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photography

In the Shadow of the Lackawanna at Summit.

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Fifty Five years have passed since the old Delaware, Lackawanna & Western merged with Erie Railroad to form Erie-Lackawanna. EL was a flawed short-lived creation that disappeared into Conrail in 1976.

Today, the old DL&W electrified main line at Summit, New Jersey is operated by NJ Transit.

DL&W was before my time. But in the early 1980s, I recall visiting Summit with my father on the ride out to Gladstone on former Lackawanna multiple units. Even then, those cars seemed to me to belong to an earlier epoch.

In June, I revisited Summit and made these photographs.

The old DL&W station at Summit has a classic look about it. Fujifilm X-T1 photo.
The old DL&W station at Summit has a classic look about it. Fujifilm X-T1 photo.
Stainless steel multiple-unit glide into the station at Summit. Today many trains through Summit go to Penn-Station, New York rather than Hoboken.
Stainless steel multiple-units glide into the station at Summit. Today many trains through Summit go to Penn-Station, New York rather than the old DL&W terminal at Hoboken.

Owing to the alignment of the track and depth of the cutting, high noon allows for light on the tracks. While there might nicer sun at other times of the day, it would be of little use here because of the shadows in the cut.

The old DL&W line is a cutting at Summit and the station straddles the line. Owing to the alignment of the track and the cutting, noon time is allows for light on the tracks. While there might nicer sun at other times of the day, it would be of little use because of the shadows.
The old DL&W line is a cutting at Summit and the station straddles the line.

Today those old MUs are just a memory here. No chance either of seeing a DL&W three-cylinder Mountain type on a coal train, or a Hudson leading the Lackawanna Limited on its way to Buffalo. Just shadows, modern electrics and the old station.

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