Tobyhanna station

Tobyhanna station is a proposed NJ Transit commuter rail station that is located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The station forms part of a site owned by a number of public and private entities including the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.

Tobyhanna
Milwaukee Road 261 at Tobyhanna in 1996
General information
Location	Church Street (PA 423) at Godwin Street, Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	41°10′46″N 75°25′06″W
Owned by	Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority[1]
Line(s)	Pocono Mainline
Construction
Parking	102 spaces (proposed)[1]
Other information
Station code	108 (D&LW)[2]
History
Opened	1908[3]
Closed	1965[4]
Rebuilt	1994[3] 2005[5]
Former and proposed services
Preceding station Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Following station Scranton toward Buffalo Main Line Mount Pocono toward Hoboken Gouldsboro toward Buffalo Pocono Summit toward Hoboken Proposed services Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Scranton Terminus Lackawanna Cut-Off Pocono Mountain toward New York Penn Station or Hoboken

Its site is adjacent to the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (and later, Erie Lackawanna) station. The building remains in place and is in use as the local historical society rail museum.

In spring 2021, Amtrak announced plans to establish a New York-Scranton route.^[6][7]

History

The station building in 2023

Until 1947, Tobyhanna was a flagstop that was eastbound on Sundays for the Lackawanna Limited, the predecessor to the Phoebe Snow.^[8][9]

Through the end of the 1950s, a few trains made station stops in Tobyhanna. In 1959, these trains were the westbound Scrantonian, which traveled to Scranton, the Twilight, a late afternoon train bound for Buffalo, and an unnamed train that also traveled to Scranton. Eastbound, service that year consisted of the Pocono Express from Buffalo, the Merchants Express from Scranton and an unnamed evening train from Scranton.^[10]

Service in the last years was limited to the Twilight and the Poconos Express with the trains terminating or originating at Scranton.^[11] Passenger service ended with the discontinuation of these trains in the fall of 1965.^[12][13]

Restoration of passenger service has been proposed for the Lackawanna Cut-Off, offering trains to northern New Jersey and New York City. A 102-space surface parking lot has also been proposed at this location to be situated on the vacant side and rear portions of this site. The proposed platform would be to the south of the track, north of Church Street.^[1][6][7]

References

1. "New Jersey – Pennsylvania Lackawanna Cut-Off Passenger Rail Service Restoration Project Environmental Assessment" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, and New Jersey Transit in cooperation with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
2. "List of Station Numbers". Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. 1952. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. Mutter, Jeff. "Tobyhanna Station". Retrieved 2011-01-14.
4. Absent from Erie Lackawanna timetable, December 13, 1965, Table 1
5. "Historic Rail Photos Archives NRHS Projects". National Railway Historical Society. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
6. "Restoring passenger rail through Poconos no longer a pipe dream. It’s reality." Easton, Pennsylvania: Lehigh Valley Live, January 10, 2022.
7. Higgs, Larry. "NJ Transit green lights tunnel reconstruction so trains can roll to northwest N.J., Scranton, Pa." Iselin, New Jersey: NewJersey.com, April 13, 2022.
8. Lackawanna timetable, January 26, 1947, Table 6
9. Absent from Erie Lackawanna's timetable June 22, 1947, Table 6
10. "Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 92 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1959.
11. Erie Lackawanna Railroad timetable, December 6, 1964, Table 1
12. Present on Erie Lackawanna timetable, October 24, 1965, Table 1
13. Absent from Erie Lackawanna timetable, December 13, 1965, Table 1

External links

Media related to Tobyhanna station at Wikimedia Commons