Olyphant, Pennsylvania — Queen City Station

Olyphant lies on the Lackawanna River about six miles northeast of downtown Scranton, in the heart of Pennsylvania's anthracite region; coal mining and shipping were its main employment and it was the headquarters of the Lackawanna Coal Company. The rails that carried that coal are still there. Today the line through the borough is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad's Carbondale Mainline, which runs "from Scranton northeast to the city of Carbondale on the former Delaware & Hudson Railway's Penn Division mainline". The track is owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority and operated under contract by Genesee Valley Transportation. A trackside account of this very station puts it plainly: "It is along the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) railroad which is used for freight service between Simpson and Scranton. This was part of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad."

Queen City Station itself is a modern platform, not a surviving depot. The Lackawanna Heritage Valley marker on Lackawanna Avenue (PA 347) records that "what was once undeveloped rail land has been transformed into Queen City Station", a station "dedicated October 26th, 1996" that "provides a gateway to the historic business district" and "serves as a loading platform for specific rail excursions". Olyphant was nicknamed the Queen City although it never incorporated as one — hence the name on the platform.

The operator worth watching for is the Delaware-Lackawanna, described as "a bastion for both rebuilding and operating 70+ year-old ALCo and MLW diesels on a daily basis" — a roster that has made an 88-mile short line a destination in its own right. Seasonal passenger movements over these lines are run in cooperation with Steamtown National Historic Site, the Electric City Trolley Museum and the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society; documented excursions loading at Queen City Station include the St. Patrick's Day Parade Train, the Veterans' Memorial Day Excursion, the Ghost Train and Santa's Train.