A Delaware & Hudson Belden Hill detour train comes west on Conrail’s Southern Tier line east of Lanesboro, Pennsylvania. The former Erie main line can be seen crossing the frame in the distance, and just out of sight at the left edge is the famed Starrucca viaduct. Directly above the lead unit, the train can be seen diverting from the main line on the Jefferson connection, the last remnant of the one-time Erie Jefferson Division to Avoca, Pennsylvania, and a connection with the Wyoming Division.
Traffic downturns and high maintenance costs prompted the Erie to sell the “Jeff” to the D&H, which had been leasing the segment between Lanesboro and Carbondale, including the well-known Ararat grade, for many years. The change of ownership took place in 1955, with the Erie retaining trackage rights. As part of the D&H Penn Division, this line was an integral part of the Delaware & Hudson’s vital link to connections CNJ and PRR, and later LV, in the Wilkes-Barre area.
The D&H purchase of the DL&W main line between Binghamton and Scranton in 1981 meant that the Penn Division was no longer needed, and with no local customers north of Carbondale, the Penn Division between Carbondale and a point south of Lanesboro was abandoned in 1982. The trackage between Nineveh and Jefferson Junction was maintained to accommodate high/wide loads that could not fit through the Belden Hill Tunnel. In mid-1985, the tunnel enlargement project began, necessitating the routing of all trains over the Penn Division and the Southern Tier line via the trailing point switch at Jefferson Junction. This was accomplished by having a set of power waiting at Jefferson Junction. The arriving train would pull past the junction, and the waiting power would tie in to the rear end of the train. That power would then pull the train to ite destination, leaving the newly-arrived power to wait for the next train.
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just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
