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Lehigh Valley System.
[No place or publisher, ca. 1896.]. Chromolithograph, 58.75 x 53 cm, plus margins. A fine and very scarce promotional map of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and its various spurs, featuring vignettes of notable locales and picturesque views along the route. Chartered in 1846 for the purpose of hauling anthracite coal from Pennsylvania’s coal fields, the Lehigh Valley Railroad started carrying passengers between Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey in the 1890s. This map shows the numerous stops in these three states. Rail lines are shown stemming from New York City and Philadelphia in the bottom-right and end in the upper-left at Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and Niagara Falls. During its heyday, the cities of Ithaca and Geneva produced many passengers for the Lehigh Valley’s double track mainline to Buffalo. A series of lovely vignettes on this map depict the Susquehanna River, Mauch Chunk (present-day Jim Thorpe, PA), Seneca Lake, the Musconetcong Tunnel, Wyoming Valley, the Glen Summit Hotel, Lake Cayuga, Lake Erie, and the towering Niagara Falls; two quarries are also denoted near the Slatington stop. In various picturesque scenes trains are shown chugging along lake and river shores and passing through small towns. Featured at the bottom are the logos of both the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Black Diamond Express, the latter the Valley’s most famous passenger train, whose first run took place on 18 May 1896. A luxury train replete with kitchens and skilled chefs, the 315-ft. long Diamond traveled from New York City to Buffalo and was the fastest of all the line’s trains. Coaches featured plush velvet chairs, lavatories for both sexes and a spacious smoking room. The final car accommodated twenty-eight passengers and boasted a parlor as well as an observation platform. The train was dubbed the “Honeymoon Express for its appeal to newlyweds venturing to Niagara Falls. In 1911, a tragic accident on the Lehigh Valley resulted in 29 deaths and 62 injuries. Following WWII, railroad service declined on the LV and throughout America more broadly. On 11 May 1959 the Diamond undertook its final trip. No copies recorded in WorldCat. REFERENCES: Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society. Lehigh Valley Railroad History at lvrrhs.org CONDITION: Very good, expertly re-margined along bottom edge, reinforced on verso with Japanese tissue, a few tiny spots of soiling, faint dampstains along bottom edge of printed area, but no effect on image.
Item #5063
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