Lackawanna Railroad and A Phoebe Snow Coaster

WHEN Phoebe Laub was little, she loved to watch the Lackawanna Railroad's ''Phoebe Snow'' train go by her family's home in Teaneck. One day, she promised herself, she would become Phoebe Snow. And she did. The train, which once travelled between Buffalo and Hoboken, is a legend among railway buffs. Ms. Snow, who still lives in New Jersey, and whose latest CD, ''Natural Wonder'' (Eagle Records), her first since 1998, was just released, has become a kind of legend too. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of 395 miles (636 km). Incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853 primarily for the purpose of providing a connection between the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and the large markets for coal in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both East and West, eventually linking Buffalo with New York City. Photo copyright © Stan Feldman 2001-2022