Hey. Wednesday is back, and so am I. I trust that everyone on the forum is staying healthy. 
As things are re-opening and we are learning new ways of socializing, I took to the road last week to meet up with a friend, and we explored the restoration work on the train station in Nicholson, PA. It dates to 1849, when the Liggett's Gap Railroad, later to be called the Delaware Lackawanna & Western RR, was laying tracks north of Scranton, PA.
The left hand side overhang was cut back in the 1940s as the road was widened. The road is the original right of way of the dual tracked, 6-foot gauge DL&W. The restoration is making the building handicap accessible, too.
As the rail line was relocated in 1915, and the right of way sold to the state to become a highway, the passenger end of the depot was kept in its original condition for the most part. My friend and I, and a neighbor were masked as we walked through the building.
The second floor was built as a boarding place for track workers, and then used for other purposes over the years. Mostly, it was used for record storage. It was decommissioned by the railroad, if I remember correctly, around 1950. Passenger trains would take the new route after 1915, and only freight trains would come into town after that point.
In the second story, we found several of these wooden spikes holding the beams in place with the walls.
The bypass, which includes the 240 foot high Tunkhannock Creek viaduct, opened in November, 1915, is only a few steps away.
We waited for the Sun to get lower, so that we would see more of the building in better light, and then we headed back to his home.
There are still several relics of Nicholson's heyday as a farming village. Mostly, the trade was in dairy products. But, when the railroad ran directly through town, about five small hotels near the station did very good business. The Nicholson house is one of two left standing. It is about 200 yards from the depot.
Another train station of sorts is about 2 blocks from the DL&W station, and has been preserved in a park for quite some time. An interurban railroad called the Northern Electric ran from Scranton to Montrose. The right of way is still used by the electric utilities, and the depot still stands.
And just a few blocks from the town is this cemetery which allows for this brilliant view of the Tunkhannock Creek viaduct. As usual, whenever I am in Nicholson, no train runs over the line. Maybe next time.
Thank you for indulging, and I hope you have a chance to head out and take pictures of the real railroad world around us. Have a great week.
