Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad

• American

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was one of the most important railroads in the northeast region of Pennsylvania. Its beginnings date back to 1832 and the Ligget's Gap Railroad, later the Lackawanna & Western, and the Delaware and Cobb's Gap Railroad. These two lines merged in 1853 to form the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, while the Erie-Lackawanna was not formed until 1960 from the merger of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western with the Erie. Anthracite coal was a major factor in the growth of the railroad, and by 1925 the company owned or controlled through lease nearly all coal underlying West Scranton and had also acquired large areas in other parts of the county as well as in Luzerne County. - NPS