Amtrak Proposes Adding New Service to Scranton

Cute,Scranton via Bingo on the Southern tier,NJT, MN, and NS. The critters will hate Amtrak setting up shop at Hoboken,unless you bake in a reverse move to reach Bergen County Line or the old Erie main
from the M&E Amtrak connection at MMC

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 4:38 pm Cute,Scranton via Bingo on the Southern tier,NJT, MN, and NS. The critters will hate Amtrak setting up shop at Hoboken,unless you bake in a reverse move to reach Bergen County Line or the old Erie main
from the M&E Amtrak connection at MMC

Aren’t they looking for the reverse? NYC-Scranton via the Cutoff seems like a pipe dream, but NYC-Scranton via Binghamton seems like an exercise in torture.

This isn't Amtrak's idea in the first place. It was proposed as far back as the 80's.

Amtrak to Scranton becomes the "next Downeaster" type operation running out of Hoboken,To run out of NY Penn you wind up buying up to 4 AL45DP's from NJT,
And add in an enforced reverse move with a cab car from the M&E NEC connection at MMC to get to the Mainline/Bergen County Line to get to Bingo on the Southern tier.
The Cutoff is a long ways from reaching PA at this point in time,so it's a non-starter.

I guess going to Bingo from Hoboken and then south to Scranton would certainly increase the utility of a sleeper line! How long to Scranton? Well, in 1955 the Erie Limited took 5 hours 30 min from Jersey City to Bingo. The Lackawanna took about an hour and a half back to Scranton. So, 7 hours, and making that time would require some trackwork between PJ and Bingo.

I wonder if a dome car would fit through the Bergen Tunnels between Hoboken and the Bergen Line, since the Erie's Jersey City terminal is no more?

Grief, Mr. Grossman, who outside the "railfan/excursionist" community would even consider such a routing?

Sure, the ERIE following the Delaware (let's throw in a photo stop atop the Starrucca) is scenic ("been there done that" June '60) and another atop Tunkhannock ("been there done that" also Dec '61 but at night), but that belongs to a Fall Colors Excursion, and not a SUNY Binghamton student going or returning from home.

If "we the people" are not interested in funding Gateway, well at least until something "springs a leak", how can anyone expect an NYP-Scranton routing over the DL&W/NJT, thence Cutoff to occur even within your Grandchild's life (don't recall such coming up at our Gallagher's meet up, but simply making a reasonable assumption)?

Mr Norman, no grandchildren yet. My recent replies on this topic are tongue in cheek. I don’t expect the cutoff to be restored to PA. I would expect that telework would greatly reduce long distance commuting. I assume that only a foamer would do Hoboken-Scranton in 7 hours. That might include me, one time. Maybe some folks advocating this are in NJ and already enjoying recreational weed.

I only see it working as part of a regional intercity service with reasonably high speeds (no reason you couldn't do 110 on the Cutoff). Intermediate cities like Stroudsburg could certainly benefit immensely, so it's not just the Scranton/Wilkes Barre corridor that could draw ridership.

Mr. Johnson, you can't have both Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. First is on the "Leaky Valley" and the latter on the "Delay, Linger, and Wait".

The CNJ served both, but that has been abandoned.

JoeG wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:11 pmI wonder if a dome car would fit through the Bergen Tunnels between Hoboken and the Bergen Line, since the Erie's Jersey City terminal is no more?

I did ride in a California Zephyr dome car through the Lackawanna's Bergen Tunnels to the Private Car Association Convention in Hoboken Terminal.

Mr Norman, a train could go from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre via interchange with NS. Perhaps the Reading & Northern would be involved also. Would NS be willing to accept a passenger train there? I don't know. How fast is the NS track there? I don't know either. But it could be done were the will and the money present. Will it be done? I doubt it.

While we're fantasizing, I haven't seen any comments about where the Scranton station would be; the NRHS ran some specials from the immediate vicinity of the present hotel during its convention some years ago, but I can't remember just how it was done or whether it would be practical for scheduled daily service. The original platform is now enclosed and providing food and beverage service; I can't see the hotel giving that up.

Back when I lived in the area, they were talking about putting it here, a little further down past the Lackawanna Radisson and in the same area where people board Steamtown excursions. I do remember there being plenty of parking, even before the Steamtown Mall became a dead mall!

As long as there's easy road access that could work. Now if only they could restore the rest of the Laurel Line the connection to Wilkes-Barre would be right there ...