|
Postcard History Series Mountain View Trolley Line by William Rogers Jr SoftCov
Mountain View Trolley Line by William E Rogers Jr
Soft Cover
127 pages
Copyright 2009
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments6
Introduction 7
1. Need for Transportation9
2. Mountain View Trolley 53
3. Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg Area85
4. The Missing Trolley Line 113
INTRODUCTION
The Mountain View Trolley came into existence because of the beautiful area of the Delaware Water Gap. The establishment of a settlement began with the arrival of Antoine Dutot in 1793. He was a French plantation owner who fled Santa Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, because of the slave uprising. He arrived in Philadelphia where he was advised to go north to settle his own village. He purchased his own tract of land and traveled north until he arrived at the gap between the mountains. He built a few wooden structures and named the small village Dutotsburg, which never became the thriving inland city that he envisioned. People starting coming to the area in the next few years to enjoy the beautiful scenery and fresh air the area had to offer. The first tourists started to stay in local homes for months at a time, which gave Dutot an idea. He started the construction of the first hotel in the area in 1829. By 1832, Dutot ran out of money and sold the unfinished hotel to Samuel Snyder, who continued construction and named the new hotel the Kittatinny. William Broadhead and his brother Luke rented the Kittatinny and later bought the hotel and expanded it from 1841 to 1851. The first time the hotel opened it held 25 guests. When all the construction was finished by 1860, the hotel could hold 250 guests.
After the Civil War, the need arose for reconstruction and a place for people to escape the horror of war. The Delaware Water Gap area became a popular area for people to visit. Before the Civil War, an increase of tourism showed a need to expand transportation from a stagecoach to train lines. William Trousdale, owner of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) established a line from Scranton to the Delaware Water Gap area in 1853. Dutotsburg disappeared, and the borough of Delaware Water Gap emerged because of the dominating geological feature. The southern half of the DL&W was completed on May 27, 1856, connecting a train from New York City to Delaware Water Gap for a six-hour journey. Now, with the expansion of transportation in the area, there came a local need for transporting customers, workers, and citizens in the area. Some local businesspeople saw the need and established the Mountain View Trolley to begin transporting customers and schoolchildren from Delaware Water Gap to Stroudsburg on July 10, 1907.
The trolley was the main source of transportation for getting from Philadelphia to the Delaware Water Gap area, and the railroads refused to let the trolley lines cross their rail service to restrict competition. But the Lehigh Valley Traction Company invested $50,000 to form the Water Gap and Portland Street Railway Company, which would connect Portland to Delaware Water Gap. On February 21, 1911, this new company dynamited the narrowest portion at the tip of the gap, which was blocked by rock coming off the mountain. Once this portion was cleared, track was laid from Portland to Delaware Water Gap on what is now Route 611 on the Pennsylvania side. By October 1911, trolley service was running from Stroudsburg to Portland.
During this time period, the Lehigh Valley Traction Company had made arrangements for its trolleys to use the Philadelphia and Western Railway Company line running from Upper Darby all the way to Portland without changing cars. The riders of the car coming from the Philadelphia area had a choice to dine in the following towns on the way up to Portland: Allentown, Rittersville, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. Because the Lehigh and New England Railroad would not allow the trolley lines to cross its tracks in Portland, passengers on the trolley had to get off and board the Water Gap and Portland Trolley to continue the rest of the way to Delaware Water Gap and beyond. In 1917, the Stroudsburg Traction Company was formed from the Stroudsburg, Water Gap and Portland Railway Company. This company ran from 1917 until 1928 when the bus service started to dominate the region.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
US Shipments: Ebay will add $1.25 each additional items, there are a few exceptions.
Ebay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and forwarded to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs / import fees. Refunds may be issued if you add multiple items to your cart and pay with one payment. For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping varies by weight.
Payment options
Payment must be received within 7 days. Paypal is accepted.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us first. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.
Thanks for looking at our items.
| 
