The New York & Lake Erie is a

class III railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...

operating in Western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The NYLE was formed in 1978 to operate a portion of former Erie trackage that

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

no longer wanted. Today, the railroad operates between Gowanda to

Conewango Valley, New York Ellington is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 1,493 at the 2020 census. History The first settler arrived ''circa'' 1814. The town of Ellington was formed on April 1, 1824 from the town of Gerry, and ...

. The main branch of the trackage once connected with the now- WNYP owned (NS-leased)

Southern Tier Line The Southern Tier Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. A mostly former Erie Railroad line, it is suggested that the line runs from Suffern, New York northwest to ...

in Waterboro. However, that portion of the line (south of Conewango Valley) and the junction at Waterboro were decommissioned several years ago. The NYLE also operated a branch between Dayton and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

, also connecting with the Southern Tier Line there, until 1990; the portion south of Cattaraugus was torn out and eventually replaced with the

Pat McGee Trail The Pat McGee Trail is a rail trail in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States, named for Patricia McGee (1934-2005). Background Pat McGee was an area legislator of Cattaraugus County who lived in Franklinville, New York, Planes, Trains & Automobiles ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' is a 1987 American comedy film written, produced and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy with supporting roles by Laila Robins and Michael McKean. It tells the story of a high-strun ...

'' and the railroad tracks and depot in South Dayton, along with other portions of the village, were featured in the 1983

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

movie ''The Natural''. The NYLE is also the owner and operator of Oil Creek and Titusville Lines, Inc. NYLE Switching in South Dayton

The right-of-way was damaged by the 2009 flooding of the

Cattaraugus Creek Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately long, in western New York in the United States.South Dayton remain suspended, with service to Cherry Creek in the process of being restored. The NYLE was awarded a

NYSDOT The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit systems ...

grant in June 2016 totaling $732,768 to be put towards a rail rehabilitation project that the railroad will embark on between South Dayton and Cherry Creek. The goal is to replace a switch at the NY&LE's southern end at Waterboro and restore full rail service between Gowanda and Jamestown by 2019, then Buffalo (through a connecting railroad) by 2020. Despite the objections of Cattaraugus County (who accused the railroad of proposing the project as a grant-money scam), the state and city of Jamestown announced its support for a feasibility study for the project in May 2017. As of June 2018, restoration plans for the southern portion of the NYLE remain in the planning stages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York And Lake Erie Railroad New York (state) railroads Transportation in Cattaraugus County, New York

See also

References