Blairstown station explained

Blairstown
Style:Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
Parking:243 spaces (proposed)[1]
Opened:December 24, 1911[2] [3]
Closed:January 4, 1970[4]
Code:65 (D&LW)[5]
Owned:Private ownership
Other Services Header:Former and proposed services

Blairstown was one of the three original Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad stations on the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line in northwestern New Jersey. Built by contractor Hyde, McFarlan & Burke, the station opened in 1911. Most passenger trains, such as the Lackawanna Limited and, later, the Phoebe Snow, plus the Twilight/Pocono Express and the Westerner/New Yorker stopped at Blairstown, which also sold commuter tickets.[6]

Blairstown station was the only station on the Cut-Off to be open during the Erie Lackawanna Railway years, and remained so until passenger service ended on January 6, 1970 with the discontinuing of the Lake Cities. After 1970, the building housed a radio station, WHCY-FM, until the 1990s. The station building is currently privately owned.[1]

Blairstown is slated to become a station stop once again if a proposal by New Jersey Transit to restore rail service to Scranton, Pennsylvania, comes to fruition, with the station proposed to be situated between the track and Hope Road.[1] In spring 2021, Amtrak announced plans for potential New York - Scranton route. Blairstown was cited as the intermediate station between Dover and East Stroudsburg on the route.[7]

The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project reconnection to Blairstown appeared a step closer on April 13, 2022, when the NJ Transit board announced the approval of an approximated $32.5 million contract for completion of repairs to the Roseville Tunnel and construction of the new Andover station (14 miles east of Blairstown). It is anticipated that work will be completed in the latter part of 2026.[8] Additional work remains for reinstalling track from Andover to Blairstown.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Jersey – Pennsylvania Lackawanna Cut-Off Passenger Rail Service Restoration Project Environmental Assessment . . June 2008 . November 30, 2014 . March 4, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052406/http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/LackawannaEAJune2008.pdf . dead .
  2. News: Cut-Off to Reduce Train Schedule to New York Half Hour . April 13, 2020 . The Binghamton Press . December 7, 1911 . 3. Newspapers.com.
  3. News: Lackawanna's Cut-Off Benefit . April 13, 2020 . . December 29, 1911 . 2. Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Erie's Long Distance Service Ends With Lake Cities Finale . April 13, 2020 . . January 5, 1970 . 2. Newspapers.com.
  5. List of Station Numbers . . 1952 . 1.
  6. Lackawanna Railroad, Table 1. Official Guide of the Railways . National Railway Publication Company . 87 . 7 . December 1954.
  7. William C. Vantuono, 'Railway Age,' July 21, 2021, "Amtrak, Scranton to New York City?" https://www.railwayage.com/news/amtrak-scranton-to-new-york-city/
  8. Trains, April 13, 2022, "NJ Transit awards contract to restore tunnel on Lackawanna Cutoff: Roseville Tunnel subject of $32.5 million rehabilitation project" https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/nj-transit-contracts-lackawanna-cutoff-tunnel-restoration/