DL&W Railroad Station
The Nicholson Heritage Association is raising funds to renovate the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad’s (DL&W) Nicholson Station, located right off Route 11. This landmark has been a virtually unchanged fixture in Nicholson for more than 160 years.
In August 2011, we won a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh grant that was used, in conjunction with donations from individuals and businesses, towards the purchase of the station, finalized on June 27, 2012. We've also applied for a PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant through the Endless Mountains Heritage Region to help defray the costs of a feasibility study, the next phase of our project.
In addition to the many individual donations that we've received, we would also like to thank the following for their generosity of donations to this project:
Airline Petroleum
Canadian Pacific
Facet Cycling LLC
First National Bank
First Presbyterian Church (Nicholson, PA)
Geisinger Medical Group
Golf Tournaments - Craig Smith
Golf Tournament - Matthew Lochen
H & D Waste
Lech's Pharmacy
M&R Trucking
Nicholson Alumni Association
Nicholson Women's Club
Pepsi (Refresh Project)
Peoples Neighborhood Bank
Union Grange #152
United Methodist Church Mission Group (Nicholson, PA)
United Methodist Women
Built in 1849 by the Liggett’s Gap Railroad, one of DL&W’s predecessors, the railroad station was the first station built on the Scranton, PA to Great Bend, PA line. Before being used as a freight and passenger station, the building was used to house and feed transient workers. In 1855, the local U.S. Post Office was moved to the station, at which time the name of the settlement was changed from Baconville (sometimes also referred to as Bacontown) to Nicholson. In May 1878, the first telephone service in Northeastern Pennsylvania was opened between the station in Nicholson and the DL&W station in Scranton, about 21 miles south. Nicholson was not the same once the railroad was built.
Until the completion of the Clarks Summit-Hallstead Cut-off in 1915, Nicholson was the low point on the rail line and four locomotives were kept here near the station at all times to push trains out of the valley. After the Cut-off was finished in 1915, the railroad station handled freight service only and passenger service was then provided from the new station built on the hill near the recently completed Tunkhannock Viaduct, or Nicholson Bridge.
Members of the Association have met representatives from Preservation Pennsylvania, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development, Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation, the Endless Mountains Heritage Region, and the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission to garner technical and financial support. We'll continue to foster these relationships, as well as continue to garner support within the community and region.
We are excited about spearheading this initiative and want to encourage innovative partnerships and approaches to the historic preservation of this station with local, state, and federal partners, individuals, and other organizations. By working together, we can preserve this historical, cultural building and promote economic revitalization within our town and region.
News about our efforts:
The Abington Journal - July 27, 2011
WBRE Eyewitness News - February 11, 2011
Wyoming County Press Examiner - January 26, 2011
The Abington Journal - January 19, 2011
Times Tribune - January 17, 2011
Wyoming County Press Examiner - July 7, 2010
Thank you for your support!