(erielack) Diamond Branch

["Robert Chupka" <Ironnuts_@_fastbytes.com>]

While I can't give the detail that Walt may, I can give a perspective from its operation during PNER days.
As I had intimated in a previous post, we did go there to service Scranton Lace which was West but Railroad east of the Lackawanna river.  I was hesitant to call it the Lackawanna river there as it is more of a creek, but I guess this past September it did flood the plot section of Scranton.
If memeory serves me correctly, one of the principals at Diamond K, a scrap paper facility at the end of the branch was an investor in PNER and when PNER acquired the Diamond branch in its phase one acquisitions, PNER would service the branch once a week spotting in two empties and pulling two loads of scrap paper. This was also our excuse to interchange with the D&H at Taylor as it appears we never gained interchange rights when we acquired trackage rights up the Taylor Secondary from Conrail.  At any rate, we would leave Coxton (Pittston Jct.) travel up the Bloom (Taylor Secondary) and get two empty boxes from the D&H.  From Taylor up to Bridge 60 and down onto the Diamond branch.  We were required to stop and flag the former D&H main and once having flagged and crossed the D&H we would leave the two empties just east (compass west) of the diamond and run down to Diamond K to pull the loads.  After pulling the loads, the empties would be dropped by and shoved down to Diamond K.  Then lunch at the Glider Diner.  As I had mentioned about once a year Scranton LAce would get a car of material in (usually an RBOX) and this would be spotted inside their facility.
These were the only two industries along the branch during our operation, however some other thoughts to post.
The connection to the D&H at Carbon Street was called Strawberry Hill and back in the day, was the D&H's connection to get to their passenger station in Scranton.  It sat where the present day Grayhound bus station is located.  The Connection to the D&H off the Diamond occured just beyond where the North Scranton Expressway passes over the branch.  The next switch served a junk yard ( can't recall the name)which had the distinction of being the site of a huge mine cave in in 1982 which I believe claimed a few men.  I can remember in the SUmmer of '82 trying to get a look over the junkyard fence into the big hole.  Next down from there was a "dress factory" not served by the railroad, but you would get a friendly wave or a flash from the girls working in there as you passed.  From what I had been told this was a tradition back to the DL&W days.  Once you crossed the D&H there was a switch which took you up a bracnh through Green Ridge and ended in some large factory.  I was required to walk this overgrown branch in an effort to determine what was salvageable (rail etc,) shortly before I left PNER.  This was on the compass East side of the river.  Once you crossed the river, ther was another switch that led you into Scranton Lace and this is around the area where the O&W crossed the Diamond branch.  The site of the Diamond K facility was most likely where the Diamond breaker sat as it sits hard  to the hillside where the North Scranton Expressway and the DL&W main pass well overhead.

Bob CHupka

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