This old cabinet photo has written on its back "Junction of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, 1898", so it is likely the Wilkes-Barre & Eastern Railroad which was established in 1893 by the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad primarily to haul Pennsylvania coal to its northern markets, but it also moved ice from Pocono lakes and served passengers from northwestern Monroe County to Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Stroudsburg and to connections to New York City. This short passenger combination, pulled by a 4-4-0 engine of earlier vintage, has no route identification anywhere on the locomotive, tender or cars, only the number 7. If you are a rail enthusiast, you may find yourself wishing that more such ornamented locomotives from this era had not gone to the scrapyard, but then you think of the many formerly fine engines that are rusting away in parks and museums from lack of funds for upkeep or restoration. The W-B&E was the shortest line of its region, and its existence was also short – ceasing to operate in 1939.
Also identified in pencil: S. Cobb, engineer, James Lewsley, fireman, James Nickle, baggageman, Lewis Cook, conductor, Bryon P_____?, fireman. If that identification is left-to-right, the fellow with the shovel doesn't rate a name. It is always interesting, and often amusing, to note curious onlookers – unrelated to the photo being taken – standing far in the background facing the camera directly, obviously aware of what is taking place; in this case the man on the far right may be waiting for the train to move away from what appears to be the vehicle crossing.
I have attached the original state of this image below – not just a victim of age but also of a seller who shoved it into a shipping envelope with no cardboard protection whatsoever (adding extra hours to the restoration process)!
