The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad

The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad

ReviewThis comprehensive work chronicles the actions through almost 100 years, to its bankruptcy in 1976. (Scale Rails)It's a case study in inventiveness brought about by determination. (Trains)This book is what a railroad history should be-a deft mix of corporate history with more than a dash, no, a generous dollop, of the operational details that bring a railroad to life. I highly recommend it. (Railfan and Railroad)Mohowski has an almost spiritual passion and innate ability to transform often-mundane decades of 'corporate' history into a living breathing entity. (Don Spiro Railroad Model Craftsman)Overall this is an enjoyable and interesting work... The author has undertaken an impressive amount of primary source research, and it is doubtful that anyone will ever write a more detailed history of this company... The author is to be commended for his accuracy, organization, and dispassionate objectivity... It is certainly a worthwhile read for anyone interested in railroading in the northeastern United States. (Albert Churella Enterprise and Society)Mohowski has studied extensively the little-known NYS&W. There is no question that he has made a contribution to railroad history. (H. Roger Grant EH.Net)A solidly researched narrative history of the railroad from the inception of its predecessors through to the present... Required reading for scholars of eastern railroads. (Colin Divall Journal of Transport History)An initiation into the realm of railroad histories and railroad enthusiasts... A must read. (Thomas A. Rumney Pennsylvania Geographer)This is a well-written, detailed history of a railroad that was, if not a major player in America's railway history, very much a conspicuous one by virtue of its location in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region. Unusually-and for railway historians and enthusiasts, importantly-Robert E. Mohowski devotes much of his attention to the decline of the New York, Susquehanna & Western, and its managers' efforts to reverse the company's fading fortunes. Mohowski's discussion of the railroad's introduction of innovative self-propelled cars and their operational history in this regard is especially excellent. (George W. Hilton, author of The Ma & Pa: A History of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad)The story of the New York, Susquehanna & Western is a fascinating addition to American railroad corporate history. During its century-long existence, the company engaged in unusual efforts to develop the use of internal combustion engines and streamlined passenger cars, and this, too, is part of the NYS&W story. Those of us who enjoy railroad history owe Robert E. Mohowski a debt of appreciation for the research he has done and the generous act of compiling it for the rest of us. (John W. Barriger IV, from the Foreword)This engaging... volume is the first in-depth history of the line and is illustrated with historic black and white photos both of its freight and passenger operations. (Susan O'Brien S Gaugian / Sn3 Modeler)The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad arose in 1881 through the merger of several smaller railway companies that linked the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania to the industrial centers of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. Immediately successful in the coal business, the NYS&W also attracted tourists by promoting the beauty and rural charm of the Delaware Water Gap and building picnic facilities for same-day excursions from both ends of the line. The company's fortunes rose through the 1920s, fell in the 1930s, surged in the 1940s as it became one of the region's busiest and most innovative passenger lines, and slowly declined from the 1950s until finally passing into bankruptcy in 1976 and reorganization into a regional freight hauler.As expertly and engagingly told in this heavily illustrated book-the first in-depth history of the line-the story of the NYS&W vividly illustrates the challenges faced by the many