In the 1870s the New York Central feared that its rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, would use its position as the primary railroad serving the Pennsylvania coal fields to raise the price of coal.  This would be damaging to the New York Central as coal was the primary fuel used by all its locomotives.  To combat this threat the New York Central worked with a consortium of coal companies near Clearfield, PA to build a new line north to connect with the New York Central's main line at Lyons, New York.  While the route was built and operated by a number of independent companies, they all cooperated with the New York Central.

This route became known as the Fall Brook Railway or Fall Brook route because the Fall Brook Coal company was one of the major backers of the project. There were three main segments of this line: Lyons to Geneva, Geneva to Corning, and Corning to the Pennsylvania state line.

1896 Fall Brook Railway pass

History

The Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway was incorporated in 1870 to build a line from Williamsport to Port, PA Allegany, PA.  In 1884 the company's name was changed to the Pine Creek Railway.

The Syracuse, Geneva, and Corning Railroad was incorporated in 1875 and was completed in late 1877. It ran south from Geneva to Corning, NY where it connected to railroads running to into the Pennsylvania coal fields.

In July of 1878, the Geneva and Lyons railroad was completed. It connected Lyons with The New York Central at East Geneva (now Border City). The first train ran in September 1878 and in November of that year, arrangements were made to run passenger trains of the Syracuse, Geneva, and Corning Railroad and The Lehigh Valley Railroad on the Geneva and Lyons route to Lyons.

The Tioga Railroad was opened in 1840 to connect Blossburg, Pennsylvania with the Chemung Canal at Corning. In 1854 the Tioga Railroad was renamed the Blossburg and Corning Railroad. In 1873, the Blossburg and Corning Railroad and the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad were merged to form the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Railway.

On July 1, 1892 the Corning, Cowanesque, and Antrim leased the Geneva and Lyons Railroad, the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railway, and the Pine Creek Railway.  The combined lines were operated as the Fall Brook Railway. The Fall Brook Railway itself was leased by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad on April 11, 1899.

Stations

The table below lists the passenger stations on the New York portion of the line.  It is drawn from different sources and we do not have a milepost for some stations.

Station Distance
Lyons
Thompsons
Cuddeback
Junius
Geneva
Nester
Billsborrow
Earl
Dresden
Himrod Jct
Ellis
Dundee
Reading Center
Watkins
Wedgewood
Wentz
Moreland
Beaver Dam
Post Creek
Townley
Ferenbaugh
Corning
Hollon
Presho
Lindley
Lawrenceville		 0.0
4.7
6.8
8.5
14.0

19.8
23.0
28.0
35.1
38.2
40.2
47.6
51.4
53.7
55.5
56.3
59.5
61.5

67.0
69.6
75.2
79.0
82.7
85.5

There was also a short branch, originally the Penn Yan and New York Railroad, that extended approximately seven miles from Dresden to Keuka Lake at Penn Yan.  The stations on this line were:

Station Distance
Dresden
Cascade Mills
Mays Mills
Seneca Mills
Milo Mills
Keuka Mills
Penn Yan		  

References