The Geneva and Lyons Railroad was a railroad in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, constructed and owned by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

. Chartered in 1877 and opened in 1878, it served as an outlet for coal trains on the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railroad to reach the main line of the New York Central. The Fall Brook Coal Company, which operated the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning, and the

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...

both used the line to deliver coal to Lyons. A branch of the New York Central since its completion, the Geneva and Lyons was formally absorbed by the New York Central in 1890.

History

Chartered on October 5, 1877, the Geneva and Lyons was built to improve the connections between the New York Central and the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railroad. The latter line was leased by the Fall Brook Coal Company, a major supplier of coal to the New York Central. The Fall Brook already connected to the Auburn Road of the New York Central at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, but the new railroad allowed trains to run through Geneva directly to the main line of the New York Central at

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

. This allowed the rerouting of coal traffic which was overloading the single track of the Auburn Road. Construction of the Geneva and Lyons was underway by the spring of 1878. The first passenger train over the railroad ran on November 11, 1878, and was operated by the Fall Brook, continuing south to Corning. While the new railroad was owned and operated by the New York Central, which had advanced the funds for its construction, the Fall Brook continued to operate trains over the Geneva and Lyons and the

Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, wh ...

also arranged for

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may con ...

over the railroad in 1878. George J. Magee, of the Fall Brook, was also a director of the Geneva and Lyons. Coal trestles or chutes were built for the New York Central's locomotives at Lyons, and in August 1879, of coal per day were shipped over the Geneva and Lyons to the trestles there. About were used to fuel locomotives at Lyons and the remainder shipped elsewhere on the New York Central system. By 1886, this amount had increased to in a month, both

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...

from the Fall Brook's mines and

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...

from connections southward. At the time, it was reported that the

, was also running over the Geneva and Lyons to deliver coal. In January 1887, the coal shipments had increased again, to daily. In August 1881, work began to double-track the line. By April 1882, the double track had been finished from Geneva to Bennett's and from Lyons to Thompson's. However, the complete double-tracking was still unfinished in 1893. of the line, which totaled , had been double-tracked as of 1914. The Geneva and Lyons was absorbed by the New York Central, which had operated it as a branch. The line was leased by the Fall Brook in 1893, but was itself taken over by the New York Central in 1899.

References

External links

Railroad history of Finger Lakes region

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geneva Lyons Railroad Defunct New York (state) railroads Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1877 Railway companies disestablished in 1890 1877 establishments in New York (state)