DL&WRRHS 2022 Symposium
The Tri-State Railway Historical Society and BDP Holdings, LLC have teamed up to sponsor the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Historical Society’s 2022 Symposium at the newly reopened Montclair Terminal.
Built in 1912, this Terminal was intended to make a statement. And so will this Symposium as we celebrate the Terminal’s 110th Anniversary. This event also carries a theme of honoring DL&W architectural team member William H. Bottsford as we visit three structures upon which he worked and created the illustrations. Montclair was home to many DL&W officers and those of other major railroads, which helped warrant such a grand edifice. It’s a perfect location for Lackawanna historians to visit the east-end sites that were so important. And we’ll get a tour of the Montclair Terminal like no other, as BDP Holdings prepares the area for a large redevelopement that will preserve the Terminal while improving this part of Montclair. The DL&WRRHS will be the first outside group to use the Terminal building for such a gathering.
The main event is Saturday, October 1st as we meet at the historic Montclair Terminal, 1 Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair, NJ, 07042. There will be artifact displays, a full day of presentations under the trainshed, a walking tour of the Terminal and a catered lunch and dinner.
Friday, September 30th, there will be a chartered bus tour of significant Lackawanna sites in Northwest New Jersey. The bus will depart the Montclair Terminal at 8:00 a.m. SHARP. The tour will conclude at 4:15 p.m. at the Montclair Terminal. The itinerary includes visits to:
The station at Greendell, NJ, along Lackawanna’s New Jersey Cut-Off, recently under the care of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee, will be our first stop. The DL&WRRHS will be the first formal guests for this new era at Greendell.
Next, we’ll visit the Lake Hopatcong Station, which recently completed an award-winning restoration. The station will be open just for us, and be sure to use the urinal, an original artifact from 1912. While there, we’ll also visit the nearby Lake Hopatcong Museum and its massive collection of pictures and displays related to the Lackawanna Railroad’s role in the iron mining, tourism and ice traffic of that era.
Then we’ll be off to the Station at Mountain Lakes, that today operates as an upscale restaurant. We’ll be there for the first Boonton Line westbound Train, No.1001. Mountain Lakes and Lake Hopatcong are sister stations, with similar design elements and stone work. Interestingly, all of the stations visited this day were illustrated by DL&W architect William H. Bottsford. Lackawanna sent him to Europe to study architecture, and his passage home in 1912 was booked aboard the Titanic. Based on 40 bus passengers, the cost of the tour will be $30 per person, thanks to a significant contribution. This price includes a stipend for the Lake Hopatcong Museum which is opening exclusively for us on that day. The Station at Mountain Lakes has a special menu for us in the $25 range, but basic soups and salads can be ordered off the menu in the $10 range. The corn chowder is world class. Mountain Lakes also features a cash bar. A price adjustment may be necessary depending on fuel prices for the bus.
Symposium agenda, Saturday, October 1st
8:30 a.m.: Registration
9:00 a.m. to Noon: Morning presentations
Noon to 1:00 p.m.: Luncheon / buffet
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Afternoon presentations
4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: DL&WRRHS annual meeting
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Social hour with cash bar
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.: Buffet dinner with keynote speaker, Mike Wikman. Food options can include buffet offerings or ordering off of the regular menu. Prices are reasonable and portions are large, in the $15-$30 range.
Several vendor display tables will be available on Saturday, October 1st at a cost of $25 per table. Please call Jerry Bower at 716-907-0835.
Presentation Schedule:
Dave Placek: Owner of Montclair Terminal, will talk about plans for the Terminal area.
Scott Lupia: Owner of KV Car Shops, presenting on Modeling the DL&W places and equipment.
Dave Rush: DL&W station sign making and type-styles (Son and grandson of DL&W steam men, he made station signs and lettered tenders for the Lackawanna Railroad in his youth).
Theodore Xakellis: History of various Morris & Essex Train Stations.
Kent Loudon: DL&W imagery with audio recordings of Andover Junction and Denville Tower.
Keith Smollin/Chuck Walsh: Presenting the latest news about the Lackawanna Cut-Off progress and the Greendell Station restoration plans.
Mike Del Vecchio, Moderator: Tri-State’s long-time president will summarize evolution of rail history groups in New Jersey relative to the Lackawanna. And he’ll briefly talk about Tri-State’s role in the restoration of the Montclair Terminal project and the return of Lackawanna m.u. car 2628.
Keynote/Dinner Banquet Speaker:
Mike Wikman, Tri-State RHS’s first President. He started as a DL&W Towerman at Montclair in 1955 before going into engine service, working later for EL, CNJ, Amtrak and numerous short lines. He was the engineer on the 1979 Amtrak Train over the Cut-off, the last train to traverse the entire route to Scranton. He’s a gifted speaker with a tremendous memory, coming to us from San Antonio.
Displays and their owners:
Gerry Geisler - Hardware display with signs and more authentic artifacts marked DL&W than we ever knew existed.
Scott Lupia -- Modeling the Lackawanna
Dave Rush – Station sign design and tradition
SUNDAY, October 2nd: See the easternmost end of the Lackawanna this day. We plan to provide a guide, but this tour is dutch treat using existing NJ Transit schedules and fares. Our plan includes:
Riding NJ Transit from the Bay Street-Montclair rail station to Newark-Broad Street, whose station has been restored and is on the register of historic places.
Ride the train to the magnificently restored Hoboken Terminal, where the original ferry slips are again in use for today’s NY Waterway ferries.
Ride the NY Waterway Ferry to the World Financial Center in New York City to see DL&W corporate headquarters building at 140 Cedar Street (90 West Street). This walking tour will include the famous “Oculus,” and Freedom Tower and the site of 50 Church Street, the area where every major railroad had a downtown office. While we cannot access 140 Cedar Street since the building is now a residential edifice, a handout will show the building and its location, and Lackawanna’s location within the building, something rarely seen by Lackawanna historians.
Ride back to Hoboken on NY Waterway and see the restored “ERIE-LACKAWANNA” sign on the ferry terminal along with the restored and working clock tower.
These trips will be on regular working NJ Transit scheduled trains, which usually use 40-year-old Arrow III MU’s, the silver multiple-unit cars that replaced the Edison-era electrics in 1983.
Symposium rates and fares
The Saturday events are being offered for one $35 fare. Lunch and dinner options are ala carte. Participants can order from either menu or buffet options. Some light snacks will be available during the day.
Symposium Lodging Options
Participants can make their own arrangements at the official Symposium lodging:
LaQuinta Inn & Suites
265 NJ Route 3 East
Clifton, NJ 07014
973-778-6500
When reserving your room, mention the “Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Historical Society” to get the preferred discounted rate, good through August 24th, 2022. LaQuinta has set aside 15 Double Rooms at $124/night plus tax. They also have 5 King rooms at $134/night plus tax. The hotel is willing to increase the number of rooms depending on how many book reservations and subject to availability. The hotel is approximately a 15-minute drive to the Montclair Terminal, depending on traffic.
Other hotels in the area:
The MC Hotel, 690 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair, NJ 07042- 973-329-5500. Walking distance to the Montclair Terminal, above $200/night.
The Cambria Hotel West Orange, 12 Rooney Circle, West Orange, NJ 07052- 862-233-4980, a 12–15-minute ride to Montclair.
Residence Inn by Marriott West Orange, 107 Prospect Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052- 973-669-4700, a 12-15-minute ride to Montclair.
Courtyard by Marriott West Orange, 8 Rooney Circle, West Orange, NJ 07052- 973-669-4725, a 12-15-minute ride to Montclair.
Wilshire Grand Hotel, 350 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052- 973-731-7007, a 12-15-ride to Montclair.
Westminster Hotel, 550 West Mount Pleasant Ave, Livingston, NJ 07039- 973-533-0600, a 10-12-minute ride to Montclair.
The DL&WRRHS Board and Symposium Committee looks forward to seeing all of you there for this once-in-a-lifetime venue. After our symposium, the trainshed will be removed to expose the authentic open space of the terminal trackage and the major construction could begin, to be completed in 2024.