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150:" (the number is variously given as 10 or 13). More exotically, the railroad devised a system—variously described as "movable bridges" or "a suspended aerial cableway"—that carried track from the completed portion of the embankment into the air above the uncompleted portions. A locomotive would push a string of
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Construction on the Cut-Off began August 1, 1908. The foundation for the three-mile (4.8 km) Pequest Fill was constructed of 6.625 million cubic yards of fill material, far more than could be provided by classic cut-and-fill techniques. (These require a relatively even balance between the amount
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and the
Pequest Fill, whose picture generally accompanied the articles. The Fill was touted as the highest railroad embankment in the world, having an average height of 105 feet as measured from the level of the Pequest River at its crossing. Its volume was also a new record, far surpassing the 4
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of dirt and rock material that is removed from an area of the right-of-way to provide a cut through a hill and the needs of a nearby fill.) So the railroad bought 760 acres of farmland and dug it out to a depth of about 20 feet (6 m), thereby obtaining some 4.5 million cubic yards of fill.
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While they were constructing the Cut-Off, the
Huntsville Schoolhouse was purchased by the railroad. While adding the fill to the Cut-Off, workers buried the schoolhouse under tons of rock as the schoolchildren stood on a distant hillside and cheered.
29:, nears completion in summer 1911. In this eastward view, the edge of the borrow pit is visible to the right. Andover Station will be built at the far end of the Fill, where the right-of-way begins to curve to the right, about three miles away.
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and hire contractors. The 28.6-mile (46-km) Cut-Off project was divided among seven contractors. Whether by design or happenstance, the responsibility for building the
Pequest Fill was divided roughly in half between
99:, the Pequest Fill was one of several remarkable features of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, a project that aimed to reduce the length, grades, and curvature of the railroad's main line over the hilly terrain between
197:. In the years that followed, the railroad often touted the Fill in its newspaper advertisements ("heaviest piece of railroad construction in the world"), even when the Cut-Off itself went unnamed.
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in favor of a bold, costly, yet operationally superior route across it. In order to maintain a more or less level grade across the valley, a fill of enormous proportions would be required to connect
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Construction wrapped up in autumn 1911. In the publicity blitz that accompanied the opening of the Cut-Off, newspapers across the country marveled at its engineering feats, particularly the
181:). There are no overhead bridges or grade crossings. The Route 206 tunnel accommodates an unnamed tributary of the Pequest River, which flows in a 338-foot culvert under the road surface.
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The westbound
Lackawanna Limited comes off the Fill in 1912, about one mile east of the Greendell station, whose siding is visible at bottom right. The photo became the basis for a
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Planning for the route continued through 1906; the final survey map for the line was completed on
September 1, allowing the railroad to proceed with
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also envisions replacing track westward across the
Pequest Fill, but no funding has been secured and no completion date projected.
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for three years. After discontinuing service, Conrail sought abandonment of the line and eventually removed the tracks in 1984.
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In 1985, the Cut-Off was sold to a land developer who proposed to use the
Pequest Fill for the now-defunct Westway Project in
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The railroad was two tracks wide on the Fill, except for the extreme western end, which included a short section of
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This 1910 photo shows how much of the fill was created: by dumping small skip cars of dirt from a suspended railway.
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354:, Larry Lowenthal and William T. Greenberg, Jr., Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., 1987.
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poster advertising the trimming of 11 miles from the ride to
Buffalo, New York.
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223:. That never occurred; by 2001, the Cut-Off had been acquired by the State of
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Siding. Tunnels through the fill were built to accommodate four roadways (
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The
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century
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327:"Pequest Fill, The Highest Railroad Embankment in World, 3 Miles Long"
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and three county roads), two railroad rights-of-way (the
Lackawanna's
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opened) until 1979 (when Conrail discontinued rail service). The
300:. Vol. 1. Muncy, PA: Privately printed. pp. 36–40.
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Taber, Thomas Townsend; Taber, Thomas Townsend III (1980).
84:, touted at its 1911 completion as the largest railroad
264:"Pequest Fill - The Lackawanna Cutoff - Then & Now"
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History of rail transportation in the United States
697:, 2021: Sussex Branch Tunnel under the Pequest Fill
421:"Sussex County Lost: New book on Lackawanna Cutoff"
703:, 2005: Lehigh & Hudson River Railway crossing
477:"Detours expected as Route 206 bridge is replaced"
88:and the highest railroad embankment in the world.
691:, 2012: Route 517 tunnel under the Pequest Fill
681:, undated: 4-8-4 locomotive draws train across
352:The Lackawanna Railroad in Northwest New Jersey
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193:railroad in its 1908 Lane's Cut-off west of
142:The construction of the Fill employed "huge
234:received approval to re-lay track between
68:will stand about a half-mile to the right.
446:"The Lackawanna Cutoff Historical Marker"
200:The Cut-Off was used from 1911 (when the
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91:Thought to have been the brainchild of
563:"The history at the end of the tunnel"
456:from the original on February 23, 2024
419:Wayne T., McCabe (November 26, 2017).
244:Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project
76:is a large railroad embankment on the
25:Construction of the Pequest Fill near
588:"DL&W Short Cut A Stupendous Job"
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475:Scruton, Bruce A. (October 1, 2021).
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189:million-plus cubic feet used by the
368:"Lackawanna's Big Cutoff Completed"
270:from the original on April 6, 2012
208:operated trains for 49 years; the
64:. In this northward view, the new
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683:Lehigh & Hudson River Railway
561:Pospisil, Stu (August 28, 2022).
175:Lehigh & Hudson River Railway
620:. November 15, 1921. p. 2.
333:. December 24, 1911. p. 45
542:. December 19, 1911. p. 3
400:. December 19, 1911. p. 1
374:. December 16, 1911. p. 8
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146:similar to those used on the
512:. July 13, 1908. p. 4.
16:Embankment in New Jersey, US
594:. July 12, 1908. p. 11
398:The Morris County Chronicle
394:"Great Feat of Engineering"
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614:"Lackawanna advertisement"
536:"New Cut Off Is a Wonder"
60:passes under the Fill in
210:Erie Lackawanna Railroad
101:Port Morris, New Jersey
27:Tranquility, New Jersey
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506:"Saving Half An Hour"
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206:Lackawanna Railroad
186:Paulinskill Viaduct
93:Lackawanna Railroad
722:Lackawanna Cut-Off
592:The New York Times
567:Omaha World-Herald
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212:for 16 years; and
202:Lackawanna Cut-Off
105:Delaware Water Gap
78:Lackawanna Cut-Off
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658:40.979°N 74.763°W
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58:US Route 206
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39:Phoebe Snow
711:Categories
649:74°45′47″W
646:40°58′44″N
250:References
232:NJ Transit
225:New Jersey
103:, and the
95:president
82:New Jersey
230:In 2011,
163:Greendell
152:skip cars
685:overpass
622:Archived
514:Archived
454:Archived
268:Archived
173:and the
240:Andover
214:Conrail
113:Andover
62:Andover
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302:ISBN
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