SCRANTON'S PASSENGER TRAINS

OF THE PAST

Intercity passenger trains serving Scranton in 1942, 1956, and 1971 immediately prior to the creation of Amtrak.

THE STATIONS

The major stations serving Scranton, during the golden age of passenger trains. Most passenger trains used the Lackawanna Station.

Lackawanna Station
700 Lackawanna Ave., at Jefferson Ave.
Opened 1908, replacing smaller station 7 blocks west

Lackawanna Avenue Station
602 W. Lackawanna Ave., at 6th Ave.
Opened 1893

Delaware & Hudson Station
37 Lackawanna Ave.
Opened 1894

EARLIER RAILROADS/STATIONS

Erie Station
701 N. Washington Ave.

Erie Railroad service was discontinued in early 1930's.

DELAWARE LACKAWANNA & WESTERN

(Lackawanna Station)



No.  Name                  1942 Dest.  1942 Time  1956 Time  1971 Time

 10  New York Mail         New York        1:40       12:45
  8  New Yorker            New York        4:15        3:04
 15  Owl                   Buffalo         4:50        3:40
 26  Merchants Express     New York        7:15        6:15
 47                        Binghamton     10:05       10:50
  2  Pocono Express        New York       10:40        9:55
  3  Lackawanna Limited    Buffalo         1:05       12:50
  6  Lackawanna Limited    New York        3:20        2:15
705                        Harrisburg      5:40
 44                        New York                    6:00
  5  Chicagoan             Buffalo         8:05        7:20
  7  Westerner             Chicago        11:10       10:30
Arrivals



No.  Name                  1942 Orig.  1942 Time  1956 Time  1971 Time

 10  New York Mail         Buffalo         1:25       12:40
  8  New Yorker            Chicago         4:05        2:54
 15  Owl                   New York        4:40        3:20
 47                        New York        9:40       10:35
702                        Harrisburg     10:15
  2  Pocono Express        Buffalo        10:30        9:40
  3  Lackawanna Limited    New York       12:58       12:50
  6  Lackawanna Limited    Buffalo         3:10        2:15
 44                        Binghamton                  5:50
 11  Scrantonian           New York                    6:15
  5  Chicagoan             New York        7:55        7:05
  7  Westerner             New York       11:00       10:15
Passenger service discontinued in 1970.

In 1949, the streamlined Phoebe Snow replaced the Lackawanna Limited.

CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY

(Lackawanna Avenue Station)

Departures



No.  Name                  1942 Dest.  1942 Time  1956 Time  1971 Time

306  Interstate Express    Philadelphia    1:45 am
301  Interstate Express    Binghamton      5:28 am
316  Scranton Flyer        Philadelphia    7:25 am
Arrivals



No.  Name                  1942 Orig.  1942 Time  1956 Time  1971 Time

306  Interstate Express    Binghamton      1:45 am
301  Interstate Express    Philadelphia    5:28 am
327  Scranton Flyer        Philadelphia   10:45 pm
Passenger service discontinued in 1954.

The Interstate Express primarily used Lackawanna trackage within Scranton, including to and from Binghamton.

Until early 1930's, also using Lackawanna Avenue Station were New York Ontario & Western passenger trains.

DELAWARE & HUDSON

(Delaware & Hudson Station)

Departures



No.  Name                  1942 Dest.  1942 Time  1956 Time  1971 Time

501                        Carbondale      6:45
505                        Carbondale      3:50
507                        Carbondale      5:20
509                        Carbondale      6:30
Arrivals



No.  Name                  1942 Orig.  1942 Time  1956 Time  1971 Time

504                        Carbondale      7:40
508                        Carbondale      8:40
510                        Carbondale      1:40
512                        Carbondale      5:50
Passenger service discontinued in 1951.

Until early 1940's, Delaware & Hudson passenger trains continued further south of Scranton to Wilkes-Barre.

STATIONS TODAY

The last passenger train serving Scranton was an Erie Lackawanna train, discontinued in 1970, one year before the creation of Amtrak.

Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel Scranton
Link to an official Web site, showing how the classic old Lackawanna Station has been preserved and transformed into a hotel.

Lackawanna Station 100th Anniversary
Scranton Station
Links containing further historical information on this station.

The Lackawanna Avenue Station still stands, unused.

Rail History Guide to Scranton
Fan Web site containing further information on the railroads of Scranton.

Lackawanna County Pennsylvania Railroad Stations
Link to a Web page containing further information on the historic stations.

MAPPING THE STATIONS AND RAILROADS

Links to locations of past and present stations and railroads, using Google Maps. Satellite views are also available.

The Delaware Lackawanna & Western main line from Hoboken to Binghamton and Buffalo was the main railroad through Scranton. The DL&W Bloomsburg Branch diverged from the main line at the Hyde Park Wye, 1 mile west of the station. The Bloomsburg Branch extended southwest to Sunbury, where the line connected with a Pennsylvania Railroad line south to Harrisburg. Also serving Scranton, and operating out of separate stations, were Central of New Jersey using the Lackawanna Avenue station, and Delaware & Hudson. The CNJ line extended south to Wilkes-Barre and Bethlehem, connecting with the CNJ main line east to Jersey City and the Reading line south to Philadelphia. From MJ Cabin, 4 miles south of Scranton, towards Wilkes-Barre, CNJ used trackage rights via D&H. D&H operated local service north to Carbondale. Some through joint DL&W and CNJ service used the Hyde Park Wye, bypassing the Lackawanna station. Those trains supposedly used CNJ's Lackawanna Avenue station, it is not clear how they accessed the station. It is known that those trains switched between the DL&W Bloomsburg Branch and CNJ and then D&H at Minooka Jct., 2 miles south of Hyde Park Wye in Taylor.