History
The New York Central was a major force in Western New York railroading and operated a number of lines in the region. The 1900 map above shows the trackage owned by the company in red and the railroads that it leased and operated in other colors.
History
The New York Central Railroad was formed on March 17, 1853 by the consolidation of a number of smaller railroads between Albany and Buffalo. In 1867 Cornelius Vanderbilt gained control of the New York Central Railroad and on November 1, 1869 he merged it with his Hudson River Railroad to for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.
On February 1, 1968 the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad joined with its arch-rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, to for the Penn Central Railroad. The Penn Central was never successful and on April 1, 1976 it was absorbed into the new Consolidated Railroad Corporation (Conrail).
Line and Stations
The New York Central had extensive operations in Western New York, including both its main line and many branches. For ease of presentation, we have created separate pages for different sections of the railroad. These include:
- Main Line - Syracuse to Buffalo
- Lake Shore and Michigan Southern - Buffalo to Pennsylvania State Line
- Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad - Dunkirk to Pennsylvania State Line via Falconer
- New York, Chicago & St. Louis (Nickel Plate) - Buffalo to Pennsylvania State Line
- Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg - Oswego to Niagara Falls
- Fall Brook Railway - Lyons to Pennsylvania State Line
- West Shore Railroad - Syracuse to Buffalo
- Buffalo to Niagara Falls
- "Auburn Road" - Syracuse to Rochester
Maps
Newspaper Articles
- September 30, 1935 - New York Central Memo September 30, 1935
- Last "Auburn Road" Train Discontinued in 1958
References
- Moody, John. "The Railroad Builders". 1919. http://cprr.org/Museum/Railroad_Builders/Railroad_Builders_02.html
- Wikipedia. "New York Central Railroad" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Central