The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

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 * '' ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

History

Incorporated in 1887 as the Western New York and Pennsylvania ''Railroad'' from the reorganization of the Buffalo, New York, and Philadelphia, and reorganized in 1895 as the Western New York and Pennsylvania ''Railway'', it was acquired and leased by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

in 1900 and merged into the Penndel Company in 1955. The route the line followed from

Emporium, Pennsylvania Emporium is a borough and the county seat of Cameron County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west-northwest of Williamsport. Early in the twentieth century, there were large power plants and manufacturers of radio tubes and in ...

across the state line to Olean, Hinsdale,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, and

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

was laid, from Belfast north, on the bed of the abandoned

Genesee Valley Canal The Genesee Valley Canal is a former canal that operated in central New York between 1840 and 1878. It ran for a length of 124 miles, passing through 106 locks. Its course was later used by the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad and today comprises po ...

. A house of Italianate design was purchased on Main Street West at Trowbridge Street and converted into the Rochester station. The 1895 to 1899 period saw revenue inadequate to pay the bond interest, and this was contemporaneous with the

's need to expand into

western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

. Moreover, this expansion did not raise competitive issues with the Pennsy's principal rival, the

New York Central 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 ...

. Thus, on 1 August 1900, the WNY&PRY signed an agreement with the PRR under which the latter operated the former. Although the WNY&PRY did not generate much profit in this arrangement, it did improve matters for the Allegheny Valley and the Philadelphia and Erie roads, so the net result was satisfactory to the Pennsylvania. Eventually, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway became the Pennsylvania Railroad's Buffalo and Allegheny Valley Division. In a minor historical anomaly, note might be taken of the date of the small branch from Scottsville to Garbutt. While the route map clearly shows this line in 1900, other sources equally unambiguously date it to the summer of 1907. The branch was abandoned in 1944; no trace of it remains today. The Pennsy station has disappeared – even photographs of it are exceedingly rare – and the railbed cannot be discerned in aerial photographs of the area south of Oatka Creek.)

References

External links

Western New York And Pennsylvania Railway (1895–1955)
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Western New York Pennsylvania Railway 1895 1955 Defunct New York (state) railroads Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1895 Railway companies disestablished in 1955 American companies disestablished in 1955 American companies established in 1895

History

See also

References

External links