In 1826, the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company began work on a 17-mile Gravity Railroad linking anthracite fields near Carbondale, PA with the terminus of the D&H canal at Honesdale, PA. The 4'3" guage line was completed in 1829. It used a series of inclined planes where stationary engines provided cable haulage for loaded coal cars, pulling them up over the ridge of the Moosic Mountains (a 950 foot elevation change). From the summit, cars rolled down to the D&H canal basin at Honesdale using the force of gravity (thence the name). At Honesdale, coal was transferred to mule-drawn barges for the trip to Kingston, NY where it was transferred again to larger Hudson River boats for the trip to New York City. For it's time, this multi-modal transportation system was a major engineering feat. There were also "return planes" allowing empty coal cars to be returned to the top of the ridge where they rolled down to Carbondale in the reverse direction (using a separate track).
Alterations and improvements were made to the gravity railroad in 1841-1844 and in 1856 and 1866, but the odd guage of 4 ft. 3 inches remained until 1899 when the route was standard guaged. Line relocations and the advent of heavier power made it possible to eliminate the inclined planes in both directions. From that point on, trains ran over the hill using locomotive power all the way. The D&H abandoned its Honesdale branch in 1931 -- although Honesdale continued to be served by the Erie from it's line along teh Delaware River at Lackawaxen, PA. The canal itself was abandoned at the turn of the century when direct rail haulage made the little barges obsolete.
In 1860, several extensions were made to the D&H gravity railroad lines and locomotives were employed to move the trains one these lines. An early D&H roster shows a setof 4'3" 4-4-0's, an
0-6-0 and two 0-4-0's. The locomotives were used to bring in the coal to Carbondale and assemble trains for the inclined planes. While the D&H gravity railroad was primarily used to move coal, passenger and excursion services were also provided. As many as six trains a day ran over the ridge between Carbondale and Honesdale. The gravity railroad passenger trains were allowed a 35 mph speed on their downhill run. The crew was a Conductor and two brakemen, who controlled the speed of the rolling cars with hand brakes. One of the little coaches is currently on display at Honesdale.
Your listing properly shows the three guages -- 6 ft for the Erie, 4'3" for the D&H gravity railroad, and 4'8 1/2' for other D&H lines at Carbondale.
Hope this answers your question -- and by the way, this operation makes the D&H another of the many Class 1 railroads that had narrow guage ooerations.
