and the savings it brought could not stave off the Northeast’s biggest problem starting in the 1960s, simply too many railroads vying for a smaller and smaller traffic base as manufacturing centers slowly began to dry up in the region.

While the railroad soldiered on and attempted to become part of the Norfolk & Western Railway’s system, Hurricane Agnes of 1972 changed everything and the storm caused havoc to EL’s lines forcing it into bankruptcy. Already in a precarious financial situation and being turned down by a possible purchase by the Chessie System the company eventually opted to be included in the new Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), which already was being formed to pick up the pieces of several other bankrupt lines in the region, most notably the disastrous Penn Central Corporation.

Please Click Here To Return To The Main Fallen Flags Section

For an excellent listing of EMD-built diesel locomotives, including those owned by the DL&W please click here. Lastly, please click here to locate preserved DL&W diesel locomotives.

The American Locomotive Company

The Electro-Motive Corporation/Electro-Motive Division

Fairbanks Morse

General Electric

For a more complete roster of Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving DL&W steam locomotives please click here.

Notable Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Passenger Trains

Phoebe Snow

Interstate Express: (Syracuse - Philadelphia)

Owl: (Hoboken - Buffalo)

New Yorker: (Chicago - Hoboken)

New York Mail: (Buffalo - Hoboken)

Pocono Express: (Hoboken - Buffalo)

Twilight: (Hoboken - Buffalo)

Westerner: (Hoboken - Chicago)

(A deep thanks to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University for allowing Ron Nixon's historic collection of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western to be featured here. Please note that the photos featured on this page feature their corresponding image number so that you may quickly and easily find more information about it from their website. To view Ron Nixon's entire collection please click here.)

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