Blairstown station

Blairstown
The station house, now privately owned
General information
Location48 Hope Road (CR 521), Blairstown Township, New Jersey
Coordinates40°58′06″N 74°57′14″W / 40.968200°N 74.953783°W / 40.968200; -74.953783
Owned byPrivate ownership[1]
Line(s)Lackawanna Cut-Off
Construction
Parking243 spaces (proposed)[1]
Other information
Station code65 (D&LW)[2]
History
OpenedDecember 24, 1911[3][4]
ClosedJanuary 4, 1970[5]
Former and proposed services
Preceding station Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Following station
Delaware Water Gap
toward Buffalo
 Main Line Johnsonburg
toward Hoboken
Proposed services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Delaware Water Gap
toward Scranton
 Lackawanna Cut-Off Andover
toward New York Penn Station or Hoboken

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.

  1. ^ a b c d "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 March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  2. ^ List of Station Numbers. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Report). 1952. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Cut-Off to Reduce Train Schedule to New York Half Hour". The Binghamton Press. December 7, 1911. p. 3. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Lackawanna's Cut-Off Benefit". The Wall Street Journal. December 29, 1911. p. 2. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Erie's Long Distance Service Ends With Lake Cities Finale". The Asbury Park Evening Press. January 5, 1970. p. 2. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Lackawanna Railroad, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 87 (7). National Railway Publication Company. 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/