Welcome to Vintage Railroad Postcards!

Thank you for stopping by! This is the blog for the Russell P. Panecki Collection of vintage railroad-related postcards. The entire collection consists of nearly one thousand so far with images dating from circa 1904 to the 1950s. To leave a comment, ask a question, to contribute or correct historical information, a comment box is located to the left for your convenience.

Each page, including this homepage, has an index located in the lower portion of the page. In addition to the index, posts were updated with historical information, new postcards added from storage files, while some posts were completely rewritten or edited for corrections. Three articles have been added and are worth reading. They include how vintage postcards were made, the history of Pennsylvania Station, and the history of Grand Central Terminal.

My apologies, but the postcards in my collection and on this blog are not available for sale, copying, or for contribution to projects. Please keep in mind that I reserve all rights to the images and content of this blog.

Sunday, January 7, 2024


Along the Delaware Valley Line


It's train time in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania circa 1915 on the Delaware Valley Railroad. The DVRR was organized in 1897, track was laid in 1901, and operated over twelve miles of track between East Stroudsburg and Bushkill in eastern Pennsylvania. The line interchanged with both the PRR and the DL&W and it's main business was to transport tourists to local resorts located along the route, although LCL freight, milk, and mail was carried as well. The DVRR operated a number of second hand locomotives in its history supplied by an arrangement with the DL&W and one was bought and then returned to the NYS&W. Research indicates that only a few boxcars were built for the line and that it owned several passenger cars. Riders destined for the resorts, however, could board cars originating from points on the PRR and that road's cars would be forwarded to the DVRR through the interchange tracks and then hauled along the route. PRR passengers would then never have to change trains or leave their cars until they reached a station. The DVRR saw its most activity in the '20s with service beginning to drop off in the early '30s. Eventually, the well-worn single steam locomotive, likely built by either Rogers or Baldwin in the late 1800s, was replaced with a Plymouth diesel for whatever freight hauling came along. The line finally stopped operating and the tracks were torn up in 1937. In this circa 1915 view, we see a mixed train made up of DVRR combine and boxcar coupled to passenger cars from the PRR. Because there wasn't a turntable or wye at the end of the line at Bushkill, No. 4 operated in a push-pull capacity. A rare look at a long-gone-and-forgotton railroad remembered only through a postcard.


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