Lehigh Railway

The Shortline railroads of Owego, New York.
Page 6 - The Lehigh Railway.

(much more detail on each locomotive is below)

The creation of the Lehigh Railway in late 2008 was the catalist for putting this entire "Shortlines of Owego" webpage collection together! It has always bothered me that I didnt keep better track of the TC/TS/OH operations in Owego these past 20 years..I have been driving through Owego quite a lot since the late 1980's, always stopping by the yard to check things out whenever i'm in the area..but I never bothered to keep an accurate record or roster.

no excuses this time!
I plan to keep tabs on the Lehigh Railway roster from day-1!

News first reached the internet in mid-2008 about a possible new shortline to operate the Norfolk Southern "Lehigh Line" south out of Sayre, PA. By October 2008 the rumour was confirmed as true! and the Owego & Harford is going to set up a new shortline, calling it the "Lehigh Railway" which will lease and operate the former LV mainline from Norfolk Southern between the Sayre yard and Mehoopany, PA, where it meets the Reading & Northern.

The interchange point with NS is technically listed as Athens, not Sayre, beause the actual division point is going to be MP 269.5, which is near the South Main street crossing in Athens, just west of the Chemung River bridge. however the interchange yard will likely be the yard area immediately south of the Sayre passenger station and the Packer Ave bridge, which will remain on the "NS side"

(update..further developments show the base of operations is Towanda, not Sayre as originally
assumed.)

Norfolk Southern will continue to operate the main portion of the Sayre yard, from MP 269.5, north past the Sayre station, and north to Waverly. The new Lehigh Railway will technically not extend north of MP 269.5, although there are provisions for the Lehigh Railway to stray onto NS rails up into the interchange yard and perhaps to the former LV engine terminal/walkbridge area, for switching purposes.

Excting news for Sayre! from a railfan perspective, this promises to be very interesting!
much more interesting than the black NS GE widecabs that have been about the only thing to inhabit Sayre for the last decade..

The two LRWY units arrived in Sayre on January 21, 2009, and operations began a few days later..see the timeline below for more details.

For a history of this line, and the history of the railroads in the Waverly/Sayre/Athens
area, check out my "A History of The Valley Railroads" slideshow map.
I now need to update that map for 2009! :) History never sleeps..

2008 - Summer - the first vague hints that something is happening for Sayre are first heard.
however there are no real details yet.

2008 - September 5 - the first mention of the O&H running the NS Lehigh Secondary
hits the internet.

2008 - October 28 - Its official! no longer in the rumour catagory!
           the Owego & Harford is going to create a new line based in Sayre, PA (technically
   Athens) The new railroad, the "Lehigh Railway", LRWY, is planned to lease and
           operate the NS "Lehigh Line" (former LVRR mainline) between Athens and Mehoopany,
   PA. The new railroad is scheduled to begin service in early 2009.

2008 - December, Susquehanna sells two of its locomotives, GE U23B 2302 and 2304.
but sold to who? ;) (we now know it was the LRWY!)

2009 - January 5, the first "sneak peek" of a Lehigh Railway locomotive hits the internet!
           "Kingfish" confirms that the former NYSW 2302 and 2304 have been sold to the
            Lehigh Railway. as of early January, both are still at the NYSW Utica shop, being
            repainted from their former P&W Orange & Black scheme into the solid black scheme
            of the "O&H family" lines.

           These two U23B's are members of the last order of U-boats built for North America!
           they are part of Conrail's 10-unit 1977 U23B order, built right before dash-7 production
           began. Sister unit CR 2798 is "The last U-boat" and is now preserved at the
           Railroad Museum of New England, in Thomaston, CT.

2009 - January 17 - The two Lehigh Railway units, 2302 and 2304, have been painted,
            and the first photos of the two units together appear on-line..
            Two photos by Joseph Sakovitch, taken January 17, 2009 in Binghamton:
            http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nysw/nysw2302jsb.jpg
               http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nysw/nysw2302jsc.jpg

2009 - January 21 - the units arrive in Sayre!

2009 - January 23 - First known operation of a LRWY train, using NS 5101 and 5158,
both high-hood GP38-2's

2009 - January 24 - The LRWY U-boats are seen in Towanda, and it is determined that the
LRWY base of operations is going to be Towanda, PA, not Sayre or Athens.

2009 - February 9 - First recorded operation of a LRWY train using the LRWY U-boats.

2009 - February 10 - First photos of the LRWY units in service hit the internet,
The Lehigh Railway is up and running!

For the first year of the Lehigh Railway's existance, the railroad operated with the two U-boats,
2302 and 2304. Nothing much changed until:

2010 - January 7 - a Reading & Northern unit arrives in Towanda! R&N 802 is photographed
          in Towanda by Steve Hall. R&N 802 happens to be Lehigh Valley 253!
           The Reading & Northern has bought the TMSL, and will begin using R&N power in
           Towanda, replacing TMSL SW1 number 26, which has been operating
            in Towanda with the TMSL since 1977..the fate of TMSL 26 is not yet known. The R&N
            purchase of the TMSL was effective December 2009, ending the 33 year history of
the TMSL. the main reason for the R&N interest is the huge demand building up right
            now for "Frac sand", which is hauled by railroads. Hydrofracking has come to Bradford
County. The R&N will operate the former TMSL on the old LV State Line & Sullivan
   branch, between Towanda and Monroeton, and the LRWY (also now heavily involved
in the "frac sand" business) is operating the former LV mainline between Sayre &
Mehoopany.

2010 - September 15 - A third unit arrives on the Lehigh Railway! another U23B, the new
           LRWY 2300. This unit sneaks onto the LRWY from the south, coming from RMDI
           in Pittston. The new unit is serial No. 41585, the ex-BDLX 2205, P&W 2205,
           nee Conrail 2790, built in May 1977, and like her two sisters, is a member of the
           "Last U-boat" order. (Conrail ordered the last U-boats ever built, a 10-unit order place
           in 1977, CR 2789 - 2798. LRWY now has three of the ten.

2010 - September 26 - And news of the 4th, 5th and 6th units arrives! Three GP40's this time,
also from the P&W. (Providence & Worcester) These three news units will become
LS 3001, 3002 and 3003.

2010 - October 20 - the first GP40 is spotted being delivered to the LRWY in Sayre, lettered
as LS 3003. and on October 24th, the other two GP40's were spotted in Waverly.

2010 - December 19 - LRWY 2302, one of the first two locomotives, leaves the LRWY and
heads over to sister railroad Owego & Harford in Owego, NY. This shuffling of power
is also related to the large building up of the Frac sand business. a new frac sand
transloading facility is being built in Owego. 2302's reporting marks change from LRWY
to LS 2302 for the move to Owego.

2011 - January - Two of the GP40's are operating on the Lehigh Railway, 3001 and 3003.
            Number 3002 is still being worked on at RMDI in Pittston, but it is believed
            that she will join her two sisters on the LRWY when she returns to service.
            The three GP40's arrived with LS reporting marks, but it is *not* believed
            the units are actually intended to work on the Luzerne & Susquehanna.

Concerning those LS reporting marks:

The story is that ALL locomotives coming to the Luzerne & Susquehanna, Owego & Harford, or Lehigh Railway, ALL get LS reporting marks when they move over the Class-1's for delivery..but this does *not* mean they are all in fact coming to, or destined for, the L&S itself.. In the case of the three ex-P&W GP40's, all arrived with LS reporting marks, but probably none of them are intended to work on the L&S railroad itself..it is believed all three are meant for the Lehigh Railway..two are currently working with the LRWY, 3001 and 3003, and 3002 is still undergoing some work in Pittston, and will likely join her two sisters on the Lehigh Railway once she is returned to service..

2011 - May - Two more locomotives for the Lehigh Railway! The 7th and 8th locomotives for the
railroad. Two former CP-Rail SD40-2 locomotives. 5700 and 5721.

2011 - July - GP40's 3001 and 3003 are repainted from their P&W Orange schemes into
LRWY Black. 3002 is still in the shop at RMDI in Pittston.

2011 - July - SD40-2's 5700 and 5721 have also been repainted into Lehigh Railway black!