Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad
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| Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad | |
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| Reporting marks | DL |
| Locale | Northeastern Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1993 – Present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Batavia, New York |
The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad (AAR reporting marks DL) began service August, 1993, as designated operator of over 85 miles of Lackawanna County trackage north, east and south from the Scranton, Pennsylvania, terminus in Northeastern Pennsylvania as a part of the Genesee Valley Transportation Company, Inc.
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[edit] Overview
GVT began in 1985 in Upstate New York marketing rail-related services to both private and public industry throughout the northeast.
The Lackawanna County Rail Authority approached GVT to operate its owned rail lines within Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. From Scranton north to the city of Carbondale on lines of the former Delaware and Hudson Railway's Pennsylvania Branch, from Scranton east into Monroe County on lines of the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and from Scranton south to Montage Mountain, Moosic on lines of the former Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad third-rail interurban streetcar line.
These are the lines hosting the seasonal passenger trains of both the Steamtown National Historic Site and the Electric City Trolley Museum and now under the jurisdiction of the new Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority.
[edit] Poconos expansion
Since the summer of 1998, the D-L, under a haulage agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway, has been running unit Canadian grain trains between Scranton and the Harvest States Grain Mill at Pocono Summit, PA. Operated by D-L crews these trains average about 45 cars and up to 4 locomotives provided by the CPR. Even though CPR EMD SD40-2s are the rule, occasionally a rare specimen will make its way onto the D-L.
The D-L Railroad, according to its website, provides "friendly customized service" to over 25 customers in the Scranton / Pocono region, and interchanges with two Class I carriers: Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific Railway.
Delaware-Lackawanna is renown as a bastion for both rebuilding and operating 50-year-old ALCO diesels up and down the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania on a daily basis.
A new unified color scheme of gray and white with red and yellow stripes has begun to be applied to GVT system units in 2006 as they exit the South Scranton shops this year.
[edit] Recent activity
- A new 2,000-foot extension connects the county's trolley line, the Electric City Trolley Museum, from the Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton, to a new station and trolley restoration facility, immediately adjacent to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons stadium off Montage Mountain Road, Moosic.
- The 2006 Annual Convention of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO) takes place in Scranton on the D-L at the Steamtown National Historic Site on site behind the Mall at Steamtown September 20, 2006-September 24, 2006, travelling a Cincinnati – Chicago – St. Albans, VT – Steamtown, PA – Chicago – Cincinnati route over the 14-day event. Many past Presidential and historic rail cars will be in attendance with a round-trip steam-powered run to the Delaware Water Gap planned for Thursday, September 21, 2006.
