The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad of Pennsylvania
Construction of the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad started in 1901, and the railroad opened for business in 1903 operating with 625 Volts. At that time, the railroad only ran from Hazleton to Ashley. In 1907, trains began running all the way to Wilkes-Barre via a 1040-foot long viaduct that was 34 feet high.
The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad ran freight trains and passenger trains alternately. From Hazleton to West Hazleton, the railroad used tracks belonging to the Lehigh Traction Company. From West Hazelton, the railroad went past Conyngham Gap, Butler Mountain, Buck Mountain and into the valley of Nescopeck Creek. Upon leaving the Nescopeck Creek valley, it went up Nescopeck Mountain via Nescopeck Pass, then descended into the valley of Big Wapwallopen Creek. The railroad went up Penobscot Mountain, tunneling through it at 1300 feet above sea level. The route then went down the mountain and past Sugar Gap and Solomon Creek to the community of Ashley.
In Ashley, the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad connected to the tracks of the Wilkes-Barre Traction Company. The route was 26 miles long, but was later extended into downtown Wilkes-Barre via Georgetown. The crossing of the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway over Black Creek is a very large three-arch viaduct made of stone. Slightly over two miles north of the railroad's southern terminus, there is an interchange to the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
All service on the railroad stopped on September 17, and power to the rail line was removed on October 3, 1933, after a final attempt to save the railroad from bankruptcy failed.
