Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway

rdf:langString Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway

rdf:langString Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway

rdf:langString Hazleton, Pennsylvania

rdf:langString Cannon Ball

rdf:langString Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

rdf:langString Converted to road

rdf:langString Guarded third rail

rdf:langString The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway (also known as the Cannon Ball) was an electric railway in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania connecting the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. It operated from 1903 to 1933 using a third rail and had no grade crossings. It was approximately thirty miles long and had one tunnel between Warrior Run and Nuangola through Penobscot Knob which Interstate 81 now crosses. Prominent Hazleton banker and coal-mine owner Alvan Markle obtained a railway-company charter in 1892 and the Wilkes-Barre & Hazleton Railroad incorporated in New Jersey in 1899. Service opened from Hazleton to Ashley in 1903 but did not reach Wilkes-Barre until the 1907 completion of a 3rd-floor downtown station with a viaduct 34 feet in height and 1040 feet in length. General Electric had the contract for providing the electrification infrastructure. The completion of Route 309 greatly shortened the trip between Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton by road, leading to the Interstate Commerce Commission approval of abandonment in 1933. The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad allowed faster travel between Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre than the 50-mile journey along the Lehigh Valley Railroad that was used previously. The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway consisted of 24.76 miles of railway line for the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway Company, 3.3 miles of railway line for the Wilkes-Barre Terminal Railroad Company, and 1.64 miles of railway line for the Lehigh Traction Company. This totalled to 29.70 miles of railway line.