Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad
| Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | November 18, 1912 |
| resolution | 199_ |
| Seat |
Scranton , Pennsylvania ,
|
| Branch | Rail transport |
The Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad ( AAR reporting as mark: WBC) was a Class-3 local railroad - railway company , which in the northeast of the State of Pennsylvania , a ten-kilometer rail line to bypass the railway junction Wilkes-Barre operation. Until 1976 it was held half by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR; from 1968 part of Penn Central Transportation ) and the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H), then completely by the D&H.
history
In Wilkes-Barre in the Wyoming Valley , lines of different railway companies met at the beginning of the 20th century. Connections of the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley Railroad ran through the city center , while the main line of the Delaware and Hudson Company (D&H) ended there coming from the north and a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from Sunbury reached the city from the south. D&H and PRR exchanged numerous freight wagons in Wilkes-Barre every day, but reached capacity limits due to the crossing routes and the limited space available. The two companies therefore founded the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad , based in Scranton, on November 18, 1912 as a joint subsidiary in order to build and operate a relief line.
In 1913, the construction of a rail link began to bypass Wilkes-Barre west by crossing the Susquehanna River twice . From the Plains north of Wilkes-Barre to Kingston on the west side of the Susquehanna, the company was able to agree trackage rights on the existing tracks of the Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad (WB&E), while an existing siding could be included at the southern end. The link between the two routes including the southern bridge over the Susquehanna had to be rebuilt; In addition, the two parts that were also used were expanded. The entire 10.3 km (6.4 miles ) long, double-track line from D & H's Hudson Yard north of Wilkes-Barre to PRR's Buttonwood Yard in south Wilkes-Barres' opened for freight on March 29, 1915. The Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad did not procure its own vehicles because the train operations were handled exclusively by the two owners from the start.
In 1926, Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad rented the section of WB&E, which had previously been used by means of route usage rights, and finally acquired it in full in 1940 after the WB&E went bankrupt. In the middle of the 20th century, the line was reduced from two tracks to one track. With the merger of the PRR and the New York Central Railroad to form Penn Central Transportation , the latter took over the PRR shares in the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad in 1968.
After the bankruptcy of Penn Central and other railway companies in the region, the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was founded as a rescue company under the direction of the United States Railway Association (USRA) . In its Preliminary System and Final System plans, USRA had spoken out against taking over the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad in Conrail. Instead, on January 26, 1976, through USRA brokerage, D&H was granted a government loan of $ 26 million to cover Penn Central's 50% stake in the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad, the subsequent Penn Central line to Sunbury and new ones Procure locomotives. The takeover was completed on April 1, 1976.
With the takeover of all company shares by D&H, the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad no longer appeared, but existed as a legally independent company at least until the sale of D&H to the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1991. Your route continued to be used by D&H and then CP. On September 18, 2015 the entire connection from Schenectady to Sunbury, including the section built by the Wilkes-Barre Connecting Railroad, was sold to the Norfolk Southern Railway .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Interstate Commerce Commission (Ed.): Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. September – November 1926 . tape 116 , 1926, pp. 819-820; 825 (English).
- ↑ Robert E. Mohowski: The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad . JHU Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-8018-7222-8 , pp. 43-48 (English).
- ^ United States Railway Association : Evaluation of the US Railway Association's Preliminary System Plan; Report of the Rail Services Planning Office to the US Railway Association, Ex Parte No. 293 (Sub-no. 5) Northeastern Rail Investigation . Ed .: Interstate Commerce Commission . 1975, p. 449 (English).
- ↑ Christopher T. Bear: A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, its Predecessors and Successors. (PDF) The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society, April 2015, accessed July 3, 2020 (with reference to Trains Magazine as a source).
- ^ Norfolk Southern officials anticipate new business opportunities after acquiring old Delaware & Hudson route. Progressive Railroading , December 2015, accessed on January 16, 2019 .