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	] and operated by that Class I railroad for many decades. According to 2010 news accounts, it is operated by the ] (RBMN or often called the nickname ''''Reading and Northern'''') which may have renamed the yard the '''Muller yard''' as this 'new' sign indicates as the track crosses Coxton Road in Duryea and enters the northern tip of the yard's entrance wye along the shore of the ].]]		] and operated by that Class I railroad for many decades. According to 2010 news accounts, it is operated by the ] (RBMN or often called the nickname ''''Reading and Northern'''') which may have renamed the yard the '''Muller yard''' as this 'new' sign indicates as the track crosses Coxton Road in Duryea and enters the northern tip of the yard's entrance wye along the shore of the ].]]

	'''Duryea Yard'''<ref group="Nts">Although the names Duryea yard as such, in July 2013 a newly hung sign (See photo at right.) indicates RBM&N had renamed Duryea Yard as "Muller yard."</ref> (formerly '''Coxton Yard''', sometimes ''']''', or '''West Pittston Yard''') is a railroad yard in the Wyoming Valley region of Northeastern Pennsylvania currently operated by the ]. Originally constructed in 1870 by the ] as a turn-around and staging hub for coal transport from the "]" to Eastern big-city markets, the yard remains a hub for the energy extraction industry today ({{As of\|2017\|lc=y}}).		'''Duryea Yard'''<ref group="Nts">Although the names Duryea yard as such, in July 2013 a newly hung sign (See photo at right.) indicates RBM&N had renamed Duryea Yard as "Muller yard."</ref> (formerly '''Coxton Yard''', sometimes ''']''', or '''West Pittston Yard''') is a railroad yard in the Wyoming Valley region of Northeastern Pennsylvania currently operated by the ]. Originally constructed in 1870 by the ] as a turn-around and staging hub for coal transport from the "]" to Eastern big-city markets, the yard remains a hub for the energy extraction industry today ({{As of\|2017\|lc=y}}).

	==History==		==History==
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	=== Founding ===		=== Founding ===
	While chartered in 1846, construction of the ] was delayed for lack of investment subscriptions until into the early 1850s, when the energetic businessman ] was elected to the board of managers. The LVRR was conceived with the idea of attempting to break the ]'s (LC&N Co.) monopoly over bulk goods{{efn\|Bulk goods shipping until the 1920s was mainly ] ], the new wonder fuel only made available after 1820, but the Lehigh Canal and railroads that followed also carried timber, lumber, cement, iron ore, stone goods, finished goods, ] and finished iron work, and later, steel.}} shipping on the Wyoming Valley-Lehigh-Delaware route, which was dominated by the ]{{efn\|Owned by the LC&N Co., as it did many of the mines in the southern ] from ] south to ], thence east along most of the ] and ] valley.		While chartered in 1846, construction of the ] was delayed for lack of investment subscriptions until into the early 1850s, when the energetic businessman ] was elected to the board of managers. The LVRR was conceived with the idea of attempting to break the ]'s (LC&N Co.) monopoly over bulk goods{{efn\|Bulk goods shipping until the 1920s was mainly ] ], the new wonder fuel only made available after 1820, but the Lehigh Canal and railroads that followed also carried timber, lumber, cement, iron ore, stone goods, finished goods, ] and finished iron work, and later, steel.}} shipping on the Wyoming Valley-Lehigh-Delaware route, which was dominated by the ]{{efn\|Owned by the LC&N Co., as it did many of the mines in the southern ] from ] south to ], thence east along most of the ] and ] valley.
	}} from ] down river to ]. The LVRR initially connected at ] to the ] and extended to cross the Delaware just above Easton into ] where it connected to the ], the ] (CNJ) and two smaller railroads. This gave the LVRR passenger traffic from Philadelphia and Trenton and points south, from New York City and rail connected New England communities, and freight traffic to and from all connected partners. Even before expanding northward to reach Wilkes-Barre, the LVRR had become the trunk line for shipping by rail in the entire Lehigh Valley; shortly after purchasing the ], the LVRR completed its line to Wilkes-Barre in 1868.		}} from ] down river to ]. The LVRR initially connected at ] to the ] and extended to cross the Delaware just above Easton into ] where it connected to the ], the ] (CNJ) and two smaller railroads. This gave the LVRR passenger traffic from Philadelphia and Trenton and points south, from New York City and rail connected New England communities, and freight traffic to and from all connected partners. Even before expanding northward to reach Wilkes-Barre, the LVRR had become the trunk line for shipping by rail in the entire Lehigh Valley; shortly after purchasing the ], the LVRR completed its line to Wilkes-Barre in 1868.

	At that time, all industrial activity was powered in some form by coal, and the ] was a center of the coal mining industry. The LVRR and its competitors expanded rapidly, and the LVRR needed a yard to handle the traffic. That yard was Duryea yard.		At that time, all industrial activity was powered in some form by coal, and the ] was a center of the coal mining industry. The LVRR and its competitors expanded rapidly, and the LVRR needed a yard to handle the traffic. That yard was Duryea yard.

	=== 20th Century ===		=== 20th Century ===
	Duryea yard remained busy during the second half of the ] and the first half of the ]. Following ], large dump trucks began to supplant rail for bulk coal hauling. Furthermore, rail companies began to ] to cut costs and remain competitive as the ] provided a novel form of highly-subsidized competition. Even though the shift to interstate highways was somewhat delayed in the mountainous ] terrain, the shift to diesel was already eliminating much of the LVRR's revenues. Ironically, the railroad's steadiest profits came from carrying the cement and steel products necessary to build the interstate highways. The Duryea railyard declined as ] finally came to Scranton and airline travel began to compete with railroads on the few products that needed to be shipped faster than by truck. By the start of the 21st century, Duryea yard was mostly unused.		Duryea yard remained busy during the second half of the ] and the first half of the ]. Following ], large dump trucks began to supplant rail for bulk coal hauling. Furthermore, rail companies began to ] to cut costs and remain competitive as the ] provided a novel form of highly subsidized competition. Even though the shift to interstate highways was somewhat delayed in the mountainous ] terrain, the shift to diesel was already eliminating much of the LVRR's revenues. Ironically, the railroad's steadiest profits came from carrying the cement and steel products necessary to build the interstate highways. The Duryea railyard declined as ] finally came to Scranton and airline travel began to compete with railroads on the few products that needed to be shipped faster than by truck. By the start of the 21st century, Duryea yard was mostly unused.

	=== 21st Century ===		=== 21st Century ===
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	==Geography==		==Geography==
	The yard lies in the borough of ], a bedroom neighborhood of ], itself a ] of ] and ] so part of the ]. Physically, the yard is located on the ] and in the peninsula formed by the confluence of the ].		The yard lies in the borough of ], a bedroom neighborhood of ], itself a ] of ] and ] so part of the ]. Physically, the yard is located on the ] and in the peninsula formed by the confluence of the ].

	[[File: Duryea-Coxton-Muller Yard Entrance Tracks,antd-en.png\|500px\|thumb\|South entrance of Duryea yard and environs.		[[File: Duryea-Coxton-Muller Yard Entrance Tracks,antd-en.png\|500px\|thumb\|South entrance of Duryea yard and environs.
	At -B- both northbound mainlines are of equal height; running further northeast, the more northerly track to Mountain Top ] the more southerly one to Scranton. Both elevations are well below Main St. at '-C-', the underpass below Coxton Road. Coxton Road leads immediately to some light industry, but, then, herded by ], parallels the yard and subsequent northbound main.		At -B- both northbound mainlines are of equal height; running further northeast, the more northerly track to Mountain Top ] the more southerly one to Scranton. Both elevations are well below Main St. at '-C-', the underpass below Coxton Road. Coxton Road leads immediately to some light industry, but, then, herded by ], parallels the yard and subsequent northbound main.
	]]The main Wyoming Valley entrance is through a railyard wye to the mainline, running westbound on both sides of the Susquehanna and eastbound to ]. Historically, the wye was doubled and connected to a long staging (transfer) track{{~~Cite~~ needed\|date=January 2017}}, but only parts of the doubling remain (see map at right). Continuing into the yard from the wye is to cross a bridge built for four tracks, although now only supporting three.{{~~Cite~~ needed\|date=January 2017}} This lead historically contained several crossovers fanning out to various service tracks and buildings within the yard.		]]The main Wyoming Valley entrance is through a railyard wye to the mainline, running westbound on both sides of the Susquehanna and eastbound to ]. Historically, the wye was doubled and connected to a long staging (transfer) track{{Citation needed\|date=January 2017}}, but only parts of the doubling remain (see map at right). Continuing into the yard from the wye is to cross a bridge built for four tracks, although now only supporting three.{{Citation needed\|date=January 2017}} This lead historically contained several crossovers fanning out to various service tracks and buildings within the yard.

	On the north side, the yard connects to the LVRR's northbound main to ].{{Citation needed\|date=January 2017}}		On the north side, the yard connects to the LVRR's northbound main to ].{{Citation needed\|date=January 2017}}

	==Notes==		==Notes==
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	{{coord\|41.34300\| -75.786433\|display=title}}		{{coord\|41.34300\| -75.786433\|display=title}}

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Revision as of 08:08, 30 April 2018

Duryea Yard (formerly Coxton Yard, sometimes Pittston Junction, or West Pittston Yard) is a railroad yard in the Wyoming Valley region of Northeastern Pennsylvania currently operated by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad. Originally constructed in 1870 by the Lehigh Valley Railroad as a turn-around and staging hub for coal transport from the "Coal Region" to Eastern big-city markets, the yard remains a hub for the energy extraction industry today (as of 2017).

History

Further information: Lehigh Valley Railroad § History

Founding

While chartered in 1846, construction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) was delayed for lack of investment subscriptions until into the early 1850s, when the energetic businessman Asa Packer was elected to the board of managers. The LVRR was conceived with the idea of attempting to break the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company's (LC&N Co.) monopoly over bulk goods shipping on the Wyoming Valley-Lehigh-Delaware route, which was dominated by the Lehigh Canal from White Haven down river to Easton. The LVRR initially connected at Mauch Chunk to the Beaver Meadows Railroad and extended to cross the Delaware just above Easton into Phillipsburg, NJ where it connected to the Morris Canal, the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and two smaller railroads. This gave the LVRR passenger traffic from Philadelphia and Trenton and points south, from New York City and rail connected New England communities, and freight traffic to and from all connected partners. Even before expanding northward to reach Wilkes-Barre, the LVRR had become the trunk line for shipping by rail in the entire Lehigh Valley; shortly after purchasing the Penn Haven and White Haven Railroad, the LVRR completed its line to Wilkes-Barre in 1868.

At that time, all industrial activity was powered in some form by coal, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area was a center of the coal mining industry. The LVRR and its competitors expanded rapidly, and the LVRR needed a yard to handle the traffic. That yard was Duryea yard.

20th Century

Duryea yard remained busy during the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Following World War II, large dump trucks began to supplant rail for bulk coal hauling. Furthermore, rail companies began to dieselize to cut costs and remain competitive as the Interstate Highway System provided a novel form of highly subsidized competition. Even though the shift to interstate highways was somewhat delayed in the mountainous Eastern Pennsylvania terrain, the shift to diesel was already eliminating much of the LVRR's revenues. Ironically, the railroad's steadiest profits came from carrying the cement and steel products necessary to build the interstate highways. The Duryea railyard declined as I-81 finally came to Scranton and airline travel began to compete with railroads on the few products that needed to be shipped faster than by truck. By the start of the 21st century, Duryea yard was mostly unused.

21st Century

In late 2009 and early 2010, The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad expanded operations due to the emergence of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Reading & Northern Railroad spent $100,000 to transform the Pittston Yard to a sand transloading facility to transfer sand from rail cars to trucks, which is then used by natural gas well drillers in the Marcellus Shale region. The upgrades to the railyard included laying new track to accommodate 100 new rail cars and constructing a facility to store and hold up to 800 cars of sand to be used in fracking at Marcellus Shale drill sites throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Geography

The yard lies in the borough of Duryea, a bedroom neighborhood of Pittston, itself a secondary community of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton so part of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton metropolitan area. Physically, the yard is located on the main branch of the Susquehanna River and in the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Lackawanna.

The main Wyoming Valley entrance is through a railyard wye to the mainline, running westbound on both sides of the Susquehanna and eastbound to Mountain Top. Historically, the wye was doubled and connected to a long staging (transfer) track, but only parts of the doubling remain (see map at right). Continuing into the yard from the wye is to cross a bridge built for four tracks, although now only supporting three. This lead historically contained several crossovers fanning out to various service tracks and buildings within the yard.

On the north side, the yard connects to the LVRR's northbound main to Sayre, Pennsylvania.

Notes

Although the 2017 RBM&N System Map names Duryea yard as such, in July 2013 a newly hung sign (See photo at right.) indicates RBM&N had renamed Duryea Yard as "Muller yard."

Bulk goods shipping until the 1920s was mainly anthracite coal, the new wonder fuel only made available after 1820, but the Lehigh Canal and railroads that followed also carried timber, lumber, cement, iron ore, stone goods, finished goods, anthracite pig iron and finished iron work, and later, steel.
Owned by the LC&N Co., as it did many of the mines in the southern Coal Region from Tresckow south to Tamaqua, thence east along most of the Panther Creek Valley and Nesquehoning Creek valley.

References

"Old Duryea railroad yard taking on new life"

41°20′35″N 75°47′11″W / 41.34300°N 75.786433°W / 41.34300; -75.786433

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