DL&W’s primary differentiator: Anthracite.
How one railroad turned Pennsylvania coal into splendor.
Today, it’s hard to imagine coal as a luxury product. But at the height of American rail travel, anthracite wasn’t just freight; it was a selling point. For the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W), anthracite coal helped define a reputation for clean, comfortable, and modern service. It was also the reason the railroad existed in the first place.
Why anthracite mattered
Anthracite is the highest grade of coal, especially well-suited for rail travel. Unlike the more common coal (bituminous), anthracite burns hot and slow, generating very little smoke. Cleaner combustion meant there were fewer cinders, fewer sparks, and less soot in the air. These benefits mattered to everyday people who engaged with rail service, whether they were a worker shoveling coal into a firebox or a well-dressed passenger riding in a car behind the engine.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, when open windows and unsealed cabins were still the norm, passengers especially noticed the difference. A cleaner-burning fuel meant cleaner air, cleaner clothing, and less irritation in confined spaces. For the railroads, it meant a quieter, more efficient burn that produced steady heat and fewer mechanical problems.
A railroad built on coal
The DL&W railroad connected the anthracite-rich hills of eastern Pennsylvania to urban markets in New York and Buffalo. It grew into one of the most powerful anthracite railroads in the country, shipping a large portion of Pennsylvania’s coal production to key industrial and population centers.
By the turn of the century, the DL&W had expanded from using six-ton wooden “jimmies” to operating forty- and fifty-ton steel hopper cars. Coal-carrying carts were loaded from above and emptied from below, making it easier and faster to move coal at scale. Infrastructure kept pace with demand, improving efficiency at every step.
That investment in freight capacity also supported the railroad’s ambitions in passenger service. As revenue from anthracite shipments flowed in, DL&W poured resources into its stations, rolling stock, and amenities. Clean-burning coal helped deliver a cleaner passenger experience, and the company made sure riders knew it.
Comfort and reputation go hand-in-hand.
In an age when coal dust was unavoidable, the DL&W leaned into the contrast. Riding on a DL&W train meant arriving with your clothing clean, your mood unspoiled, and your luggage free from ash. The company’s reputation for cleanliness and care helped distinguish it from competitors, especially on commuter and intercity routes.
Anthracite became part of the railroad’s public identity. The comfort it offered, especially to well-dressed travelers in close quarters, became one of the DL&W’s most marketable qualities. The company built this promise into its legacy from day one.
The war years and beyond
By 1917, the year construction wrapped on Buffalo’s DL&W terminal, railroads were under enormous pressure. The United States had entered World War I, and troops and materials needed to move quickly and efficiently across the country. At its peak, the rail system included over 250,000 miles of track and employed nearly two million workers. Federal oversight temporarily replaced private operations to meet wartime demands. As passenger and freight service increased railroads increased their footprint on towns and cities throughout the United States - and no place more than the city of Buffalo. While increased rail service provided jobs and commerce, the stations and the tracks determined, defined, and often divided neighborhoods. None more so than the Old First Ward neighborhood of Buffalo surrounding the DL&W terminal.
Anthracite coal eventually became the primary fuel for freight and passenger locomotives across the Northeast. Railroads that could deliver cleaner, more reliable performance had an advantage, and the DL&W turned that idea into a successful business model.
