Nickel Plate Road 4-6-0 44 built by American Locomotive Company/Brooks in 1905 and is oldest surviving Nickel Plate Road locomotive.
Lackawanna SW8 500 and Claremont and Concord wedge snowplow 60 built by the Boston & Maine Railroad Shops some time prior to 1910; the Claremont and Concord was a branch line until 1954.
Lackawanna-painted SW8 500, ex. Norfolk and Western 3732 1983, exx. Norfolk and Western 3132 1964, nee Wabash 132 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1953. It was repainted in Lackawanna colours and numbered 500 after arriving at Steamtown in 1987, a fictional livery and number for an engine with no historic connection to the DL&W.
Rutland Railroad wooden coach 253, built by Osgood-Bradley in 1902.
Boston and Maine wooden combine 2069 built by the railroad in 1892.
Refrigerator car of unknown origin.
Boston and Maine flat top caboose 10437 built by the railroad in 1892.
Erie-Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society 10-6 sleeper car 211 "City of Lima", ex. Chicago and North Western 410:2 "Lake Michigan", exxx. Illinois Central 3532 "Cynthia", nee Nickel Plate Road 211 "City of Lima" built by Pullman-Standard in 1950"
Lehigh Valley business car 353 built by Pullman in 1916. The all-steel, heavyweight car with a mahogany-painted interior represented the pinnacle of technology and luxury for its time. It was the equivalent of today's large corporate business jet. 353 traveled around the nation, entertaining the railroad's customers, friends and officers in a grand style. The car served at the personal convenience and the pleasure of the railroad's Chief Executive Officer for sixty years, until the Lehigh Valley was absorbed into Conrail in 1976. The car was never owned by any other railroad, which is quite unusual for a Business Car. Throughout those sixty years, the car received extraordinary care and was typically housed inside the company's Sayre, Pennsylvania facility when not in use.
The car was sold to Mr. Dick Horstmann in 1976 who operated it extensively and continued the quality care and maintenance the car had always received. Its most recent owner, DL&W Corporation, purchased the car in September 1996. The car was donated to the National Park Service collection by DLW Corporation in 2015. The 1997 restoration returned the car to its steam-era appearance. Mr. Rob Mangels led the restoration effort and Ms. Michele Blair did the beautiful mahogany finish. The effort began in September 1996 and was completed in August 1997. The car received a full mechanical update and was qualified to run on Amtrak movements at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. It was one of the oldest cars moving on Amtrak. The exterior in Cornell Red matches the color the car was repainted in 1939, when all Lehigh Valley mainline passenger equipment was repainted. Except for some minor equipment modernization details, the exterior appearance is as it looked in the 1930's, after its upgrading to include air conditioning. The interior of the car has been restored to the way it would have appeared from the mid-1920's to the late 1940's, the last 20-plus years of the steam era. All interior walls remain as originally constructed, having never been modified – again, quite rare for such a car. The faux painting of the walls matches the original treatment. When constructed in 1916 all-steel cars were a relatively new phenomenon and viewed as a major technological and safety advance. Therefore, the LV 353 was built by Pullman Standard Company in all-steel, but the beautiful simulated-mahogany interior was made possible by the Pullman Company's accomplished artists. Ms. Blair faithfully restored this original look.
Nickel Plate Road GP9 514 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1959.
Central Railroad of New Jersey 150 ton crane 5 built by Bucyrus in 1918 and idler gondola 92082.
Delaware Lackawanna and Western SC 428 built by Electro-Motive Coorparation in 1935. The two pre-SC models differ from the later production units in that the hood does not taper down to the cab. 426 is one of the first diesel- electric switchers built by the Electro-Motive Corporation; they were equipped with 8 cylinder Winton 201-A engines. Two pre-production SC units were built in 1935 and delivered to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western as 425 and 426.
Erie Railroad business car 3, ex. Nickel Plate 2 1929, nee Nickel Plate business car 27 built by Pullman in 1923. It contains two staterooms, two bedrooms, crew quarters, galley, dining room and observation end. Stationed in Jersey City, it was assigned to the assistant vice-president and general manger of the Erie Railroad’'s Eastern District. When consolidation of passenger operations with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad occurred in 1956, the car moved to Hoboken.
Louisville and Nashville Railway Post Office car 1100 built by America Car and Foundry in 1914.
EE.J. Lavino Steel Company (Poland Spring Water) 0-6-0T 3 built by American Locomotive Company in 1927 to haul boxes of bottled Poland Water from Ricker's Poland Spring plant to Danville, Maine for shipment, returning with passenger guests to a hotel at Poland Spring where they would enjoy the sanative qualities of the natural water, although it is not clear it ever worked in that capacity. At some time, 2 was sold to E. J. Lavino and Company, which operated a manganese blast furnace at Sheridan, Pennsylvania, to switch at the plant. It worked there as 3 until 1965, when it was donated to the Steamtown Foundation.
Steamtown 4-6-2 3713, ex. loan to Boston Museum of Science 1969-1985, exx. Steamtown Foundation 1967, exxx. F. Nelson Blount 1966, exxxxx. Edaville Corporation 1958, nee Boston and Maine 3713 "Constitution" built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1934.
Canadian National 2-8-2 3254, nee Canadian Government Railways 2854, built by Canadian Locomotive Company in 1917.
Canadian Pacific 2317 built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1923. Outshopped in 1923, 2317 was the eighteenth G-3 built and seventh in the G-3-c subclass. Eight more were built to complete the fifteen G-3-c roster. 2317 retired in 1959 and was bought by F. Nelson Blount in 1965.
Lackawanna F3A 663.
Roundhouse scene.
Canadian National 4-6-4T 47, nee Grand Trunk 1542, built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1914. It was one of six tank engines built for the Grand Trunk Railway and were designed for commuter services between the suburbs and centre of major Canadian cities, in this case, Montreal. It was renumbered 47 soon after the GTR was consolidated into Canadian National in 1923. At the time, the wheel arrangement was given the name "Baltic Tank", as the the 4-6-4 main line locomotive did not appear until 1927.
47 was retired some time before 1959, the year it was bought by F. Nelson Blount for $2,000. It steamed briefly on the Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad in New Hampshire, but it was found to have no official papers (they were burned in a CNR roundhouse fire). The fire was therefore dropped for good on 26th August 1961.This completes my tour of the Steamtown Railroad Museum in Scranton and I thanked them for my excellent visit.
I then walked over to the adjacent Electric City Trolley Museum to see the outdoor exhibits.
A Brief HistoryThe Electric City Trolley Museum is a collaborative effort among many different partners. Working together, they have created a premier electric railway museum in Scranton. Back in 1887 Scranton was the first city in Pennsylvania with a successful pioneer trolley line and became known as the Electric City. This museum's collection provides a highly representative picture of the electric railway history of eastern Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia to Northeast Pennsylvania. The museum was created by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. Lackawanna County manages the day-to-day operations. The facility itself is located on the Steamtown National Historic Site and is on a long-term lease from the National Park Service.
MacAndrews and Forbes Company 10 built by General Electric in 1925, ex. Buckingham Valley Trolley Association in New Hope 1975 to 1999, ex. Trolley Valhalla (Tansboro, New Jersey) 1965-1975. The MacAndrews and Forbes Company was a licorice manufacturer in Camden, New Jersey which operated an internal industrial railway electrified at 250 volts direct current. Little four-wheeled locomotives like 10 worked at moving and distributing supplies and finished materials within the plant compound and 10 survives today as an example of how electric railway technology was applied to industrial applications.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority "bullet" car 206 built by J.G. Brill Company in 1931, ex. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 206 1970 to 1995, exx. Buckingham Valley Trolley Association in New Hope, Pennsylvania)206 1995 to 1999, exxx. Philadelphia Suburban Transportation 206 1948 to 1970, nee Philadelphia & Western 206 1931 to 1948. It was acquired in 1999.
Philadelphia Transportation Company streetcar 8534 built by J.G. Brill Company in 1926, ex. Buckingham Valley Trolley Association in New Hope 8534 1975 to 1999, exx. Trolley Valhalla (Tansboro, New Jersey), 8534 1958 to 1975, exx. Philadelphia Transportation Company 8534 1940 to 1958, nee Philadelphia Rapid Transit 8434 1926 to 1940. Between 1978 to 1980, and again from 1993 to 2004, it was on loan to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
View looking towards the Steamtown Mall.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority freight motor 401 built by J.G. Brill Company in 1903, ex. Buckingham Valley Trolley Association in New Hope 401 1990 to 1999, exx. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 401 1970 to 1990, exxx. Philadelphia Suburban Transportation 401 1948 to 1970, Philadelphia and Western 401 1930 to 1948, nee Philadelphia & Western 1 1907 to 1930. This car was also acquired in 1999.
Pennsylvania Railroad caboose 477768 built by the railroad in 1941.
Lehigh Valley Railroad caboose 95003 built by the railroad in 1941.
Lehigh Valley gondola built by Bethlehem Steel, painted as Monad Railway Equipment 7005.
Rutland flat car 2777 built by American Car and Foundry in 1910.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western two-bay hopper 82209 built by the railroad in 1920.
Reading RS-3 467 built by American Locomotive Company in 1952.
Scranton yard scenes.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Bridge 60 tower. I walked back to the Steamtown Mall over the bridge.
View of Steamtown.
Norwood and St. Lawrence Railroad 2-6-0 21 built by American Locomotive Company in 1923. The Norwood & St Lawrence's 7½ mile Norwood to Raymondville, New York line opened in 1901. In 1909, it absorbed the Raymondville & Waddington Railroad, and soon completed its 18 mile line to Waddington on the St. Lawrence River. At Waddington, a ferry connected across the river to Morrisburg, Ontario. The railroad also interchanged traffic to the south and west with the New York Central Railroad at Norwood, and to the east with the Rutland Railroad. With paper mills in Raymondville, Norwood and Norfolk, hauling paper pulp became one of the most important functions of the line. In 1920, the St. Regis Paper Co., bought all three paper mills, as well as the Norwood & St. Lawrence. In 1956, the last of the paper mills closed and the railroad bought a small diesel locomotive. Late that year, 210 was shipped to Abe Cooper-Watertown Corporation scrapyard in Watertown, New York. Five years later, it was bought by F. Nelson Blount.
I stopped at Subway then went and saw the "A Team" movie and on the way back to my hotel, walked past a large police event.
The Radisson Lackawanna Hotel. I then saw a headlight coming and made my way over to the tracks.
Delaware-Lackawanna C-425 2423, ex. New York and Lake Erie 6101, exx. Morrison-Knudsen 6101, exxx. Conrail 5062, exxxx. Conrail 2423, exxxxx. Penn Central 2423, nee Pennsylvania Railroad 2423 built by American Locomotive Company in 1965..
Delaware-Lackawanna C-425 2453, ex. British Columbia Railway 803, nee Erie-Lackawanna 2453, built by American Locomotive Works in 1964. After that I went up to my room.
The view from Room 417. I worked on stories then called it a night.
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