1917 Last updated on June 06, 2014. Manuscripts and Archives Department
Table of Contents Summary Information...3 Biography/History...3 Scope and Contents... 5 Arrangement...5 Administrative Information... 5 Related Materials... 6 Controlled Access Headings...6 - Page 2 -
Summary Information Repository Hagley Museum and Library: Manuscripts and Archives Department Creator Lehigh Valley Railroad Company Title Call number 1917 Date 1847-1971 Extent 10 linear feet Language English Abstract The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company was one of the major anthracite railroads and formed a secondary trunk line between Jersey City, New Jersey and Buffalo, New York. Their records consist of minute books, corporate histories, voluntary reorganization plans, and an illustrated brochure on Claremont Terminal. Biography/History The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company on April 21, 1846, the name being changed on Jan. 7, 1853. It was one of the major anthracite railroads and formed a secondary trunk line between Jersey City, N.J., and Buffalo, N.Y. The railroad's original function was to serve as an outlet from the Lehigh Anthracite Region to tidewater by building along the Lehigh River from Mauch Chunk to Easton, Pa. At Easton it connected with the Central Railroad of New Jersey to reach New York City and with the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad to - Page 3 -
reach Trenton and Philadelphia. Construction began in 1851 under the management of coal operator Asa Packer and was completed in September 1855. Packer became president in 1862 and served until his death in 1879 with control remaining in the Packer family. During the 1860s, the company extended its control over several important feeder lines in the coal fields. In 1867 the Lehigh Valley completed an extension into the Wyoming Coal Field at Wilkes-Barre. Packer purchased the flood-damaged North Branch Canal in 1865 and completed a railroad on its towpath from Wilkes-Barre to Waverly, N.Y. in 1869, connecting with the Erie Railway to Buffalo and developing a market for coal in the cities of the Great Lakes. In 1871 the Lehigh Valley began to plan for its own route from Easton to New York Harbor. It purchased the Morris Canal, primarily to obtain valuable terminal properties in Jersey City. In 1875 the Easton & Amboy was completed to a coal terminal at Perth Amboy. An extension to Jersey City was not completed until the early 1890s. During the 1870s and 1880s, the Lehigh Valley secured control over a group of railroads in central New York State, extending its reach to Ithaca, Auburn and Geneva and to North Fair Haven on Lake Ontario, whence coal was shipped to Toronto and other Canadian cities. The Lehigh Valley completed its own line to the Buffalo gateway in 1892. Many of the Lehigh Valley's predecessor companies in the coal regions also had mining privileges. Between 1867 and 1875 the company greatly increased its acreage of coal lands and leases in the Lehigh, Mahanoy and Wyoming Coal Fields. Most of these operations were centralized under the subsidiary Lehigh Valley Coal Company, which for a time was the second-largest anthracite mining firm. Control of the coal subsidiaries was relinquished in the early 1920s following government prosecution of the anthracite railroads under the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Hepburn Act. The company also owned a fleet of ships operating on the Great Lakes which it disposed of in 1917 under the provisions of the Panama Canal Act. The Morgan interests acquired control of the Lehigh Valley from the Packer heirs in 1897 as part of their reorganization of the anthracite roads. With the breakup of the coal trust and the growth of the railroad consolidation movement in the 1920s, L. F. Loree of the Delaware & Hudson attempted to buy the Lehigh Valley for inclusion in his proposed fifth eastern system in 1927. Failing in the attempt, he sold his substantial minority interest to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1928. The PRR made no attempt to absorb the Lehigh Valley but held the stock to keep the company out of unfriendly hands. The company suffered from the collapse of the anthracite industry that began in the late 1920s and accelerated after 1945. The Lehigh Valley was one of the first large railroads to eliminate all passenger service (1961). In 1962 the PRR increased its interest in the Lehigh Valley to 90%, but it was unable to provide any meaningful support. With the failure of Penn Central, the Lehigh Valley entered bankruptcy on June 24, 1970. The viable parts of the line lying east of Waverly were sold to Conrail on April 1, 1976, and the rest were abandoned. A reorganization plan was approved on July 16, 1982, under which the company was liquidated by sale and distribution of assets. - Page 4 -
Scope and Contents The records of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company consist of duplicate corporate records formerly in the custody of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The principal series is a duplicate set of the company's minute books (1847-1927, 1929-1971) containing meetings of the board of managers. The minutes give an overview of major developments in the company's history, including mergers, agreements, mortgages, appointments, financial performance and changes to road and equipment. The corporate histories include copies of charters, leases and agreements and mortgages. There are two compilations, the corporate history prepared for the Interstate Commerce Commission valuation in 1916, and a corporation book maintained by the corporate secretary. These give the life span and statistics for most of the companies in the Lehigh Valley system. The former is limited to railroad companies and includes data on the construction of each segment of the line. The latter includes data on coal, water, real estate and shipping companies, as well as those railroad companies that did not construct any road. The miscellany consists of copies of several voluntary reorganization plans (1939-1949) and an illustrated brochure (circa 1930) on Clermont Terminal at Jersey City. Arrangement Series I. Minute books; Series II. Corporate histories; Series III. Miscellany. Administrative Information Manuscripts and Archives Department Access Restrictions Use of this collection is subject to some restrictions. Please contact an archivist. Use Restrictions Literary rights retained by depositor. - Page 5 -
Related Materials Related Material Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, P.O. Box 1026, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1026. Controlled Access Headings Corporate Name(s) Bay Shore Connecting Railroad Company. Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company. Buffalo Creek Railroad Company. Canal Railroad Company. Central Railroad Company of New Jersey. Coal Ridge Improvement and Coal Company. Connell Coal Company. Consolidated Real Estate Company. Coxe Brothers & Company, Incorporated. Delano Land Company. Delaware, Susquehanna, and Schuylkill Rail Road Company. Easton and Amboy Railroad Company. Easton and Northern Railroad Company. Elmira, Cortland and Northern Railroad Company. Glen Summit Hotel and Land Company. Greenville and Hudson Railway Company. Hazleton Coal Company. Highland Coal Company. Ironton Railroad Company. Irvington Railroad Company. Jersey City Belt Line Railway Company. Lehigh and Hudson River Railway Company. Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad Company. Lehigh and New York Railroad Company. Lehigh Luzerne Railroad Company. Lehigh Valley Coal Company. Lehigh Valley Harbor Terminal Railway Company. - Page 6 -
Lehigh Valley Rail Way Company. Lehigh Valley Railroad Company of New Jersey. Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. Lehigh Valley Terminal Railway Company. Lehigh Valley Transportation Company. Lehigh-Buffalo Terminal Railway Corporation. Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company. Loyalsock Railroad Company. Mansion House Hotel Company (Mauch Chunk, Pa.). Middle Coal Company. Middlesex Valley Railroad Company. Mineral Spring Coal Company. Montrose Railroad Company. Montrose Railway Company. Morris Canal and Banking Company. Mutual Transit Company. National Docks Railway Company. National Storage Company (Jersey City, N.J.). New York and Middle Coal Field Railroad and Coal Company. Newark Bay Railway Company. Niagara Junction Railway Company. Orange County Railroad Company. Owasco River Railway. Packer Coal Company. Penn Haven and White Haven Railroad Company. Pennsylvania and New York Canal and Rail Road Company. Philadelphia Coal Company. Philadelphia Grain Elevator Company. Pioneer Real Estate Company. Righter Coal Company. Rochester Southern Railroad Company. Roselle and South Plainfield Railway Company. Schuylkill and Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. Seneca Coal Company. State Line and Sullivan Railroad Company. Temple Iron Company. United Real Estate Company. Warrior Run Mining Co. Westwood Coal Company. Wilkes-Barre and Harvey's Lake Railroad Company. Wyoming Coal and Land Company. Wyoming Transport Company. Wyoming Valley Coal Company. Wyoming Valley Water Supply Company (Pa.). - Page 7 -
Geographic Name(s) Hudson County (N.J.)--Railroad terminals. New Jersey--Railroads. Pennsylvania--Railroads. Personal Name(s) Brown, Revelle W. (Revelle Wilson), 1883-1980. Fell, J. Gillingham (Joseph Gillingham), 1816-1878. Gerard, Felix R. (Felix Roy). Kerr, Duncan J. (Duncan John), 1883-1940. Loomis, E. E., 1865?-1937. Major, Cedric A. (Cedric Aylwin), 1891-1961. Packer, Asa, 1805-1879. Packer, Harry E., 1850-1884. Sayre, Robert H. (Robert Heysham), 1824-1907. Thomas, E.B. (Eben Briggs), 1839-1919. Walter, Alfred, 1851-1907. Wilbur, E. P. (Elisha Packer), 1833-1910. Williams, Albert N. (Albert Nathaniel), 1888-1961. Subject(s) Anthracite coal industry. Railroads--Finance. Railroads--Mergers. Railroads--New Jersey. Railroads--New York (State). Railroads--Pennsylvania. - Page 8 -