Santa will visit Greendell Train Station, 12 Wolfs Corner Road, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 21. (Photo provided)
Today we enjoy some great information about the Greendell Train Station provided by Austin O’Connor, who is with the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee.
About the beginning of the 20th century was the golden age of railroads. Transportation and commerce in our country were promoted through the turnpikes, with toll roads in the early 1800s, and stagecoaches were the means to get to the city and beyond.
The Morris Canal was a significant development in the mid-1800s along the southern edge of Sussex County.
During the latter part of the 1800s, the railroads were being built in our area, going east and west and also north and south, and were gaining in popularity.
The stagecoaches disappeared in the 1870s and canal use waned a few years later.
As the rails gained in importance, time and speed were influential in pushing the boundaries. The Lackawanna Cut-Off removed curves, made for more level trackage and increased the utility of the rails for heavier traffic. The concrete tunnels, cuts and fills, and other modern methods made its construction a world-known engineering marvel.
The Greendell Station was spawned as a stop along the Lackawanna Cut-Off.
Thank you, Austin O’Connor, for the following information:
The Greendell Station Museum, 12 Wolfs Corner Road, Greendell, is operated by the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee.
Greendell Station was one of three stations built along the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad’s Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line in the early 20th century; the others are in Johnsonburg and Blairstown.
Located near the Greendell Station was a Sheffield Farms creamery building and a concrete switch tower.
The Lackawanna Cut-Off spanned 28.45 miles from Port Morris to Slateford, Pa. The rail line included many underpasses and overpasses constructed of reinforced concrete. They include the Paulinskill Viaduct and the Delaware River Viaduct, both massive rail bridges considered engineering marvels of their time.
Not only were they constructed of reinforced concrete but their rail facilities, such as Greendell Station, were as well. Greendell Station was opened on Dec. 23, 1911, and was under the name of Greensville until 1916.
The station served both passengers and freight until the passenger section of the station was closed in the late 1930s and was abandoned.
In the time between, the DL&W merged with the Erie Railroad, creating the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad in 1960. The Erie-Lackawanna continued to run passenger trains over the Cut-Off without Greendell as a stop.
Passenger service on the Erie-Lackawanna ended in the 1970s, leaving only freight to run over the Cut-Off. On April 1, 1976, Conrail was formed out of many bankrupt railroads to fix the massive corporate failure of the Penn-Central.
The Erie-Lackawanna took part in this merger, and Conrail took over operations of the Cut-Off. With service declining, Conrail ceased operations on the Cut-Off in 1978. The last freight shipment made over the Cut-Off was delivered to Greendell Station.
In 1984, the last train made its trip over the Cut-Off to pull up the rails and prevent any service from happening again, leaving the Cut-Off completely abandoned.
Over the years, Greendell Station fell into further disrepair, eventually becoming a gutted concrete shell of its former self and continuing to be overgrown with vegetation.
In the early 2000s, Greendell’s twin station, Johnsonburg, was torn down. This led to concern about Greendell Station’s possible demise. In response, the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee was formed by Keith Smollin in 2014 to protect and restore Greendell Station.
In the 10 years since then, the group has cleared brush and maintained the station building and surrounding area. With recent developments about possibly extending Amtrak service to Scranton, the group hopes to see trains return to Greendell.
The station grounds are suitable for events, such as Santa at Greendell Station, which the committee will host from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 21.
The group typically holds several events a year, showcasing the station grounds and historic railroad artifacts relating to the station.
The station is awaiting a roof replacement. That will open the door to restoration of the rest of the building.
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com