• Stourbridge Railroad (Honesdale-Lackawaxen) and Proposals

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

Moderator: bwparker1

  by hsr_fan
 
ADMIN NOTE: this thread will include current operations, future proposals, historical operation, etc., etc.

I noticed some box cars being turned into scrap metal along the Stourbridge Line in Honesdale. Is any freight still being shipped on this line?

  by Ken W2KB
 
I recall being told by one of the rr employees that there are no regular freight customers.

  by nysw3636
 
Cars being scrapped are most likely the cars the LASB had stored in Honesdale for extra storage for on-line customers. Seeing business is at an all-time low, the cars are worth more scrapped than stored. How long will Roby(North Shore) hold onto this line???

  by bwparker1
 
Roby doesn't own this line, nor does he own any of the track he operates. It is specifically in his business plan not to own a single inch of track. He contracts with the owners. He also has a company that owns every single piece of equipment that is used by his roads, from which he can draw a substantial salary. Every locomotive, tool, hi-rail vehicle, etc. you name it, his leasing company "owns" it and leases it to his own roads.

BWP

  by oibu
 
This is the Stourbridge Railroad, the Stourbridge Line simply refers to the passenger excursions run by the Wayne County Chmbr. of COmmerce. There is is still a little bit of freight on the line, but only on the order of maybe a car a month. The boxcars are owned by the Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association and had been used as "rolling self-storage" until the industries in the area dried up or switched to truck.

  by BEDT16RMLI
 
will they be operating next year? They did not get the grant again?
  by cjvrr
 
There was a speeder excursion run on the line this past Saturday. Needelss to say rain and severe flooding forced the trip to end early, with the speeders only making it half way between Honsedale and Lackawaxen. Several washouts had occurred and flood waters were over the top of the rail in several spots.

I was not on the trip but have heard several first hand accounts. The link below will take you to about 100 pictures an attendee made of the event. You will need to register to see the photos.


http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=180idvhf.a ... 1&y=517jrm

  by Ken W2KB
 
The flooding reports on NOAA and elsewhere for the river sounded like there might be some significant damage. Hawley was mentioned as experiencing significant flooding; hope the gravity car on display there was not damaged.

  by joshuahouse
 
Any idea if they will still have the fall foliage trips in October or is this enough to finally, sadly, kill the line?

  by nysw3636
 
Saw this and thought some might be interested......

ASD

Donors sought to keep Stourbridge Line alive
By Andrew M. Seder STAFF WRITER 03/16/2005

HONESDALE -- It may be the end of the line for the Stourbridge rail excursions.

Members of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce are receiving letters this week asking for a five-year funding commitment to keep the popular train rides running. Citing a lack of grants received this year and an increase in costs, the letter urges members to pledge at least $1,000 annually for the next five years.

"I'm optimistic but this is a tough situation," said chamber Executive Director Annetta DeYoung. "It really comes down to the basic question of 'Do they want the train or not?' That's kind of where we are."

As of Tuesday afternoon, six of the 450 letters requesting support had been returned -- half agreed to pledge the money.

Funding for most of this year's excursion schedule is set but once it runs out the excursions will most likely end, Mrs. DeYoung said.

The chamber's board of directors will meet March 28 to analyze the financial commitments and to decide on the future of excursions.

The excursions bring nearly 13,000 people to downtown Honesdale annually and range from dinner theater excursions to fall foliage site seeing treks.

"It would be hard finding something to replace that," said Tom Fasshauer, owner of Arts For Him, a men's clothing store on Main Street. "It's been a very good thing for the local economy."

But he also said if the funding isn't there, the only decision would be to shut down the train.

"We'll rise above it," he said. "But it will be a real quiet place on Saturday morning (when many of the excursions depart Honesdale)."

This isn't the first time the excursions have been in jeopardy. Two years ago a last-minute grant from the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau kept the attraction open. Last year, Gov. Ed Rendell agreed to send a $50,000 tourism grant to the chamber.

Mrs. DeYoung is writing a letter to the governor pleading for additional funding.

Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum secured a $75,000 federal grant for the rail line from the Department of Transportation and that money will likely be used for this year's trips. But once that money dries up, so too might the trips. There are 21 trips scheduled for this year but weather -- not finances -- has already canceled both of this weekend's "Bunny Runs."

aseder

©Scranton Times Tribune 2005

  by kpiersol
 
Wow, this is really depressing. I just got back from a skiing trip to Big Bear and think that the Stourbridge and the "Southern Tier" are perhaps the most beautiful lines I have ever seen (I'm planning a trip to Cajon next month, so they may quickly sink into second place). I did notice on their web site that the easter trips were cancelled but really wanted to plan a summer vacation around some of their scheduled trips. Please keep us informed of the situation.

Also, is it possible to catch any action on the "Southern Tier" nowadays?

  by Ken W2KB
 
The short video clip on my web page was filmed on the Stourbridge.

  by cjvrr
 
Ken,

What trip was that one? Was that the one the VRA ran in 2003, or the ones Mr. Maynard did in 2004?

Chris

  by Ken W2KB
 
Maynard, 2004 Chris.
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