EMRR - The Eagles Mere Railroad

"The Eagles Mere Railroad was built in 1892 to transport visitors. Eight miles long, this narrow gauge railroad ran from Sonestown, in a valley to the east, to Eagles Mere.

During much of its 35 years of operation, the railroad ran four round trips each day during the summer. No passenger service was offered between September and June and for a number of years freight trains ran year-round. But by 1924 cars were increasing in popularity and only one passenger train was operated on weekdays and there was no scheduled service on Sundays. In that year, only 2,133 passengers used the line, down significantly from previous years.

On Nov. 16 1926, the worst rainstorm in the history of Sullivan County washed out the railroad's Bully Run trestle, and repairs were not made.  Two ears later the line was sold to a Williamsport scrap dealer."

 From an article entitled The Town That Time Forgot  - By Richard Funk

Map showing the Eagles Mere RR Line, and Wenonah Falls

"The scenery along the Eagles Mere R.R. is famed for it's picturesque wilderness.  Numerous cascades and gorges, vast forest, and wide ranges of mountains renter the place full of attractions for visitors."

December 1898, Star Gazette Elmira New York

See more photos of Wenonah Falls here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2022/10/wenonah-falls-along-eagles-mere-railroad.html

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1984

At Sonestown

The Sullivan Republican, April 1892

At the area of the photo shown, on the hike in 2022. 

Closer look at the old photo, below:

1896 Train Schedule

1898  Eagles Mere RR Pass

The Wilkes Barre Times Leader, January 1900

Eagles Mere Locomotive #4 ready to depart for Sonestown.

July 1902

On February 5 1904, the engine left the track near Sonestown.  Two were killed in the crash.

Williamsport Sun Gazette, February 1904

At Wenonah Falls

July 1904

A Group From Williamsport Traveled To Eagles Mere

Another description of a 1904 trip to Eagles Mere

Scene along the narrow gauge railroad,  Eagles Mere, 1905

In Receivership, Feb 1910

Sonestown Station

April 1911

August 1912

Passenger transfer at the Eagles Mere Depot.  Stages met the train and delivered the passengers to the various hotels.  Photo circa 1905 - just after the Crestmont , shown on th the hill in the background, was completed

"The Eagles Mere railroad has been extended so that suppliers can now be unloaded directly from the cars into the store rooms. "

Williamsport Sun Gazette, July 1917

The Miltonian, 1922

In 1921 the railroad was sold in receivership.  In 1922 it was owned by  "the hotel interest of Eagles Mere and Eagles Mere Park"

J.W. Naylor, August 22nd 1922
In a letter sent to his hometown newspaper about his visit to Eagles Mere

The Climax Locomotive ran on the narrow gauge line to Eagles Mere from Sonestown.  The Climax was a geared locomotive designed to handle steep grades and sharp curves.

July 1924

October 1924

Sold to the Junk Man

August 1 1928

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MODEL OF THE RAILROAD

At Eagles Mere

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2005

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Eagles Mere Railroad Company Bond, 1912

June 1893

Dickenson College Trip

December 1898, Star Gazette Elmira New York

July 1901

April 1911

1968

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"Muncy Valley Lifeline" by Thomas T. Taber III 

History of a Pennsylvania short-line railroad, the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad and its subsidiary, the Eagles Mere Railroad. The W&NB extended from a connection with the Reading Railway at Halls Station, in Lycoming County, a distance of 44 miles to Satterfield, in Sullivan County, where in connected with the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The Eagles Mere Railroad was an eight-mile narrow gauge road that extended from a connection with the W&NB at Sonestown to the resort town of Eagles Mere. To quote, in part, from the book's preface, the two railroads "... provided, while not a typical short line railroad in the United States, certainly a unique "All American" line. Physically located in both valleys and mountainous terrain, its standard and narrow gauge lines operated both rod and geared locomotives. The W&NB operated an extensive passenger and freight service for the many small towns and the wide variety of industrial and mining enterprises. The history of the railroad is more than just a story of a railroad; it also portrays the economic, social, and cultural effects upon the area and the many persons who were its employees."

The Susquehanna & Eagles Mere RR, at Masten Pa