The Scranton Railway Company built and operated electric trolleys in and around

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, from 1896 until 1954. The company was formed to consolidate various trolley companies in Scranton and

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; ) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It had a population of 215,615 in 2022. Its county seat and most populous city is Scranton. The county is part of the Northeast region of the commonwealth. The county was ...

. At its peak, the company had city lines in Scranton and Dunmore and suburban lines north to Forest City and south to

Duryea Duryea may refer to: * Duryea (surname) * Duryea Motor Wagon Company, first American automobile company * Duryea, Pennsylvania, a borough in Luzerne County {{Disambiguation ...

and

Pittston Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city lies in the Wyoming Valley on the east side of the Susquehanna River and on the south side of the Lackawanna River. It is approximately midway between Wilkes-Barre, Pen ...

. Its last trolley ran in 1954.

History

In 1900, it carried 10.5 million passengers.SCRANTON: BEING AN ILLUSTRATED AND DESCRIPTIVE BOOKLET OF THE CITY OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A.
"The Scranton Railway Company", Scranton Board of Trade, 1912 In 1902, it operated more than 100 cars. In 1905, the railway was purchased by American Railways Company, a holding company that also owned the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway, the People's Railway, the Springfield Railway Company, and other electric railways. In 1907, the railway owned 47.63 miles of track, and operated over 81.55 miles of track. In 1910, it operated five steam locomotives. In 1912, it carried 24 million passengers. A promotional book produced by the city's Board of Trade touted the "Gateway to the Clouds", a 12-mile, 54-minute ride from downtown Scranton that rose 1,200 feet to the resort area of Lake Moosic. This route traveled over the leased Scranton, Dunmore, and Moosic Lake Railroad. In the 1920s, ridership began to decline. Long suburban lines were cut back as buses began to appear. In 1923, the Scranton Railway Company asked for and received approval from the local Public Service Commission to abandon its service from Scranton to Pittston. In 1925, it abandoned service from Old Forge to Duryea, where there was a connection to

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

. From 1925-28, the company was owned by National Public Service Corporation, which was soon taken over by Chicago businessman

Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British American business magnate. He was an innovator and investor based in Chicago who helped create an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull created hold ...

's Middle West Utilities Co. Insull's Chicago-based business empire collapsed in 1932, whereupon the company passed to the Municipal Service Co. In 1934, the Scranton Railway was reorganized as Scranton Transit Company. Its last trolley car ran in 1954, its lines replaced by buses.Electric City Trolley Station and Museum celebrates 125th anniversary of first successful streetcar line
/ref> Scranton Transit ceased all bus operations on Nov. 15, 1971. It was succeeded in 1972 by the County of Lackawanna Transit System.

Footnotes

References

* {{Pennsylvania railroads Scranton, Pennsylvania Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Interurban railways in Pennsylvania Railway companies established in 1896 Railway companies disestablished in 1954 1896 establishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1896 1954 disestablishments in Pennsylvania American companies disestablished in 1954