Scranton Railway

Scranton Railway Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Public transportation
Predecessor	Valley Passenger Railway, Scranton Passenger Railway, Dunmore Railway, Scranton Suburban Railway, People's Street Railway
Founded	1896
Defunct	1954
Fate	Ceased trolley operations; transitioned to bus service
Headquarters	Scranton , United States
Area served	Scranton, Dunmore, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Products	Electric trolley service

The Scranton Railway Company provided electric trolley service in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and its surrounding areas from 1896 until 1954.

Created to unify several independent trolley operators within Scranton and Lackawanna County, the company managed urban routes in both Scranton and Dunmore, as well as suburban lines stretching northward to Forest City and southward to Duryea and Pittston. Its trolley operations ceased entirely in 1954.

History

In 1896, the Scranton Railway was formed through the consolidation of five separate streetcar companies:

• Valley Passenger Railway
• Scranton Passenger Railway
• Dunmore Railway
• Scranton Suburban Railway
• Scranton Railway Company (previously known as People's Street Railway)

By the turn of the century, annual ridership reached 10.5 million passengers. Two years later, in 1902, the fleet included more than 100 streetcars.

In 1905, the American Railways Company (ARC), a holding entity owning various electric railroads such as the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway and the Springfield Railway Company, acquired control of the Scranton Railway. ARC had also expanded into electric utilities by merging with the Electric Company of America in 1901; this enterprise evolved into American Electric Power by 1958.

By 1907, the company possessed 47.63 miles of track and operated across more than 81.5 miles. Additionally, in 1910, it maintained a small fleet of five steam locomotives.

Passenger traffic climbed to 24 million by 1912. Among its prominent routes was the "Gateway to the Clouds," a notable 12-mile trip from downtown Scranton to the Lake Moosic resort area, utilizing leased tracks from the Scranton, Dunmore, and Moosic Lake Railroad.

During the 1920s, increasing competition from buses led to a decline in trolley usage. As a result, several extended suburban routes were discontinued: service between Scranton and Pittston ended in 1923, followed by termination of service from Old Forge to Duryea in 1925.

Ownership shifted between 1925 and 1928 when control passed first to National Public Service Corporation, then to Samuel Insull's Middle West Utilities Company. The latter's collapse in 1932 resulted in management by Municipal Service Company. In 1934, the enterprise reorganized under the name Scranton Transit Company.

Trolley operations concluded in 1954 when the system fully transitioned to bus service.

In November 1971, a strike by Scranton Transit bus drivers protesting wage reductions brought all operations to a halt permanently. The following year, bus services were taken over by the County of Lackawanna Transit System.