Stourbridge Lion to the Stourbridge Line

Traces the history of the Stourbridge Lion, America’s first steam locomotive, and the railroads shaping northeastern Pennsylvania’s Stourbridge Line.Stourbridge Lion to the Stourbridge Line begins with the Stourbridge Lion, the first run of a steam locomotive in the United States on August 8, 1829, making a round trip between Honesdale and Seely's Mills, Pennsylvania. The Delaware & Hudson Railroad (which replaced the gravity railroad in 1899), Erie Lackawanna Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), along with the smaller railroads (Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad, New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad, and Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad) are included in this book along with The Stourbridge Line which covers a nine-mile line between Honesdale and Hawley, Pennsylvania, of the former Erie Railroad, which once had direct railroad passenger service from Honesdale, Pennsylvania, to New York City.

Beth Anne Keates, a dedicated historian, with the encouragement of her family, has had a lifelong interest in rail transportation and annually marches as Betsy Ross, leading the parade as the Regent of the Lansdowne Chapter, Daughters of American Revolution in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.

Kenneth C. Springirth, with a lifelong interest in rail transportation. Born and raised in the United States, he commuted to Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia by trolley car, subway, and sometimes commuter train. His father was a trolley car motorman in Philadelphia, and his grandfather was a trolley car motorman in Washington D.C. A detailed researcher, Ken's interest in rail transportation by 2013 has culminated in writing 20 books on trolley car systems and railroads covering a variety of locations.