Blairstown Railway

Blairstown Railway

Company type	Railroad company
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1877
Founder	John I. Blair
Defunct	1963
Headquarters	Blairstown, New Jersey , United States
Products	Rail transport services

The Blairstown Railway (BRWY), inaugurated in 1877, spanned roughly 12 miles connecting Blairstown to Delaware, New Jersey. This single-track railroad was established under the direction of railroad tycoon John I. Blair, a notable business leader and founder recognized for his tactical approach within the rail sector.

History

The BRWY commenced at what is now Footbridge Park in Blairstown and concluded at the Lackawanna Railroad station situated between Clinton and Clarence Streets in Delaware. The line never extended beyond its original stretch. Although local legend claims Blair constructed the railway to accommodate his wife’s trips to New York City, this seems improbable given his well-known fiscal conservatism. More likely, Blair’s intent was to block rival railroads—the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad and the Lehigh and New England Railroad—from establishing routes through Blairstown by launching the BRWY first.

Blair’s strategic planning yielded results when, in 1881, the New Jersey Midland Railway expanded its tracks to link with the BRWY, allowing continuous train service. Thereafter, both the NYS&W (the successor to New Jersey Midland) and L&NE gained trackage rights over portions of the BRWY, turning this branch into a moderately utilized mainline for these smaller rail companies.

Nonetheless, Blair’s anticipation that the BRWY would act as a comprehensive connector to the Lackawanna Railroad materialized only partially. The L&NE operated approximately six miles of track up to Hainesburg Junction, while NYS&W ran about nine miles reaching Columbia Junction near today’s Interstate 80; past these junctions, the line toward Delaware remained a minor spur. Blair died in 1899 at age 97.

In 1911, Blairstown acquired a second station on the Lackawanna Cut-Off, located roughly a mile away from Blair’s initial station. The southern segment stretching from Hainesburg to Delaware—known as the Delaware Branch—was abandoned in 1928. After L&NE declared bankruptcy in 1961, rails west of Hainesburg Junction were dismantled. By 1963, NYS&W removed tracks between Sparta Junction and Blairstown. The former railway corridor from Sparta Junction to Knowlton Township, New Jersey was converted into the Paulinskill Valley Trail by the late 1980s.

This narrative highlights John I. Blair’s strategic business maneuvers that shaped regional rail connections and competitive dynamics within the northeastern United States railroad industry.

Remains

The original Blairstown train depot was situated where Footbridge Park exists today. The park’s parking area once served as a compact railyard containing passing sidings, a turntable, an engine house, and a coaling dock—which still stands. The present footbridge spanning the Paulinskill River, dedicated by Blair shortly before his passing, linked Blairstown to the station and subsequently to what became Footbridge Park.

Most of the Blairstown Railway’s route from Blairstown to Delaware remains discernible despite some segments being lost. The right-of-way from Footbridge Park extending toward Blairstown Airport survives as part of the Paulinskill Valley Trail but is interrupted by airport grounds. This trail continues three miles southward, passing beneath both the Paulins Kill Viaduct and Interstate 80 through a pipe tunnel before terminating near a power dam on the Paulinskill River at Columbia.

Beyond this termination point, private ownership fragments much of the right-of-way; additionally, U.S. Route 46’s expansion along Delaware River’s edge toward Delaware town has largely obliterated it. Until 2012, one prominent surviving feature was a deep rock cut along US Route 46 on Delaware’s southern perimeter; it was removed that year to make way for a Gary Gray Trucking parking facility. This cut illustrated Blair’s deliberate decision to end his railroad at Delaware Station rather than directly opposite it. Another vestige is a partially filled turntable pit located near Delaware Road northeast of the village. The Lackawanna Railroad station in Delaware was torn down in 1968, with Warren Railroad tracks removed by 1970.

Sources

• Susquehanna - New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad, authored by John Krause and Ed Crist, published by Carstens Publications in 1980.
• Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports, Volume 33, issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission through the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1931 Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad