Pittston Yard
Encyclopedia
Pittston Yard, formerly Coxton Yard, was built in 1870 by the Lehigh Valley Railroad
as a hub to move coal from the Pennsylvania coal mines to Eastern markets. The railyard is located in the Borough of Duryea, PA, which in the greater Pittston, PA area. The railyard declined in usage during the 20th century and was largely unused by the start of the 21st century.
In late 2009 and early 2010, The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad expanded operations due to the emergence of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Reading & Northern Railroad spent $100,000 to transform the Pittston Yard to a sand transloading facility to transfer sand from rail cars to trucks, which is then used by natural gas well drillers in the Marcellus Shale region. The upgrades to the railyard included laying new track to accommodate 100 new rail cars and constructing a facility to store and hold up to 800 cars of sand to be used in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” operations at Marcellus Shale drill sites throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Old Duryea railroad yard taking on new life
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
as a hub to move coal from the Pennsylvania coal mines to Eastern markets. The railyard is located in the Borough of Duryea, PA, which in the greater Pittston, PA area. The railyard declined in usage during the 20th century and was largely unused by the start of the 21st century.
In late 2009 and early 2010, The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad expanded operations due to the emergence of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Reading & Northern Railroad spent $100,000 to transform the Pittston Yard to a sand transloading facility to transfer sand from rail cars to trucks, which is then used by natural gas well drillers in the Marcellus Shale region. The upgrades to the railyard included laying new track to accommodate 100 new rail cars and constructing a facility to store and hold up to 800 cars of sand to be used in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” operations at Marcellus Shale drill sites throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Old Duryea railroad yard taking on new life