This is how the D&H began. Before the Delaware and Hudson was a railroad, it was a canal used to transport coal between its namesake rivers. The coal originated in the rich deposits between Carbondale and Scranton, and was transported to Honesdale, PA via a spectacular gravity railroad system. From Honesdale, the coal was transferred into barges and moved along the D&H Canal for 108 miles to Rondout, NY (located near Kingston). The canal was constructed between 1825 and 1828, and was in operation until 1899 (pieces of the canal were sporadically operated for a few years after official abandonment). Locks were constructed in places where the canal needed to change elevation. A lock is an enclosed basin with watertight gates at either end, separating bodies of water at different elevations. One gate is opened (with the other remaining closed) to either flood or drain the lock. This allows a vessel to be raised or lowered, depending on direction of travel. This is Lock 23 (there were 108 locks total), located in Kimbles, PA.

Photographed by Rich Kugel, December 6, 2008.
Added to the photo archive by Rich Kugel, March 3, 2009.
Railroad: Delaware & Hudson.

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