Editing Blairstown, New Jersey (section)

===Railroads===
[[File:Blairstown Station.jpg|thumb|The former [[New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad]] station site in Blairstown in October 2011]]
The [[Lackawanna Cut-Off]], a high-speed, double-track railway line that stretches for {{convert|28.45|mi}}, was constructed by the [[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad]] between 1908 and 1911, opening for service on December 24, 1911. It ran west from [[Port Morris, New Jersey]] to [[Slateford, Pennsylvania]] and passed through Blairstown. The DL&W RR merged with the [[Erie Railroad]] on October 17, 1960, to form the [[Erie Lackawanna Railroad]]. Due to declining revenues, passenger service over the Lackawanna Cut-Off was discontinued on January 6, 1970, and freight service ceased in 1979, just three years after the E-L was absorbed into the Consolidated Railroad Corporation ([[Conrail]]). The tracks remained relatively-dormant until 1984, when the property was sold to a developer and the rails were removed.

The right-of-way is now the property of the State of New Jersey, and plans are underway for the restoration of rail service in the future. As part of [[Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project|restoring train service]] by [[New Jersey Transit]] via the [[Lackawanna Cut-Off]], $61 million had been secured to restore railbed and tracks of the former railroad, with passenger service anticipated to be restored in 2026 or 2027.<ref name=opening-date>{{cite news | last = Krawczeniuk | first = Borys | date = June 29, 2020 | url = https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/no-new-money-for-nyc-passenger-train-in-new-jersey-plan/article_d173b15d-7f35-5359-a282-b623c65e246a.html| title = No new money for NYC passenger train in New Jersey plan | work = The Times-Tribune |location=Scranton, Pennsylvania}}</ref> Blairstown's poured concrete [[Blairstown station|passenger and freight stations]] still stand, although privately owned. The restored service plans include a stop at the Blairstown station as part of extension of Amtrak service to the [[Pocono Mountains|Poconos]] and [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]].<ref>William C. Vantuono, 'Railway Age,' July 21, 2021, "Amtrak, Scranton to New York City?" https://www.railwayage.com/news/amtrak-scranton-to-new-york-city/</ref>

Blairstown was also served by a second railroad, the [[Blairstown Railway]]. The short line, a personal project of the local industrial magnate [[John Insley Blair]], was constructed in 1876 from Blairstown to [[Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey|Delaware Township]], where it connected with the [[Lackawanna Old Road|Old Main Line]] of the Lackawanna RR. The Blairstown Railway was absorbed by the [[New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad]] in 1882 as it built west to the coal fields of Pennsylvania. The NYS&W also operated passenger service between Blairstown and New York (via Jersey City, NJ) until 1935. A third railroad, the [[Lehigh and New England Railroad]], operated through Blairstown via trackage rights over the NYS&W between Swartswood Junction and Hainesburg Junction until October 31, 1961, when the L&NE was abandoned. With the loss of L&NE trackage rights revenues and little local business to sustain the line, the NYS&W also abandoned its line through Blairstown shortly thereafter, and the tracks were removed in 1962. The right-of-way today has been preserved by the State of New Jersey as the {{convert|26|mi|adj=on}} long [[Paulinskill Valley Trail]].