Erie Lackawanna Railroad
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| Reporting mark | EL |
|---|---|
| Locale |
New Jersey Pennsylvania New York Ohio Indiana Illinois |
| Dates of operation | 1960–1976 |
| Predecessor |
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Erie Railroad |
| Successor | Conrail |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 3,189 miles (5,132 kilometers) |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio |
The Erie Lackawanna Railway (reporting mark EL), known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route".
Like many railroads in the northeast already financially vulnerable from the expanding U.S. Interstate Highway System, the line was severely weakened fiscally by the extent, duration and record flood levels due to Hurricane Agnes in 1972. It would never recover, and most of the corporation's holdings were subsumed into the federal rescue purchases creating Conrail in 1976, ending its days as an operating railroad company.
The Interstate Commerce Commission approved the merger on September 13, 1960, and on October 17 the Erie Railroad and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad merged to form the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad.
The EL struggled for most of the 16 years it existed. The two railroads that created it were steadily losing passengers, freight traffic and money; and were heavily burdened by years of accumulated debt and extensive, money-losing commuter operations. These two historic lines, the Erie and the DL&W, started to consolidate facilities on the Hudson River waterfront and across southern New York State in 1956, four years before formal corporate merger. The Lackawanna route was severely affected by the decline of anthracite and cement traffic from Pennsylvania by the 1940s. The Erie was burdened by the continuing loss of high-tariff fruit and vegetable traffic from the western states into the New York City region as highways improved in the 1950s. Both lines were also affected by the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, which allowed ocean-going cargo ships to travel between European, African and South American ports and cities on the Great Lakes, such as Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Duluth, Chicago, etc. The DL&W had previously carried much traffic to and from ocean ships, having its own port facilities at Hoboken Terminal on the Hudson River.
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