The Lehigh & New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety, the first being the New York, Ontario & Western Railway.kodtrak.railfan.net
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History

South Mountain and Boston and successors: 1873-1882

Around 1868, serious proposals for the crossing of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

at Poughkeepsie began to appear. A charter for the Poughkeepsie Bridge Company was obtained in 1871, and the company was organized before the end of May. The charter was amended to allow placing piers in the river by 1872 (despite fierce opposition from navigation interests), and the company began raising funds. Through the influence of

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

president J. Edgar Thomson was persuaded to personally invest in the project. This funding led to a surge of activity. The line was to be carried from

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...

to the crossing of the Delaware River at Portland by the

South Mountain Railroad The South Mountain Railroad was an American railroad which operated in Pennsylvania. History The railroad was incorporated May 5, 1854 by a group of largely local investors. It was to run from Harrisburg to Jonestown, from thence along the south ...

. The South Mountain and Boston Railroad was chartered in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

on March 13, 1873 and also in New York to continue the line via Poughkeepsie and Boston Corners to the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

state line. At the state line, an extension of the planned Massachusetts Central Railroad would connect, taking traffic to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Grading began on the various lines (known, in the aggregate, as the South Mountain and Boston Railroad), and the cornerstone was laid for a bridge pier at Poughkeepsie. However, the Panic of 1873 and the death of Thomson in May 1874 and loss of his personal support brought the project to a halt. An attempt at revival was made in 1879. By this time the South Mountain Railroad had collapsed; a new railroad, the Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and New England Railroad, was incorporated on May 6, 1879 to follow its route from Harrisburg to the South Mountain and Boston connection at Portland. This company too would be short-lived; the South Mountain and Boston's New Jersey Division was renamed on March 11, 1880 to the Pennsylvania and New England Railroad, and that company's

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Division was incorporated on May 5, 1880. The property of the PP&NE was sold to the P&NE (PA Division) on October 13, 1880. This does not seem to have improved the fortunes of this segment of the line; a third company, the Delaware and Slatington Railroad, was incorporated on September 9, 1881, to run from the P&NE (NJ Division) at Portland to Slatington on the

Lehigh River The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...

. The P&NE (NJ Division) merged with the Delaware and Slatington on June 22, 1882 to form the Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad.

Pennsylvania construction: 1880-1891

In the meantime, the P&NE (PA Division) was successful in laying one and one-sixth mile (2 km) of track to the east of Wind Gap about 1880. However, it was foreclosed on July 25, 1881, and reorganized as the Susquehanna and Delaware River Railroad on August 23, 1881; it was foreclosed again and reorganized on July 13, 1886 as the Harrisburg and New England Railroad. This company was supposedly reorganized as the Harrisburg and Eastern Railroad on July 31, 1891.

Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad: 1882-1887

The Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad was formed June 22, 1882 as a consolidation of the Pennsylvania and New England Railroad (NJ Division) and Delaware and Slatington Railroad, to build from

Slatington, Pennsylvania Slatington is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 4,232. Slatington is located northwest of Allentown and Bethlehem. Slatington is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a popu ...

to Pine Island, New York. In December of that year, John L. Blair, who controlled the nearby

Bangor and Portland Railway The Bangor and Portland Railway was an American railroad incorporated in 1879. It began operations between Bangor and Portland, Pennsylvania, the following year. In 1880, the company merged with the Bangor and Bath Railroad, giving an extension to ...

, acquired control of the PS&NE, in order to give the B&P direct access to New England and other points. Additionally the Central Railroad of New Jersey's

Lehigh and Lackawanna Railroad The Lehigh and Lackawanna Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1864 and opened its initial line between Bethlehem, and Chapman, Pennsylvania, in 1867. At its peak, the company's line extended from Bethlehem ...

could no longer access points on the B&P. Construction was carried out through 1883, with grading finished in Pennsylvania and about 12 miles west from Sussex, New Jersey. The bridge over the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

at Portland was built, and rails were laid for about half of the length in Pennsylvania. In early 1883 a dispute erupted with the Wind Gap and Delaware Railroad over the tracks between Pen Argyl and Bangor, which the PS&NE wanted to use. Later that year the company went bankrupt and construction stopped.

Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and Boston Railroad: 1887-1895

The Pennsylvania, Slatington and New England Railroad was sold at

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mort ...

to William W. Gibbs, president of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Company, on July 12, 1887, and was reorganized as the Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and Boston Railroad (also known as the "Pickles, Pork, and Beans" Line). Construction was begun, but the company again went bankrupt, and was sold at

December 14, 1894. Around that time, various other companies were chartered to build the line over the Poughkeepsie Bridge, and in 1889, the

Central New England and Western Railroad Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

was completed. That part would be combined with the PS&NE in 1892 by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, but in 1893 the two parts were split. The eastern section later became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and the western section stayed independent to the end. The Campbell Hall Connecting Railroad was chartered April 3, 1889 to obtain the right to operate the section in New York. It was originally planned to extend beyond Pine Island to Campbell Hall, the west end of the existing Poughkeepsie Bridge line. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway gained control of the

in early 1892, and the PP&B soon after, giving it a route from

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

via the Schuylkill and Lehigh Railroad to Slatington, and then to New England along its new acquisitions. The Reading's

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

in 1893 ended this control, and led to the PP&B's bankruptcy.

Lehigh and New England Railroad: 1895-1961

The Lehigh and New England Railroad (L&NE) was organized April 2, 1895 as the successor to the PP&B. The route from Slatington to Pine Island was accomplished but not completed. The L&NE was able to have a route from Slatington to Pine Island even though the route wasn't completed because the L&NE had obtained trackage rights over the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...

's Sparta Junction to Columbia/Delaware Junction main line between Swartswood Junction (outside of Swartswood) and Hainesburg Junction; this line was built by the New Jersey Midland Railway from Sparta Junction to

Blairstown, New Jersey Blairstown is a township in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Blairstown's population was 5,704. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,967 Blairstown Railway {{Blairstown Railway The Blairstown Railway (BRWY) opened in 1877 and ran between Blairstown and Delaware, New Jersey, a distance of approximately 12 miles (19 km). The single-track railroad was built under the direction of railroad magnat ...

from Blairstown, New Jersey to Columbia/Delaware Junction and today serves as the Paulinskill Valley Trail. Despite that, a tunnel () was built under the fill for the

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

's New Jersey Cut-Off (opened 1911) in case the L&NE ever decided to complete its own line. Additionally, the planned route from Pine Island to Campbell Hall was cancelled, and trackage rights were obtained over the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake ...

's Goshen and Deckertown Railroad and Montgomery and Erie Railroad. The

and its leased Wind Gap and Delaware Railroad were operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey until February 1, 1905, when the two companies were merged into the L&NE. Around the same time the L&NE acquired the Northampton Railroad. This gave the L&NE a branch to

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

, with a branch off that one to Martins Creek. Part of the main line between Benders Junction (the crossing of the original L&NE and the L&L) and Pen Argyl was abandoned in 1905, with the new route using the L&L and WG&D. The

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LCAN) (1988–2010) was a modern-day anthracite coal mining company headquartered in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It acquired many properties and relaunched the Lehigh Coal Companies brand in 1988. The LCAN r ...

(LC&N) gained control of the L&NE on May 9, 1904. A yard at Maybrook, New York opened in 1912, with L&NE trains terminating there via a section of the Central New England Railway. On July 24, 1912 a new extension opened, splitting from the main line at

Danielsville, Pennsylvania Danielsville is a village northeast of Northampton in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The village is situated along PA Route 946 at the intersection of Route 946 and Blue Mountain Road. The population of Danielsville was 3,085 at the 2000 cens ...

and running west to Tamaqua to directly serve the LC&N. On December 14, 1913 the L&NE acquired the Panther Creek Railroad, running east from Tamaqua to

Summit Hill Summit Hill is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 3,034 at the 2010 census. Summit Hill has a storied history as the western terminus of the United States' second operational ...

, and with a connection to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Hauto Tunnel for access to Nesquehoning obtained in 1915. On June 4, 1926 the

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...

leased the L&NE, but other railroads objected, and the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

rejected the lease, preferring a lease by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (which was never done). Lehigh and New England tunnel, Knowlton, NJ

Lehigh and New England tunnel, Knowlton, NJ

The LNE Board of Directors decided to end all railroad operations on October 31, 1961. Although the LNE was still profitable, the rapid decline of the anthracite coal business was seen on the horizon and the decision was made to cease operations. By this date the LNE mainline saw only one coal train per week (which usually operated on Thursdays). Trackage was removed by the following year and the bridges over the Lehigh River and Delaware River were dismantled by 1969. While a never particularly profitable system because it paralleled the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway and did not serve any large markets, the L&NE did have a profitable cement business from its lines around Bath, Pennsylvania; the trackage which served this commodity was taken over and operated by a subsidiary of the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Lehigh and New England Railway until January 1975 and then by the Lehigh Valley until April 1, 1976 when the trackage was absorbed by Conrail. To railfans, the L&NE is best remembered for its diesel motive power, which consisted almost entirely of models built by Alco, excepting two Whitcomb Center Cab switchers, numbers 601 & 602. Whitcomb

Lehigh and New England Railway: 1961-

The Lehigh and New England Railway was chartered by the Central Railroad of New Jersey to take over some of the lines in Pennsylvania. Included in that sale was the main line east from Tamaqua, the old

and Northampton Railroad from

to Martins Creek, and the branch from Bethlehem west to Allentown. A short section from Pen Argyl to Wind Gap was taken over by the

, connecting to the DL&W's

at Pen Argyl.

Notes

References

External links

PRR ChronologyLNE timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehigh New England Railroad Defunct New York (state) railroads Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Defunct New Jersey railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the Central Railroad of New Jersey Railway companies established in 1895 Railway companies disestablished in 1961 1895 establishments in Pennsylvania 1961 disestablishments in Pennsylvania