GNERR posted:Hi!
I am a huge D&H fan and it look like I'm a little late to the party.
I am a member of the BridgeLine Historical Society: bridge-ling.org I have been doing a lot of research along with my friend, Dr. Robert Powell from Carbondale, PA, on where the D&H got started in railroading - The Gravity Railroad. Fascinating stuff.
A lot of firsts with the D&H. Here are a couple of them:
- First to run a steam locomotive in America, the Stourbridge Lion.
- First to operate a Gravity Railroad, it opened in 1829. This was most likely a huge contributor to the industrial revolution. It was also the first assembly line type of operation as workers remained in one location as the string of coal cars moved across the system. (I know what you are going to say, Henry Ford invented the assembly line - please note that I'm used "assembly line type of operation" as they were moving coal - not building coal cars.)
I will have to share photos of my rolling stock and layout later tonight.
Larry
Welcome, Larry... this is definitely one of my favorite threads. I’ve lived in NE Pennsylvania for the last 24 years, not far from Honesdale. On my list of things I need to get around to is going up to see the Stourbridge Lion. I finally made it to the Starrucca Viaduct a few months ago. I checked out the website for the historical society you mentioned - some great info on the D&H... thanks for sharing. (And it already taught me that Honesdale was named after the first President of the D&H)
