Former DL&W Dansbury Depot in East Stroudsburg PA. Has been slated for demolition. Built in 1856 it has served as the towns focal point for It's entire existence. It was damaged by a fire in October of 2009 and has been sold to a developer who has plans to demolish the remains of the building and replace it with a 4 story multi use building. At this time there is a temporary injunction to hold off on the demo in hopes that another buyer will be found. Most likely the building will see the wrecking ball in about a month. I ran up to the depot to get some shots of it before it was razed.[attachment=5373]
It was served by a two track main with a small yard. The line still See's some freight service, but except for the occasional excursion train there is no longer any passenger service.
This pic shows the restaurant section that was damaged by the fire.[attachment=5372]

This is the street side of the building.[attachment=5371]
The building is located at 50 Crystal st East Stroudsburg Pa.

There is also a interlocking tower and a steal water tower that was used to fill locomotive tenders. They are both located on the same property.[attachment=5376] [attachment=5375][attachment=5374]

What a shame! i'm all in favor of progress, except at the expense of History!

I stayed with my grand parents in East Stroudsburg for a few weeks one summer ... I was about three, maybe four. Granddad used to take me up to that station every morning and every afternoon to see the Phoebe Snow go through town. I still remember the day that there was steam on the point going North in the morning and a new shiney, colorfull diesel on the head end going south in the afternoon. The diesel was pretty, yes, but it lacked the massiveness of the drivers, the motion of the side rods and valve gear and the feeling that the steam engine was alive, as you could hear the fire in the firebox and the pumps and the steam escaping here and there ... and those first couple of "chuffs" that you could feel in your chest as it began to roll forward leaving the station! It really did seem to be alive! (Granddad and I would always walk to the front of the train to "inspect" the steam locomotive.) As pretty and shiney as the diesels were, I soon missed listening to the steam locomotive engineers "play" their steam whistles as they passed through town (both there in East Stroudsburg and in Millersburg, along the Susquehanna, where we lived) at night as I was falling asleep!

Let's hope the injuction holds and a buyer with a better appreciation of the history of that town and its Depot surfaces to save that neat old building!

Sometimes you wonder how these "fires" start. Could be a developer looking for an easy way to justify their clearing the land for something else. Preservation is not in their vocabulary, and that's a shame. I hope at least someone steps forward and is able to move and restore this structure.

ezdays Wrote:Sometimes you wonder how these "fires" start. Could be a developer looking for an easy way to justify their clearing the land for something else. Preservation is not in their vocabulary, and that's a shame. I hope at least someone steps forward and is able to move and restore this structure.

Of all the predatory species that have ever existed, or exist today, one, Homo Sapiens, is the only life form that kills for profit.
Isn't it wonderful to be so unique.

A few years back, a developer wanted to develop an area of forest around Flagstaff, AZ. Locals objected to the removal of large pine trees for the new development. Then one day, I read the trees had to be removed because they were a "hazard". Someone had taken a chain saw and cut about 3/4 of the at through many of the trees, and now they were "unsafe" during a windstorm. I don't know if they ever caught who cut through the trees, but I have little doubt who was behind it.

These things happen more frequently than we would like. Once is too many times, but how many times have you seen a furniture store that wasn't doing well at all, get hit by "lightning" or have a water pipe burst ruining everything in the store? A member of our county board of supervisors demolished a home in a historic district one night (yes, she did it under cover of darkness), and went "ooopps" when told she didn't have a demo permit or the proper authorization to destroy the historic structure. She went, "ooops" again when they slapped her wrist and gave her a stern warning not to do it again, but now she can develop the property, much like those people up in Flagstaff. What they should have done is make these people restore their property to it's original state.

Since you have seen the Depot in it's earlier days Bil., I'm I right in my assumption that there was a 2 track main with a small yard or sidings. From walking around the aria that looks like that was there.

e-paw Wrote:Since you have seen the Depot in it's earlier days Bil., I'm I right in my assumption that there was a 2 track main with a small yard or sidings. From walking around the aria that looks like that was there.

Wish I could remember when I was 3 or 4

Great idea about the photos, wouldn't doubt it'll be
Demo'd though

Now it was about sixty-two years ago ... so ... :?

I can't speak to a small yard, but I definately do recall that there were two tracks out there off the edge of the platform. And I remember walking, holding Granddad's hand, all the way to the right-hand end of the platform to see the locomotive on the near track (which I seem to recall was the southbound track.)

Other than that ... i was very young and it was long ago.

(I do remember my grandmother grumbling to herself as she hurried to bring in the white wash as soon as she heard the next train blowing its whistle for grade crossings coming into town so the sheets wouldn't look like Dalmations. Their house was only a couple of blocks from the station - I could walk there as a three- or four-year-old)

It is uncanny that I can remember things from when I was that young! I used to describe things and my father would say, "How do you remember that? You couldn't have been more than three or four years old!" But then, I am an extremely visual kind of person!

looks like this is it for the Depot. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS0953">http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.d ... y=NEWS0953</a><!-- m -->

Totally Disgusting!

And how convenient that it was on the National Historic Register and could not be razed to build some undoubtably out-of-place, architecturally repulsive new multi-function (read that as "performs many functions - none very successfully!") so there was ... a fire ... ohh ... what a shame ... and all that fire damage ... it'll have to be condemned ... but, gee, now we can build this multi-function building ...

I have no doubt the was some back room politics involved there ... possibly as far back as last July or August ... I mean, I did read that the fire was this October ... 8-)

What a shame! When I last saw that little town, probably 18 years ago, it still looked much as it had back in 1948 or '49 when I used to go to that station with my grandfather! There are any number of little towns in upstate Pennsylvania that still look as they did back when they were first built. I think "quaint" is the word best used to describe them.

At the risk of gettin' booted off the forum....

Those m*&^$##g SOB's.....got away with it AGAIN.... :evil:

Steamtrains Wrote:At the risk of gettin' booted off the forum....

Those m*&^$##g SOB's.....got away with it AGAIN.... :evil:

Looks like they did..

How's that song go?

The City Council met last night, the vote was four to three
To tear the home town depot down and build a factory
To take that stretch of history and tear it off the map
And to take old engine number nine and turn it into scrap