Delaware Valley Railway

Greetings!

I just started reading a new book on the Inns and Hotels of the Poconos. In the book there's mention of the DL&W quite a few times but there's also mention of the Delaware Valley Railway. I did a search and didn't come up with anything.

When was this railroad chartered? When did it go under? Was it an independent railroad or part of another railroad? Is the ROW still in tact?

Thanks in advance.

Ken

The Delaware Valley Railroad is the subject of an article in the Spring, 1977 issue of the Train Sheet published by the Railroadians of America.The writer is Peter J. Rickershauser, and the title is "Pocono Shortline". According to the article, the 13-mile railroad was built next to what is now route 209 between a DL&W connection at Stroudsburg and Bushkill, Pa., The company was formed in April 1897 with more distant ambitions but did not reach a point near Bushkill until 1901 after reorganization.

The railroad mainly carried summer resort traffic for the Bushkill area, plus a small amount of carload freight.
Its abandonment was approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission in September, 1937. The article mentions a surviving station building at Marshalls Creek and the foundation of the Bushkill station.

delvyrails wrote:The Delaware Valley Railroad is the subject of an article in the Spring, 1977 issue of the Train Sheet published by the Railroadians of America.The writer is Peter J. Rickershauser, and the title is "Pocono Shortline". According to the article, the 13-mile railroad was built next to what is now route 209 between a DL&W connection at Stroudsburg and Bushkill, Pa., The company was formed in April 1897 with more distant ambitions but did not reach a point near Bushkill until 1901 after reorganization.

The railroad mainly carried summer resort traffic for the Bushkill area, plus a small amount of carload freight.
Its abandonment was approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission in September, 1937. The article mentions a surviving station building at Marshalls Creek and the foundation of the Bushkill station.

Thanks for the information. Any idea if the ROW still exists?

Ken

Ken, try this URL to see the route against a modern map: http://rutlandtrail.org/gmap.cgi?delawa ... d.pa.track
If you switch to the Satellite view, you'll see a bunch of undeveloped areas where you're likely to find traces of the ROW. Obviously, though, there are places where it's been completely obliterated by the bulldozer of forgetfullness.

"Railway Avenue Trail" is a portion of the railbed, now used as a rail-trail. Quoteing from this NPS document http://www.nps.gov/dewa/historyculture/ ... tgDVRR.pdf :
Railway Avenue, along with a section of the old rail bed of the
Delaware Valley Railroad, now forms a short recreational trail
in Bushkill. The trail is a flat, wide 4/10 mile long; the first 2/10
mile is paved and can accommodate wheelchair users.
To reach the trailhead, turn west onto Creek Road from Route
209, 1/10 mile south of the blinking light in Bushkill. The
trailhead is 3/10 farther south on Creek Road on the right.

RussNelson wrote:Ken, try this URL to see the route against a modern map: http://rutlandtrail.org/gmap.cgi?delawa ... d.pa.track
If you switch to the Satellite view, you'll see a bunch of undeveloped areas where you're likely to find traces of the ROW. Obviously, though, there are places where it's been completely obliterated by the bulldozer of forgetfullness.

"Railway Avenue Trail" is a portion of the railbed, now used as a rail-trail. Quoteing from this NPS document http://www.nps.gov/dewa/historyculture/ ... tgDVRR.pdf :
Railway Avenue, along with a section of the old rail bed of the
Delaware Valley Railroad, now forms a short recreational trail
in Bushkill. The trail is a flat, wide 4/10 mile long; the first 2/10
mile is paved and can accommodate wheelchair users.
To reach the trailhead, turn west onto Creek Road from Route
209, 1/10 mile south of the blinking light in Bushkill. The
trailhead is 3/10 farther south on Creek Road on the right.

Thank you Russ. I really appreciate it.

I'm going to explore this area soon and will post pictures if anyone is interested.

Ken

The Delaware Valley Railroad ran from East Stroudsburg, PA to Bushkill, PA. It primarily carried hotel guests and minor freight, milk, mail... It's start point in E. Stroudsburg was near the Delaware Lackawanna station, so transfer was easy to this short road. Remnants of the road are still visible in Bushkill and other locations along Bus. Route 209.

Link to a National Park document about the Delaware Valley Railroad: http://www.nps.gov/dewa/historyculture/ ... tgDVRR.pdf

The rail line was originally intended to connect Port Jervis NY with the Lackawanna line in East Stroudsburg. I've hiked almost the entire line, save for some of it on private land.
It's almost forgotten in the area. A short section of it is now a trail in Del Water Gap NRA in Bushkill, and is kept mowed. I found some grading in Milford PA, and wonder if any ground was broken for the proposed line beyond Bushkill. The tracks once reached the water for logging as I understand. Passenger service operated until the 1920s, and freight service ended when the line was abandoned in 1938.
I have photos of the line recently on my facebook page.