Perhaps you have met Dominic “Dom” Keating if you are out walking on the Countryside Conservatory Trail, which is on the line of the Northern Electric Railroad, or the trail at South Abington Park. He might stop to say hello and tell you about the many railroad lines he has walked. He has walked hundreds of miles and visited many states, but he hasn’t left Pennsylvania.
“My wife Francie got me to go walking,” he said. “When I first started walking, I’d only walk a mile. I started walking the rail trails in February of 2016 and I walked 4 miles a day for 9 days. That trail was the Hoboken, New Jersey to Dover, New Jersey Line. I use ‘The Official Guide of Railways’ to plan each rail line I walk. A wonderful man from Minnesota, who was the uncle of the late Janet Suraci of Clarks Green who was my cousin knew of my interests in railroads from his visits to Scranton. ‘Uncle Harold’ sent me the January 1961 official guide after his visit here in December of 1960. He loved traveling by train and was very knowledgably about railroads in general. After his death, his heirs in Minnesota sent me the guide and a 1957 issue. Harold put a tag on it to send it to me before his death. I remain extremely grateful to him.”
After each walk, he records the rail line he walked and the miles. He has walked more than 11,212 miles from when he started from Feb. 20, 2016, to today and has visited 33 of the 48 states that are connected by a rail line. He estimated he has worn through 23 pairs of sneakers.
He has walked the Nickle Plate for a total of 524 miles, The Canadian Pacific for 11300, the Chicago Eastern Illinois to Evansville for 53 miles and The Transcontinental which took him to San Francisco California, Omaha, Nebraska, Chicago, Illinois and Scranton, Kansas.
Keating would like to walk the New England to Michigan Upper Peninsula Soo Line which would take him through the states of South and North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington. He’d also like to walk across the Hudson on a former New Haven Railroad bridge. That links Poughkeepsie and Highland Falls, New York.
“When I retired from Pardo Cigar which is a family business, I wanted to do three things. The first was the completion of the Lackawanna Heritage Trail from Old Forge to Simpson, 2nd get passenger train service back in Scranton which will run to New York City and 3rd to restore the Scranton transit 505 which is the last streetcar to run in Scranton.”
Rail service between Scranton and Hoboken, New Jersey, ended on Jan. 5, 1970. He has a photo of an Amtrack train that arrived in Scranton in 1979 as part of a project to inspect the rail lines between Hoboken and Scranton.
Keating is a board member of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority Board.
He graduated from Scranton Preparatory School, College of the Holy Cross and Dickinson School of Law.
His late wife is Cathy Keating. He is married to Frances Durkin. Their children are Phoebe, Catherine, James, Francie, Jody, Barbara, Pat and the late Maria.
Their grandchildren are Jackson, Dominic, Rain, Kai, Gracie, Madeline, Casey, J.T., Julia, Jack, Henry, Quinn and Charlie.
“Trails are a pathway to improved good health and may be enjoyed for little expenditure. It motivates me to go out and walk every day. It becomes part of your life and you meet so many nice people along the trail,” said Keating.
