[PRCo] OT:--Times Leader | 12/15/2002 | Simply Electric Idea

[Jim Holland]

 HI! 
                While not Pittsburgh, it is Pennsylvania and features Ed
Miller  --  thought all might be interested. 

Jim 

Click here: Times Leader | 12/15/2002 | Simply electric idea[1] 

Posted on Sun, Dec. 15, 2002 

Simply electric idea 
Commuter rail service that linked Scranton, W-B ended in 1952 
By JERRY LYNOTT 
jlynott at leader.net[2] 

If a Laurel Line train leaves Scranton at 6 a.m. southbound to Wilkes-Barre
at 30 miles an hour, how far must it travel before it meets the northbound
train that left Wilkes-Barre at the same time and speed? 

The answer is nine and a half miles, placing them between the South Avoca
andDupont stops.A September 1949 schedule of the now-defunct electrified
railroad, officially known as the Lackawanna &Wyoming Valley Railroad Co.,
timed the 19-mile run between the two cities at 38 minutes for local trains.


But time was running out for the Laurel Line back then. The shortline
railroad in operation since 1903 never lived up to its promise to become a
profitable freight road and ended passenger runs on Dec. 31, 1952. 

"I can see why," said Ed Miller. "The lines were not giving them anything. 

"The Pittston man recalled riding the trains up and down the Laurel Line
whenWilkes-Barre and Scranton were more vibrant cities. Fares were
reasonable, service was dependable and the ride was comfortable. 

Miller traveled to Wilkes-Barre for school and purchased a "commutation
ticket" good for 24 trips. The ticket, which carried his signature and could
be used only by him, was good for three weeks. "It brought my cost to 16
cents per trip in 1948. 

"He rode the last passenger train 50 years ago. His fascination with trains
earned him the nickname "Wheels" and turned into a lifelong avocation as
historian of the Laurel Line. "It shocked me when October 1952 rolled around
and they ran one weekday train per hour," said the 82-year-old Miller. "On
Sunday they ran one car every two hours. 

"The shrunken schedule signaled the end of the line for the railroad that
rantrains as often as every 20 minutes from stations in Scranton and
Wilkes-Barre. In 1921, 4.2 million passengers filled motorized coaches
rolling atop the three-rail road between Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
Thethird, electrified rail powered the system along the route with stops in
Plains, Inkerman, Pittston, Avoca, Moosic, Rocky Glen, Connell Junction and
South Scranton. A nearly mile-long tunnel bored under Crown Avenue in South
Scranton offered an alternate route to the hill trains used coming and going
into the city. "Three minutes were saved," with the tunnel that opened in
1905, according to the 1986 book, "Laurel Line, An Anthracite Region
Railway"by James N.J. Henwood and John G. Muncie. The authors dedicated the
book to Miller. 

The 4 percent grade was no danger for an automobile, said Miller. "On a
railroad train, you watch yourself. 

"The tunnel reopened in September as part of the excursion route for the
Electric City Trolley Museum. Approximately $6 million in grants and funding
were used to restore the tunnel and rebuild the line to the Lackawanna
CountyVisitor Center at the base of Montage Mountain. In addition, the
trackshandled freight traffic that ceased in the 1970s. 

The price to restore the approximately six miles of the line is two-thirds
the cost of the $9 million to build the entire system in the early 1900s.
Thecost reflected how far the project exceeded normal standards for electric
railroads at the time, according to Henwood and Muncie. 

Electric railroad pioneer George Westinghouse was involved in the project
through a firm he established for new projects such as the Laurel Line. "Its
technology was sound if not advanced, and it gave fast, frequent service to
the valley region, carrying prodigious numbers of passengers," wrote the
authors. 

But as has been the history of the region, companies tied to anthracite coal
suffered with the decline of the mining industry. The Laurel Line was among
them. The authors held out little hope the railroad would have survived with
public support or under different ownership. 
Automobiles contributed to the drop in passengers as did the change in
downtowns of the terminus cities. 

"The central business district of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are in all
likelihood too weak to support a rapid transit operation such as the Laurel
Line offered," wrote the authors. 

Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7237. 
  
  

--- Links ---
   1 http://www.timesleader.com/mld/thetimesleader/4708837.htm
   2 mailto:jlynott at leader.net