Delaware and Hudson Railway

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Delaware and Hudson Railway
Map
All steam rail lines owned by the Delaware and Hudson Company
Overview
HeadquartersAlbany, New York, U.S.
Reporting markDH
LocaleMaryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Vermont, Virginia
Dates of operation1823–1991 (as D&H, present for CP ownership)
SuccessorCanadian Pacific Railway subsidiary
Portion of lines sold to the Norfolk Southern Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge4 ft 3 in (1,295 mm)
(see Stourbridge Lion)
Length1,581 miles (2,544 km)

The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) (reporting mark DH) 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.

D&H's name originates from the 1823 New York state corporation charter listing "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co." authorizing an establishment of "water communication" between the Delaware River and the Hudson River.

Nicknamed "The Bridge Line to New England and Canada," D&H connected New York with Montreal and New England. D&H has also been known as "North America's oldest continually operated transportation company."

On September 19, 2015, the Norfolk Southern Railway completed acquisition of the D&H South Line from CP. The D&H South Line is 282 miles (454 kilometers) long and connects Schenectady, New York, to Sunbury, Pennsylvania.[1] The D&H South Line consists of two rail lines, the Sunbury Line and the Freight Line. The Nicholson Cutoff is located on the Sunbury Line, which was the former mainline of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

History[edit]

By the 1790s, industrializing eastern population centers were having increasing troubles getting charcoal to fuel their growing kilns, smithies, and foundries. As local timber was denuded, efforts to find an alternative energy source began. During a fuel shortage in Philadelphia during the War of 1812, an employee at the direction of industrialist Josiah White conducted a series of experiments and discovered a number of ways that anthracite coal could be successfully ignited and burned.[2] The fuel had been seen more as a way to put out a fire than a fuel to build one up, so its use also had to overcome prejudice.[3]

White and his partner Erskine Hazard founded the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, creating the Lehigh Canal, and inspiring the exploitation of anthracite deposits found by William Wurts in and around Carbondale, Pennsylvania, which led to the development of Scranton.

By 1824, the mills of White and Hazard, and the regular large boatloads of anthracite they proved they could supply, tipped the prejudice against anthracite in Philadelphia[4] when the Lehigh River was damaged by flooding. The news of its rapid repair and restoration together with the fact anthracite stocks had for a time run down, but not out, establishing the reliable sourcing[a] finished off the bias,[4] as did the beginning of mine output reaching the Delaware basin markets due to the long delayed completion of the Schuylkill Canal.[b]

Wurts was a large thinker, and inspired his brothers to back forming a company to deliver the new fuel, anthracite, to New York City by building an ambitious canal to connect the Hudson River and the Delaware River, and both to the Coaldale coal deposits by chartering a Pennsylvania subsidiary corporation, the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad, to bring coal to the Delaware and the new canal. This cable railroad would grow in importance and become the far-flung class I railroad, the Delaware and Hudson Railway.

Delaware and Hudson Canal Company[edit]

An 1886 map of the Delaware and Hudson Company's railheads and connections

In the early 1820s, Philadelphia merchant William Wurts, who enjoyed walking about along Amerindian paths, and what today what is termed taking nature hikes, had heard of possible anthracite in the area,[5] so took a trip to explore the sparsely settled regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Finding coal outcrops, he immediately realized the value of the extensive anthracite deposits.

Returning to Philadelphia, he successfully interested his brothers in backing the idea of building a canal to make easier transporting coal to New York City.[6] The city was still feeling the effects of the depletion of stands of woodlands providing heating and cooking firewood and also squeezed by continuing post-War of 1812 import restrictions on British bituminous coal, on which it had once been relying. The canal he proposed (the first sections of the Erie Canal, opened in 1821, creating news coverage) would also tie the developing industries along the Delaware to the Hudson, which helped raise financing.

At the time, nearly all the eastern cities were experiencing energy cost increases and difficulty in getting large quantities of fuel, as most nearby timber stands had been used up, often for charcoal production enabling foundries to start up, which now needed fuel to stay in business. This general condition around most long established cities and towns in the United States is one reason so much venture capital was raised for coal and coal transportation projects after 1823 and into the early 1840s, once Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company had blazed a way forward steadily increasing annual shipping to over a remarkable 28,000 long tons (28,000 t)[c] by 1825.[4][d][7]

The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company originates from the 1823 New York corporation charter listing the unusual name of "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co." authorizing an establishment of "water communication" between the Delaware River and the Hudson River.[8] The D&H was chartered by separate laws in the states of New York and Pennsylvania in 1823 and 1826, respectively, allowing William Wurts and his brother Maurice to construct the Delaware and Hudson Canal and the gravity railroad that served it. In January 1825, following a demonstration of anthracite heating in a Wall Street coffeehouse, the D&H's public stock offering raised a million dollars. At the time, the Lehigh Canal had established a reliable flow of increasing annual tonnages,[d][7] and the industrial and heating uses of 'rock coal' were well established.

Ground was broken on July 13, 1825, and the canal was opened to navigation in October 1828. It began at Rondout Creek at the location known as Creeklocks, between Kingston, where the creek fed into the Hudson River, and Rosendale. From there, it proceeded southwest alongside Rondout Creek to Ellenville, continuing through the valley of Sandburg Creek, Homowack Kill, Basha Kill, and Neversink River to Port Jervis on the Delaware River. From there, the canal ran northwest on the New York side of the Delaware River, crossing into Pennsylvania on Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct at Lackawaxen and running on the north bank of the Lackawaxen River to Honesdale.[9]

To get the anthracite from the Wurts' mine in the Moosic Mountains near Carbondale to the canal at Honesdale, the canal company built the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad. The state of Pennsylvania authorized its construction on April 8, 1826. On August 8, 1829, the D&H's first locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, made history as the first locomotive to run on rails in the United States. Westward extensions of the railroad opened access to new mines at Archbald in 1843, Valley Junction in 1858, Providence in 1860, and Scranton in 1863. Passenger service began west of Carbondale in 1860.

The canal was a successful enterprise for many of its early years, but the company's management realized that railroads were the future of transportation, and began investing in stock and trackage. In 1898, the canal carried its last loads of coal and was drained and sold. The next year, the company dropped the "Canal" from its name. The remaining fragments of the canal were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.

Delaware and Hudson Company[edit]

As railroads grew in popularity, the canal company recognized the importance of replacing the canal with a railroad. The first step of this was the Jefferson Railroad, a line from Carbondale north towards New York, chartered in 1864, built by the Erie Railroad in 1869 and opened in 1872. This was a branch of the Erie, running south from the main line at Lanesboro to Carbondale. Also built as part of this line was a continuation from the other side of the D&H's gravity railroad at Honesdale southeast to the Erie's Pennsylvania Coal Company railroad at Hawley. The Jefferson Railroad (and through it the Erie) obtained trackage rights over the D&H between its two sections, and the D&H obtained trackage rights to Lanesboro.[10]

The other part of the main line was the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, which the D&H leased on February 24, 1870. The Delaware and Hudson already had a history of working with the Albany and Susquehanna, agreeing in 1866 to jointly build an extension to Nineveh and subsequently ship coal across the entire line. The two companies then entered into an arrangement whereby the Delaware and Hudson perpetually leased the Albany and Susquehanna for $490,000 per year.[11] The connecting Lackawanna and Susquehanna Railroad, chartered in 1867 and opened in 1872, was also absorbed. The Albany and Susquehanna provided a line from Albany southwest to Binghamton, while the Lackawanna and Susquehanna split from that line at Nineveh, running south to the Jefferson Railroad at Lanesboro. Also leased in 1870 was the Schenectady and Susquehanna Railroad, connecting the Albany and Susquehanna at Duanesburg to Schenectady, opened in 1872[10] (reorganized as the Schenectady and Duanesburg Railroad in 1873).

On March 1, 1871, the D&H leased the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad Company, which, along with its leased lines, provided a network stretching north from Albany and Schenectady to Saratoga Springs, and continuing northeast to Rutland, Vermont, as well as an eastern route to Rutland via trackage rights over the Troy and Boston Railroad west of Eagle Bridge. The D&H also obtained a quarter interest in the Troy Union Railroad from this lease.

On March 1, 1873, the D&H got the New York and Canada Railroad chartered as a merger of the Whitehall and Plattsburgh Railroad and Montreal and Plattsburgh Railroad, which had been owned by the Rutland Railroad. This provided an extension, completed in 1875, north from Whitehall to the border with Quebec; a branch opened in 1876 to Rouses Point. Lines of the Grand Trunk Railway continued each of the two branches north to Montreal.

The D&H obtained trackage rights over the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad in 1886, extending the main line southwest from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre.

On July 11, 1889, the D&H bought the Adirondack Railway, a long branch line heading north from Saratoga Springs along the Hudson River.

Upon gaining control of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad Company in 1871, new repair shops were built north of Albany, New York at Green Island. The following year, shops and a locomotive terminal were added midway between Albany and Binghamton at Oneonta. For 40 years the Green Island Shops and Oneonta Shops were the primary back shops for the system. [12]

Some company directors questioned the wisdom of acquiring extensive rail systems in northern New York. A direct line to Albany existed for many years through the canal and river system, so most of the coal markets in the area were already accessible. These concerns were overruled by the majority, who believed great benefit would accrue to having an all-rail route to Upstate New York that was not nearly as vulnerable to winter weather as the canal. Avoiding situations in which the company would have to rely on other railroads to reach its markets also would be desirable. The effort was helped by a report that estimated necessary upgrades to the canal would cost $300,000, an expenditure that would not be needed if rail routes could be purchased or leased.[11]

A D&H newspaper advertisement for travel along the line, c. 1914
A gold bond of the Delaware and Hudson Company, issued October 1, 1915

The canal was last used on November 5, 1891, and the gravity railroad closed January 3, 1899. On April 28, 1899, the name was changed to the Delaware and Hudson Company to reflect the lack of a canal, which was sold in June of that year. Between Port Jackson and Ellenville, the right-of-way for the canal was used by the Ellenville and Kingston Railroad, a branch of the New York, Ontario and Western Railway, chartered in 1901 and opened in 1902.

In 1903, the D&H organized the Chateaugay and Lake Placid Railway as a consolidation of the Chateaugay Railroad, Chateaugay Railway, and Saranac and Lake Placid Railway. In conjunction with the Plattsburgh and Dannemora Railroad, which had been leased by the Chateaugay Railroad, this formed a long branch from Plattsburgh west and south to Lake Placid.

In 1906, the D&H bought the Quebec Southern Railway and South Shore Railway, merging them into the Quebec, Montreal and Southern Railway. This line ran from St. Lambert, a suburb of Montreal, northeast to Fortierville, most of the way to Quebec City. The D&H sold that line to the Canadian National Railway in 1929.

The D&H incorporated the Napierville Junction Railway in 1906 to continue the line north from Rouses Point to St. Constant Junction near Montreal, Quebec, from which the D&H obtained trackage rights over the Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal. This line opened in 1907, forming part of the shortest route between New York City and Montreal.

In 1912, the D&H and the Pennsylvania Railroad incorporated the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad, creating an interchange between the two lines at Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, thus avoiding going through downtown Wilkes-Barre. Opened in 1915, this line runs north 6.65 miles to the D&H main line at Hudson, crossing the Susquehanna River twice.

Also in 1912, a new shop site was constructed to handle larger locomotives on the north side of Albany at Watervliet. Known as the Colonie Shops, they were constructed on 1,100 acres of land for $2.5 million and eventually employed 2,500. Thereafter the obsolete repair facilities at Green Island were downgraded. [13]

On April 1, 1930, the property of the Delaware and Hudson Company was transferred to the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Corporation, incorporated December 1, 1928. In 1938, the D&H started to act as a bridge line, carrying large amounts of freight between other connecting lines.

After the Second World War the D&H, like all railroads in the United States, gradually curtailed passenger service. By 1957, the D&H had ended service between Albany and Lake George (via Fort Edward) and between Albany and North Creek (via Saratoga Springs) in the southeast part of Adirondack Park.[14] The D&H had also ended service on its branch between Plattsburgh and Lyon Mountain during this period.[15][16] By 1960, service consisted of the following trains: the daytime Laurentian and overnight Montreal Limited between New York City and Montreal, unnamed local trains between Albany and Rouses Point and Albany and Binghamton, and a commuter train between Albany and Saratoga Springs.[17] The D&H discontinued the Rouses Point locals in July 1960, the Albany–Saratoga commuter train in late 1962, and the Binghamton train on January 24, 1963.[18][19] The Laurentian and Montreal Limited remained in operation through the 1960s until April 30, 1971, when Amtrak thereafter assumed most long-distance passenger-train service.[20] After more than three years of lapsed service, Amtrak introduced the daytime Adirondack over the D&H line on August 6, 1974.[21]

Delaware and Hudson Railway (1968–1988)[edit]

The Laurentian passing Train 9, The Montreal Limited, near Delson, Quebec, in September 1968
Delaware and Hudson's Montreal Limited at Windsor Station in Montreal, in August 1970

In 1964, Norfolk & Western wanted the Wabash & Nickel Plate Roads. The ICC at the time informed them that to get those two roads, they would also have to take the Erie Lackawanna & D&H. The D&H company was reorganized as the Delaware and Hudson Railway, and both roads were placed into Dereco, a holding company owned by Norfolk and Western Railway. After New York and Pennsylvania were hit by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, which destroyed part of the EL main line west of Binghamton, and following the bankruptcy of numerous northeastern U.S. railroads in the 1970s, including D&H and E-L, N&W lost control of Dereco stock. After several merger plans fell through, EL petitioned for and was included in the formation of the federal government's nascent Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). While D&H was technically still owned by N&W, they were given financial support and told to "sink or swim" as an independent railroad again. In 1980, Conrail sold the former DL&W main line from Binghamton to Scranton to the D&H; being a flatter, more direct route to Scranton, this acquisition allowed the D&H to abandon its famed Penn Division between Carbondale and the connection with the ex-Erie/EL at Jefferson Junction. The D&H was left out of Conrail to maintain a semblance of competition in the Northeast. While the success of this move has often been discredited, since the D&H was simply too small to compete with all of the markets served by Conrail, in fact the railroad doubled in size by being granted trackage rights over Conrail reaching Newark, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Washington, DC. The remainder of the Penn Division from Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, to Nineveh, New York, was abandoned after the Belden Hill tunnel was enlarged in 1986.

In 1984, Guilford Transportation Industries purchased the D&H as part of a plan to operate a larger regional railroad from Maine and New Brunswick in the east, to New York City and the Midwest in the west, Montreal in the north, and the Philadelphia and Washington metropolitan areas to the south. For only $500,000, Guilford purchased the entire railroad. The price tag reflected the D&H's horrid financial shape and the poor condition of its physical plant. At the time of the purchase, the D&H had little freight traffic, relying on federal and state money to keep operating. Guilford's plans for expanded service did not come to fruition, and in 1988, after two intense labor strikes, Guilford declared the D&H bankrupt, abandoning its operation. Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, purchased the line south of Carbondale to Scranton and currently serves a growing number of industries in the valley under the auspices of the designated operator Delaware Lackawanna Railroad.

With the D&H in limbo, the federal government ordered the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway to operate the D&H without subsidy until a buyer could be found. Guilford claimed that the D&H had assets of $70M at the time of the bankruptcy.

Canadian Pacific era (1991–present)[edit]

DH 7303, an EMD GP38-2, while under Canadian Pacific's ownership in Winnipeg
CP 7306, a repainted D&H locomotive, in Winnipeg in January 2019

In 1991, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) purchased the D&H for $25M to give the CPR's transcontinental system a connection between Montreal and the New York City metropolitan area.

CPR assumed all operations of the D&H system and eventually phased out the use of the D&H name and logos on locomotives or rolling stock. Under CPR, the D&H trackage was upgraded and excess track was removed. Although successful for a short time, the D&H was soon in limbo again, and in 1996, CPR placed it and other money-losing trackage in the eastern U.S. and Canada into a separate operating company named St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway. In 2000, the St.L&H was merged back into CPR.

The D&H has had trouble making money for some time. As described above, it was originally constructed as a coal-hauling route, and when that business declined, turning a profit proved difficult. The D&H operates in some of the most rural areas of New York, and very few industrial customers between Binghamton and Rouses Point remain. However, the railroad's current prognosis is arguably better than it has been in a long time. Along with the New York City connection, haulage agreements with other railroads are greatly increasing traffic. CPR has been steadily using its high-power alternating current traction locomotives on its road trains on the D&H line, instead of its aging SD40-2 models. This is an indication of the increasing importance of reliable service. Also, major signal and track projects are underway to modernize the former D&H lines.

As of 2012, various trackage and haulage rights were assigned to Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) over the D&H between Sunbury and Mechanicville, New York, as was a connection to Canadian National via Rouses Point, New York. NS incorporated the former bridge-line route into its "Patriot Corridor", and the majority of the traffic on the D&H became that of the NS.

In 2017, CPR finished installing an updated signaling system on the line. In 2018, CPR started doing extensive work on the line, possibly in preparation for increased traffic.

Partial purchase by Norfolk Southern[edit]

In October 2014, Canadian Pacific's Delaware & Hudson put a portion of its lines south of CP's Mohawk Yard in Glenville, New York, to Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and the former Albany Main from Delanson, New York, to Voorheesville, New York, up for sale. Voorheesville Track is operated under contract by SMS Rail Services. Under the purchase agreement, CPR D&H would retain the lines from Mechanicville, New York, to Mohawk Yard and Rouses Point, New York, to Albany, to retain lucrative Bakken crude-oil traffic. The majority of the current traffic on the offered routes already consisted of NS Intermodal Containers and Auto Rack trains bound for Ayer, Massachusetts, via Pan Am Southern.[22] On November 17, 2014, NS acquired the Schenectady, New York, to Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and Delanson to Voorheesville, New York, segments for $217 million.[23] On September 19, 2015, NS assumed ownership and operations of its newly-purchased portion of the old D&H mainline.[24]

Legacy[edit]

The Delaware and Hudson companies' transportation services enabled Carbondale, Pennsylvania to become one of the first American mining centers that supplied the fuel that gave rise to the American Industrial Revolution.

The Delaware and Hudson was one of the longest-operating class I railroads in American history. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, D&H President L.F. Loree ordered many of the railway's larger locomotives to be taken off the main line and serviced with the sole reasoning being to keep men working so they did not lose their jobs. Most of these engines were in excellent condition and did not need repairs.[25] Also in 1939, the railroad experimented with welded rail before many other railroads.[citation needed]

The branch of the D&H that ran between Lake Village and Glens Falls, New York, was converted to the Warren County, New York bikeway in several phases, starting in 1978 and finishing in 2000.[26]

Amtrak's Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express trains also operate over former D&H trackage.

The Lyon Mountain Railroad Station at Lyon Mountain, New York, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and the Mediterranean Revival style Delaware and Hudson Passenger Station (1909–1911) at Lake George was listed in 2013.[27][28]

The city of Delson in Quebec was named in honor of the D&H, which runs through the town. The origin of the name Delson comes from a contraction of "DELaware and HudSON".

The Village of Delanson, New York, through which the D&H's Susquehanna Division ran, was also named in honor of the D&H. The name was coined by D&H Superintendent C.D. Hammond in 1893 from the railroad's name DELaware ANd hudSON. The village served as a junction point for the railroad and was the location of a large coal pocket (storage yard).[29]

Subsidiaries and branches[edit]

Locomotives[edit]

The Delaware and Hudson locomotive roster was particularly unique in having models from Alco, GE, EMD, and Baldwin. The Delaware and Hudson also served Alco's main plant at Schenectady, NY making it a popular road to spot Alco locomotives in operation.

Diesel Roster[30][31][32]
Road Numbers Model Builder Notes
16-19 PA-1 / PA-4 ALCo
200-209 C-420 ALCo
301-316 U23B General Electric
401 C-420 ALCo
404-415 C-420 ALCo
451-456 C-424m ALCo / General Electric
461-463 C-424m ALCo / General Electric
501-508 RS-3m ALCo / Morrison-Knudsen
601-618 C628 ALCo
650-656 U33C General Electric
701-712 U30C General Electric
751-762 U33C General Electric
801-803 SD45 EMD
1205, 1216 RF-16 Baldwin
1776 U23B General Electric
1976 RS-3m ALCo / Morrison-Knudsen
2301–2316 U23B General Electric
3000-3032 S-2 ALCo
3033-3050 S-4 ALCo
4000-4025 RS-2 ALCo
4026-4049 RS-3 ALCo
4050-4051 RS-2 ALCo
4052-4122 RS-3 ALCo
4123 (1st) RS-3 ALCo
4123 (2nd) RS-2 ALCo
4124-4129 RS-3 ALCo
5000-5011 RS-11 ALCo
5012-5023 RS-36 ALCo
7314-7325 GP38-2 EMD
7401-7420 GP39-2 EMD
7601-7620 GP39-2 EMD
Steam Roster[33][34]
Road Numbers Whyte Notation Class Year Built Builder Notes
Transit 2-2-4T 1889 Schenectady (pre-ALCo) inspection engine
Saratoga 4-4-0 1904 D&H inspection engine;

rebuilt from class G-1c

3, 7 0-6-0T B 1880, 1884 Dickson
16 0-6-0 B-1a 1891 Dickson
20-22 0-6-0 B-1b 1882–1900 Dickson 20 and 21 later converted to "camelback" tender engines
23-29 0-6-0 B-4 1902–1903 Dickson or D&H
30-56 0-6-0 B-4a 1903–1907 ALCo
80-87 0-8-0 B-5 Schenectady (pre-ALCo) built from 2-8-0s
91-100 0-8-0 B-6 ALCo built from 2-8-0s
151-164 0-8-0 B-7 ALCo built from 2-8-0s
135 2-6-0 C-1e 1875 Dickson
61, 63, 65, 75, 91, 93, 99, 101, 110-112 2-6-0 C-1i 1889-1891 Dickson 63 and 65 later converted to oil-burning
139, 142, 145 2-6-0 C-1j 1880-1881 Dickson
58-60, 66, 67, 70-71 2-6-0 C-1k 1891–1893 Dickson
119, 121-123, 179 2-6-0 C-1m 1889-1891 Dickson
117-118 2-6-0 C-2 1889-1891 Rogers
397 (orig. 148) 4-4-0 G-1c 1892 Baldwin rebuilt into inspection engine "Saratoga" in 1904
423 4-4-0 G-3 1866 Danforth & Cook
424-426 4-4-0 G-3 1867 Dickson
421 4-4-0 G-3 1871 Smith & Jackson
422 4-4-0 G-3 1876 Danforth & Cook
374-378 4-4-0 G-4b 1883-1887 Dickson
379 4-4-0 G-4b 1867 Schenectady (pre-ALCo)
380-387 4-4-0 G-4b 1868-1889 Dickson
391-393 4-4-0 G-4c 1895 Dickson
388-390 4-4-0 G-4d 1895 Schenectady (pre-ALCo)
432 4-4-0 G-4e Schenectady (pre-ALCo)
435 4-4-0 G-4e 1868 Schenectady (pre-ALCo)
433-434 4-4-0 G-4e 1900 D&H
442-457 4-4-0 G-5 1903-1904 ALCo built as "camelbacks", later converted to single-cab
500-508, 557-561 4-6-0 D-3 1903-1907 ALCo (504-508 D&H)
521-524 4-6-0 D-3a 1904 ALCo
534-538, 559, 590-599 4-6-0 D-3b 1903-1907 590-599 convertible between oil- or coal-burning
600-609 4-6-2 P 1914 ALCo
651-653 4-6-2 P-1 1929-1931 D&H

(653 jointly built by ALCo and D&H)

each built with a different valve gear;

651 Dabeg, 652 Walschaerts, 653 poppet valve

712-737 2-8-0 E-2 1899
738-764 2-8-0 E-2a 1900-1901
765-785 2-8-0 E-2b 1901-1902
786-803 2-8-0 E-3 1902 *E-3 and E-3a original numbers (as of 1906) before extensive 1920s rebuilding program
804-889 2-8-0 E-3a 1903-1906
786, 788, 795, 885 2-8-0 E-3a 1902 *second listing of E-3 class engines by final number (separated by sub-class)
789, 797, 800, 831, 846, 849, 854,

857, 864, 865, 868, 873, 876, 879, 880, 895, 898, 900

2-8-0 E-40 1902- 1906 ALCo
894, 987, 901 2-8-0 E-42 1902- 1906 ALCo
802 2-8-0 E-45 1902 ALCo
801, 803-829 2-8-0 E-48 1902-1906 ALCo
905-923, 925-930, 932-957 2-8-0 E-51 1902-1906 ALCo
999 2-8-0 E-3a 1911 ALCo convertible between oil- or coal-burning
1000-1006 2-8-0 E-4 1899-1901 Schenectady (pre-ALCo) rebuilt into class B-5
1007-1096 2-8-0 E-5 1906-1914 ALCo
1111-1122 2-8-0 E-5a 1926-1930 D&H and ALCo
1200-1220 2-8-0 E-6a 1916-1918 ALCo 1219 received the world's first fusion-welded boiler in 1937
1400 (Horatio Allen), 1401 (John

B. Jarvis), 1402 (James Archbald)

2-8-0 E-7 1924, 1927, 1930 ALCo experimental;

used marine-type boilers with water-tube fireboxes

1403 (L. F. Loree) 4-8-0 1933 ALCo experimental;

four-cylinder triple expansion engine

1600-1612 0-8-8-0 H 1910-1912 ALCo
1500-1501 2-6-6-0 H-1 1910 ALCo converted to 0-6-6-0 shortly after purchase
300-314 4-8-4 K 1943 ALCo built as K-62, later reclassified K-63;

called "Laurentians" by D&H

1500-1539 4-6-6-4 J 1940-1946 ALCo

Company officers[edit]

  • Philip Hone: 1825-1826
  • John Bolton: 1826-1831
  • John Wurts: 1831-1854
  • George Talbot Olyphant: 1858-1869
  • Thomas Dickson: 1869-1884
  • Robert M. Olyphant: 1884-1903
  • David Wilcox: 1903-1907
  • Leonor F. Loree: 1907-1938
  • Thomas L. Hunter: 1938-1941
  • Joseph Nuelle: 1941-1954
  • William White: 1954-1967
  • John P. Hiltz Jr.: 1967
  • Frederic C. Dumaine Jr.: 1967-1968
  • Frank W. McCabe: 1968
  • John P. Fishwick: 1969-1970
  • Gregory W. Maxwell: 1970-1972
  • Carl B. Sterzing Jr.: 1972-1977
  • Selig Altschul: 1977
  • Charles E. Bertrand: 1977-1978
  • Kent Shoemaker: 1978-1982
  • Timothy Mellon: 1984-1988 (Guilford Transportation Industries ownership)
  • Walter Rich: 1988-1991 (Federally Designated Operator: Delaware Otsego Corp/NYS&W)
  • Robert J. Ritchie: 1991-2006 (Canadian Pacific Ownership)
  • Fred Green: 2006-2012 (CP)
  • Stephen C. Tobias: (Interim) 2012 (CP)
  • E. Hunter Harrison: 2012–2017 (CP)
  • Keith Creel: 2017-Today (CP)

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Reliability of the LC&N deliveries over the fumbles of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company[clarification needed]
  2. ^ This was also a project backed by White and Hazard, with White sitting on its board.[2]
  3. ^ The 1825 total may reflect parts of 1824 mine production stockpiled while the Lehigh Canal's severe flooding and ice damages were being repaired. But, the 2,300,000 long tons (2,300,000 t) figure conveyed in 1855 makes the matter of little moment.
  4. ^ a b Note until the completion of the Delaware Canal, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was forced to ship boats one way, and sell off the lumber in Philadelphia, so it had to constantly build new 'arks', which were hinged together to lengths of 110 feet (34 m), the Lehigh Canal locks built to 120 feet (37 m) minimum. There was no feasible way for a two-man barge crew to return such boat-trains against the current of the Delaware River over 60 miles back to the canal at Easton.[4]
  5. ^ If the Lehigh Canal hadn't been built, the Delaware Canal would have had nothing worth the expense to ship, so the investment would never have happened. The principle customer of the Delaware was the coal barges coming down the Lehigh shipped by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, which also came to manage the Delaware Canal into the 1960s.
  6. ^ The Schuylkill Canal was long delayed by investors quarreling over the best way to proceed. Disgusted, White and Hazard explored tapping Anthracite via the Lehigh, and ended up incorporating the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company which spearheaded many technological initiatives.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Norfolk Southern completes acquisition of Delaware & Hudson South Line, PRNewswire, September 18, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Bartholomew, Ann M.; Metz, Lance E.; Kneis, Michael (1989). DELAWARE and LEHIGH CANALS, 158 pages (First ed.). Oak Printing Company, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Center for Canal History and Technology, Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museum, Inc., Easton, Pennsylvania. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0930973097. LCCN 89-25150.
  3. ^ "In the year 1806, William Turnbull had an ark constructed at the mouth of the Nesquehoning Creek which took to Philadelphia about three hundred bushels of coal. A portion of this cargo was sold to the managers of the water works, located in Center Square, where the city hall now stands. [i.e. 1884] Upon trial there, it was deemed rather an extinguisher of fire than anything else, was rejected as worthless, and was broken up to be spread on the walks of the fake surrounding garden in place of gravel." (Brenckman, pp. 76-79)
  4. ^ a b c d Brenckman (1884), History of Carbon County, general discussions point.
  5. ^ Fred Brenckman, Official Commonwealth Historian (1884). HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA (2nd (1913) ed.). Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016. The Connecticut pioneers of the Wyoming Valley were the first to learn of the existence of coal in that portion of the region, while its presence was early suspected on the headwaters of the Schuylkill.
  6. ^ Solomon, Brian. "Delaware & Hudson marks 200 years". Trains. No. June 2023. Kalmbach Media. p. 10.
  7. ^ a b Fred Brenckman (1884). HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA. J. Nungesser, Harrisburg, PA (1913 Edition, Ancestry.com selective excerpt e-reprint). pp. 595–597. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016. Early Lehigh Canal shipping tonnages summarized from text:
     • 1820 -- 365 short tons (331 t), 1821 -- 1,073 short tons (973 t), 1822 -- 2,240 short tons (2,030 t),...
     • 1825 -- 28,393 short tons (25,758 t), & 1831 -- 40,966 short tons (37,164 t); and further, Brenckman discusses that long before 1831 LC&N managers were both having and projecting further inability to timber fast enough to build enough one way coal 'Arks' to keep up with the increases in demand. ... In the last year forty thousand nine hundred and sixty-six tons of coal were sent down, which required the building of so many boats that had they all been put together, end to end, they would have extended more than 13 miles (21 km).
  8. ^ Shaughnessy (1997), p. 2.
  9. ^ From the Coalfields to the Hudson
  10. ^ a b Shaughnessy (1997).
  11. ^ a b Starr, Timothy. (2010). Early Railroads of New York's Capital District.
  12. ^ Starr, Timothy. (2022). The Back Shop Illustrated, Volume 1.
  13. ^ Starr (2022)
  14. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1957, Delaware & Hudson section, Table 3
  15. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, August 1949, Delaware and Hudson section, Table 3
  16. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, December 1954, Delaware and Hudson section, Table 14
  17. ^ Official Guide of the Railways. New York: National Railway Publication Co. June 1960. pp. 148–149. OCLC 6340864.
  18. ^ Shaughnessy (1997), p. 363.
  19. ^ "D&H Will Discontinue Albany-Saratoga Trains". The Times Record. August 31, 1962. p. 15. Retrieved May 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Schafer (2000), p. 39.
  21. ^ Burrs, Edward C. (August 6, 1974). "New York‐Albany‐Montreal Train Is Resumed With a Festive Air". New York Times.
  22. ^ Anderson, Eric (7 October 2014). "Deal on rail network close". Times Union. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  23. ^ "www.cpr.ca". Archived from the original on 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
  24. ^ NS
  25. ^ Shaughnessy (1997), p. 310.
  26. ^ "Warren County Bikeway". Warren County DPW. Warren County, NY. Retrieved 1 October 2016. The origin of the bikeway is a branch of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad line.
  27. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  28. ^ "National Register of Historic Places". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 5/20/13 through 5/24/13. National Park Service. 2013-05-31.
  29. ^ Shaughnessy
  30. ^ "Index". Bridge Line Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  31. ^ "Delaware & Hudson roster". www.thedieselshop.us. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  32. ^ "DHVM: D&H RR Diesel Engine Roster". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  33. ^ Shaughnessy, Jim (1997). Delaware & Hudson : the history of an important railroad whose antecedent was a canal network to transport coal (1st Syracuse University Press ed.). Syracuse, N.Y. ISBN 0-8156-0455-6. OCLC 36008594.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  34. ^ "Steam Locomotives". Bridge Line Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-08-30.

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Lowenthal, L. (2009). From the Coalfields to the Hudson: A History of the Delaware & Hudson Canal. Purple Mountain Press.
  • Starr, Timothy (2012). Golden Age of Railroads in New York's Capital District. Privately printed.
  • Starr, Timothy (2022). The Back Shop Illustrated, Volume 1: Northeast and New England Regions.
  • The Passenger Department (1930). A Summer Paradise: Delightful and Healthful Resorts Reached by the Delaware and Hudson Railroad.
  • Wells, Edward (1893). Railroad Corporations of the State of New York. Banks & Brothers.

External links[edit]