Re: (erielack) DL&W ETT 1956

[Charles_Walsh_@_Berlex.com]

I'll add that Hurricane Diane dealt a powerful financial blow to the DL&W,
from which it never really recovered.  The $6 million in repairs (I'm not
sure if that includes lost revenue as well) was an enormous sum to a
company the size of the Lackawanna, particularly in a market that was
shrinking.  I believe Taber in his book on the DL&W attributes the
single-tracking of this section of track to fiscal austerity.  My guess is
that it was a combination of factors.  Indeed, they were trying to get the
railroad up and operating as soon as possible, as the mainline remained
closed through the Poconos for about a month.  I believe there is an aerial
photo in Taber's book of the Bell's Bridge wash-out: the railroad in that
section more or less ceased to exist.  (The damage at Devil's Curve was
even worse.)  As a result, they had to balance cost, timeliness and
long-term implications of any change in operations (i.e. single-tracking).
For some reason I thought that the bridge that was put in place at Bell's
Bridge came from somewhere else on the DL&W, but my memory may be faulty in
that respect.

Chuck



                                                                           
             "Paul Brezicki"                                               
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Ed, you are correct. Projected traffic levels did not justify the expense
of building a double-track bridge.

Paul B

I was looking at the 1956 DL&W ETT at:
http://www.jon-n-bevliles.net/RAILROAD/DLW%20ETTs/DL&W-109(med).pdf.  This
was about seven months after Hurricane Diane tore up the ROW from the Water
Gap up through the Poconos.  I noticed a little change in operation that
was a forerunner to many other changes as the fortunes of the DL&W began to
crumble.  In the spring of 1956, ABS signals reigned all over the place
except for a .8 mile stretch between the Tinkertown crossing and Bells
Bridge which was CTC - single track.  DL&W must have replaced that bridge
with a single span with no intention of adding a second.  I believe the CTC
machine was at Stroudsburg Tower.  Within two years the single tracking
would extend across the cut-off and within another two the Boonton Line
would be essentially single track from Denville to Paterson.  A second
track remained in place from west of Montville but the primary track was
reversible.

Ed Montgomery


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