The Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Company was a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

transit line operating in northern

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

and southern

Putnam County, New York Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,668. The county seat is Carmel. Putnam County formed in 1812 from Dutchess County and is named for Israel Putnam, a hero in t ...

. The earliest segment was constructed by the Peekskill Traction Company in 1899, running from 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 Mid ...

train station at

Peekskill Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

to Lake Mohegan. The company was unable to meet payments for construction of the line, so the contractor operated the railroad until it was sold to the Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Company in 1900 (itself a consolidation of the Peekskill Gas Light Co., Peekskill Electric Light and Power Co., and the Peekskill Traction Co.). The associated Westchester and Putnam Traction Company built extensions beyond Lake Mohegan, though the two companies were operated as one. In 1902, an extension was constructed through Buchannan to Verplanck. Another extension was opened in 1907 to Cortlandville, and Varian's Mills (later Williams Corners) in 1908. The final extension to Oregon ( Putnam Valley) opened in 1909. President of the company was F.A. Stratton, who was also president of the Hudson River and Eastern Traction company, operators of the Ossining Electric Railway.

Decline and Conversion to Bus Operation

The first cutbacks came in 1924. The trolley system operated at a deficit for months, first reducing service to Oregon and Putnam Valley to Saturday-only in 1925, and ending service on the Oregon line on August 29, 1925. The remaining track around Peekskill was closed and trolley service ended on June 30, 1926. Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Co. created Peekskill Motor Bus Company as a new subsidiary to acquire and operate the transportation franchise in place of trolleys in 1926. Four routes were operated, using the Peekskill train station as a hub. At the time of its abandonment, the trolley lines of Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Co. was the last of the Consolidated Gas Company affiliated utilities to offer common-carrier rail transportation. The bus routes were taken over by Westchester County Department of Transportation and operated as part of the Bee-Line Bus System in 1978.

References

{{NYC streetcar transit Streetcar lines in Westchester County, New York Streetcars in New York (state) Defunct New York (state) railroads