Railroad Forums 

  • D&H under Starrucca Viaduct removed?

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania

Moderator: bwparker1

 #1481960  by carajul
 
I always see photos of D&H under the Starrucca Viaduct in Lanesboro, PA. The 1 track line expands to 2 tracks and a 3 position signal trackside. Just noticed the D&H is gone. Tracks obliterated but bridges and other evidence remain. Can anyone tell me when/why the D&H was removed?
 #1481977  by cjvrr
 
After 1980 the D&H pulled stopped using the route a few miles south of Lanesboro but kept this portion in for high and wide cars. The Belden Hill Tunnel was too small to fit autorack and other high cars.

In 1985 the State of NY and the Guilford (running D&H at that time) closed the tunnel entirely to enlarge it. This required all D&H trains to travel down the line from Ninevah Junction under the bridge to Jeff Junction a few miles south of Starucca Viaduct. This involved engines running around the entire train and some push / pull moves.

Once the tunnel work was completed, the line was no longer needed and the tracks were pulled in 1986.
 #1483461  by lvrr325
 
A key part of this was the D&H purchase of the former DL&W main from Binghamton to Scranton, with it's superior profile it allowed downgrading of the D&H Penn Division.