1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. Here is the shots I took from behind the building[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]. You can see it was rather wet that day so I did get a chance to do allot of exploring outside...[/FONT] [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] - [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] - [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] - [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
In that first photo, what is the large building at far right? It certainly looks railroad station-like. Is it? Or was it?
That building is the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and the Stourbridge Line Rail Excursions operated near there so you could call it a Depot loosely but it is a modern building that is technical non-RR. ALL EXCURSIONS ARE ON HOLD FOR THE 2012 SEASON. Please call the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce at (570) 253-1960 for information. Stourbridge Line Rail Excursions Call (570) 253-1960 for information
From WNEP - September 11, 2012 HONESDALE — A lack of money is keeping the Stourbridge Line Railroad excursions in Wayne County idle for the first time in more than 30 years. Shop owners in Honesdale are already worried about how the loss of train rides will affect tourism during the fall foliage season. For years the Stourbridge Line has run excursions in Honesdale. Now, nothing but a few train cars remain on the tracks, surrounded by tall weeds and grass. “The railroad is just not being operated right now and not being maintained at the moment so the excursions were put on hold for the entire year,” said Donna LaBar with the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce. She says the train needs repairs, and so do the tracks. One reason those repairs are not being made is because the land the tracks run through is up for sale. “It’s the first year in 32 years, normally this time of year we would be getting set, be promoting the fall foliage tours,” LaBar added. The Stourbridge train rides normally run from April to December. They bring thousands of visitors from all over to the Honesdale area. “It’s a huge part for the local economy. Last year was one of the worst years with the train and they still carried over 7,000 passengers. It’s a huge impact on the community both financially and emotionally,” said Jeff Hiller, Owner of the Trackside Grill. Even local residents who look forward to the annual train rides are disappointed. “We’re here for almost 29 years and we’ve taken the train excursions ourselves and have had a great time on it. I just think as the birthplace of the American railroad to lose that train excursion would be criminal,” said Juanita Galuska from Bethany. “I think it’s just a loss for the town and also the history that is here,” said Sharon Unnik from Honesdale. With the tracks used by the Stourbridge line being up for sale, and all the repairs that need to be made, no one is sure when, or even if, this train will be back up and running.
1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. Another piece of the Gravity Railroad that has survived here is kept inside the old D&H Office. The #9 Passenger Car Eclipse was built December 1882. We have learned since other Passenger Cars have survived and are on Private Property; some being part of the home itself. Remember, these are "Gravity Railroad" cars so they operated much like a Roller Coaster with a Hand Brake to control the speed. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica][/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. History - D&H Canal Company Ore Cars At the end of the D&H Canal and Gravity Railroad era the Ore Cars were scrapped, not a single car survived; 4,012 cars were scrapped in 1899 and the other 605 in 1900. They were tossed into a pile and burned to recover the the metal fittings. What we have left today is just the historical photos and diagrams of these early cars plus one Replica that was made since as a school project. Someday I hope to back to this area with time to do more exploring of the earliest days of the D&H as I know some of the Gravity RR Depots still survive and who knows what else one might find...
1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. History - North American Railroad History is Born So far I have talked about the D&H Canal starting in 1823 and the Gravity Railroad starting a few years later. Now it time to talk about the next era, the beginning of Railroad History in American and in fact all of North America and it all started with the D&H in Honesdale, PA as well. On February 15, 1828, Horatio Allen will travel to England to meet George Stephenson who built the first Steam Engine called the "Rocket". In July he will report back that he has contracted one Rocket style Engine from Robert Stephenson & Co. of Newcastle and three from Foster, Rastrick & Co. of Stourbridge. He also has obtained a large quantity of strap rail by Messrs. W. & I. Sparrow of Wolverhampton. Engines obtained are the "America", "Delaware", "Hudson", and the "Stourbridge Lion". On January 15, 1829, the Engine "America" arrives in New York aboard the clipper ship "Columbia" and was later set up on blocks and turned under steam on May 27, 1829. On May 13, 1929, the engine "Stourbridge Lion" arrives in Gotham and is also setup on blocks and turned under steam on May 28, 1829. On July 3, 1829, both the "America" & "Stourbridge Lion" are both loaded on the steamer "Congress" and shipped up the Hudson to Rondout. There they are transferred to canal boats to the Gravity Line at Honesdale; but, no record of the "America" arriving when the boats reached Honesdale on July 24, 1829. Also in the summer of 1829, engines "Delaware" & "Hudson" arrive in New York and also shipped up to Rondout where all traces of them are lost. On August 8, 1829, the engine "Stourbridge Lion" is officially tested with Horatio Allen at the controls. This marks the first operation of a steam locomotive in North America. Later on September 9, 1829, The "Stourbridge Lion" makes a second test run and its determined that the weight of the engine was to excessive for the road. The engine is rolled of the tracks and moved into a makeshift shelter to rot for 20 years. It won't be until 1860 that a steam locomotive will operated on the D&H again. By 1845, all that was left of the "Stourbridge Lion" was its boiler. The boiler was still functional, however, and it was used in a foundry in Carbondale for about another five years until the foundry's owner headed west to try his luck as a Forty-niner. The foundry was sold a few years later to new owners who recognized the boiler's value as a piece of history, and reportedly tried to sell it for $1,000 (equal to $20,541 today) in 1874. The owners weren't able to find a buyer so they hung onto it themselves. In 1883, the D&H borrowed the boiler to display at the Exposition of Railway Appliances in Chicago, IL. Unfortunately, security around the boiler's transportation was lax; souvenir hunters pulled every loose item that they could off the now historic boiler, even resorting to hammers and chisels to remove portions of it. The boiler was stored again and eventually acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1890. A few other parts that are believed to have been from the Stourbridge Lion are also preserved, but their authenticity is questioned. These other parts may have come from one or more of the locomotive's sister engines. The museum has made a few attempts to rebuild the locomotive with the parts that remain. However, with the parts' origins still in question, and the lack of a few other key parts, the locomotive's reconstruction has never been completed. The D&H built their own replica of the "Stourbridge Lion" in 1932 from plans that were made based on the parts remaining in existence. The Wayne County Historical Society Museum contains a full-scale replica of the "Stourbridge Lion". Here is the photo I took of the "Stourbridge Lion" during this RRAdventures trip...
1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. The D&H also operated several Steamships and during this trip we were able to locate and take a day trip on one of the survivors... - -
Thank You Lionel Here you go - In O Scale! [video=youtube;MqYSTXHtKqI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqYSTXHtKqI[/video]
I have not followed Lionel much in recent years. I did not know they'd done this model. Is it part of your collection?
It is part of what they are calling the "Lionel Heritage Series" the current model being offered is the Dewitt Clinton
1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. Our "Primary" targets of this portion of our D&H 175th Anniversary trip was to locate and photograph as many of the D&H Railroad Depots as we could find in the short time we had in this area. Lets say that we were highly successful and while driving the back-roads on New York and Pennsylvanian we would also enjoy the fall colors. So, in Alphabetical order let me share those depots and other structures we found over just a few short days in October 1998... [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica][/FONT] Albany, NY - Corporate Office
One heck of a building isn't it! Today it is the State University of New York (SUNY) System Administrative Building. Here is a few more shots I took that day... - -
1998: Delaware and Hudson (175th) - cont. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]Bainbridge, NY - Freight [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica][/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]Bainbridge, NY - Passenger[/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
It certainly tells a story, without speaking any words. The D&H was once a very wealthy and powerful operation, for what would today be descibed as a regional company.
