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Stourbridge TrainStepping onto the Stourbridge Line train takes you back into history. The train starts the ten mile ride in Honesdale, Pennsylvania which is the birthplace of the American railroad. On August 8, 1829 — 175 years ago — the Delaware & Hudson Railroad operated the first commercial locomotive on rails in the western hemisphere. The locomotive left from Honesdale and ran three miles to Seelyville and returned.
The ride today was longer — but not much. The excursion traveled along the Lackawaxen River to Hawley, Pennsylvania, just ten miles away. During the trip there was a staged robbery and some authentic looking visitors to the train. See photo gallery.

There is a lot of history in the area. Honesdale was originally the site of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company‘s boat basin. Millions of tons of anthracite coal were brought to the basin by the D&H’s gravity railroad from Carbondale and the Lackawanna Valley – about 15 miles away. From there the coal was loaded onto barges and then made a 108-mile journey to the Hudson River and on to New York City. The Delaware and Hudson (D & H) Canal was the first canal in this nation built as a private enterprise.