The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad founded in 1868. The last train ran from

Norwich, New York Norwich is a city and the county seat of Chenango County, New York, United States. Surrounded on all sides by the Town of Norwich, the city's name is taken from Norwich, England. Its population was 7,190 at the 2010 census. Norwich is best kn ...

, to

Middletown, New York Middletown is the largest Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk ...

, in 1957, after which it was ordered

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

by a U.S.

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

judge. It was the first Class I U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety. The railroad began life as the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, organized by Dewitt C. Littlejohn of Oswego, NY, in 1868. Its mainline extended from

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...

, across the Hudson River from New York City, to

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

, a port city on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

. It had branch lines to

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Port Jervis Port Jervis, named after John Bloomfield Jervis, a Roman civil engineer who oversaw the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, ...

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, Utica and

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lie ...

and

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. The part south of

Cornwall, New York Cornwall is a Town (New York), town in Orange County, New York, United States, approximately north of New York City on the western shore of the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was at 12,884. Cornwall has become a Commuter t ...

, was operated over the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was a U.S. railway company active in the states of New York and New Jersey between 1885 and 1952. It was incorporated in 1885 to reorganize the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, which had originally been inten ...

via

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 c ...

History

19th century

In 1866, the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad was chartered under the direction of DeWitt C. Littlejohn, who envisioned a railroad serving a direct connection from the docks opposite New York City to Lake Ontario at Oswego. Construction on the line north of Middletown began in 1868 and was completed in 1873. Branches were also constructed to Ellenville,

and

New Berlin, New York New Berlin is a town in Chenango County in central New York, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2010 census. The town contains the village of New Berlin. The town is at the eastern border of the county and is northeast of Norwich. ...

; a branch was begun to Auburn from Norwich, but it only was constructed to Scipio Center before being sold to the

Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad The Elmira, Cortland and Northern Railroad was a railroad in the state of New York, in the United States. Its main line ran from Elmira, New York, to Camden, New York. It was formed in 1884 from the consolidation of other railroads and merged into ...

in 1876. Access to New York City was provided by the Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad and the

New Jersey Midland Railway The New Jersey Midland Railway, also known simply as "the Midland", was a 19th-century predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that operated in North Jersey, Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York. Formatio ...

beginning in 1872. On September 3, 1869, the NY&OM began using the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...

's station at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, which provided its passengers with ferry access to the Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot in lower Manhattan and the

Desbrosses Street Ferry The Desbrosses Street Ferry was a ferry route across the Hudson River (then called the North River (Hudson River), North River) in the 19th and 20th centuries. It provided passengers with ferry service between the Pennsylvania Railroad's Exchange ...

. With the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

, the company began to fold, and it severed its ties with the NJM and the MU&WG. In 1880, O&W inherited the New York & Oswego Midland's lines. The O&W improved the main line by providing a new route to the New York City area from

, which extended to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

on the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

and then to

Weehawken Terminal Weehawken Terminal was the waterfront intermodal terminal on the North River (Hudson River) in Weehawken, New Jersey for the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad division, whose route traveled along the west shore of the Hudson Rive ...

. This development was made possible by negotiating trackage-rights from the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railway, later part of 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 ...

system. In 1886, O&W acquired the operations of both the Utica, Clinton & Binghamton and the Rome & Clinton railroads from the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. By acquisition of these assets and construction of a new line to Sylvan Beach on the east shore of

Lake Oneida Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River, which flows into Lake Ontar ...

, the O&W extended its operations into new market areas, and the Sylvan Beach Loop became a seasonally-significant corridor by providing transportation to central New York's recreational resort area. By 1889, the O&W added two new branches, New Berlin to Edmeston, and

, connecting to the main line at Summitville, New York. The most significant addition occurred in 1890, when the O&W constructed a 54-mile branch from Cadosia, New York, through Carbondale to

, and the rich

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

coal reserves in Pennsylvania's

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...

. Revenues from this new Scranton Division strengthened O&W's revenues and provided the means for future improvements to the railroad. The railroad's W-in-O logo first appeared in 1892.

20th century

During the ill-fated " Morganization" of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

(NH), the railroad acquired control of the O&W and installed NH president

Charles Sanger Mellen Charles Sanger Mellen (August 16, 1852November 17, 1927) was an American railroad man whose career culminated in the presidencies of the Northern Pacific Railway (1897–1903) and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (1903–1913). His go ...

as president for a year. Regulatory difficulties frustrated Mellen's plans to barter the O&W to the

for concessions elsewhere. The 1940s saw a receding of passenger service. In the early years of the 1940s, the Summitville-Kingston branch was reduced to a Sundays and holidays, summer-only service. Improved highways ended the O&W's passenger service to the resort areas of the lower

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

(the "

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Yiddish Alps, is a region which was noted for its summer resorts that catered to Jewish vacationers, especially residents of New York City. The resorts, now mostly defunct, were located in the southern foothills of the Catski ...

") and lightly populated portions of Upstate New York, with the last train from

Walton, New York Walton is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 5,270 at the 2020 census. The town is in the west-central part of the county and contains the village of Walton. The town claims to be the " Scarecrow Capital of ...

, to Weehawken operating in the summer of 1948. The O&W's Walton-

branch service, all in Delaware County, was also eliminated in this period. The last passenger train (from

Roscoe, New York Roscoe is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet (and census-designated place) in Sullivan County, New York, Sullivan County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 497 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Roscoe is in the s ...

, just north of Livingston Manor, to

) operated on September 10, 1953. By 1948 the operating losses had accumulated to over $38 million (over $69 million in 2024). The decrease of coal as a heating fuel for other than major power plants damaged its primary freight business, as did the end of rail transport of high-priority dairy products from Upstate New York to the Metro New York City area. The New Haven offered to purchase the company in 1952, but later withdrew its offer, citing its own financial problems. Abandonment was loudly-protested by towns along the line, which considered unpaid back taxes as an investment in the railroad. The New York State legislature approved a $1 million aid bill, citing the O&W as essential for civil defense, but the state civil defense commission rejected it. The bankruptcy court finally ordered complete abandonment, and the last freight train ran from Norwich to Middletown on March 29, 1957. Liquidation proceeded shortly thereafter. Three large scrap dealers bought the entire right-of-way from the bankruptcy court soon afterward, and removed nearly all of the rails and bridges in 1958 and 1959. All O&W assets were auctioned. The diesel locomotives found new owners, but most of the other, antiquated rolling stock and equipment was scrapped. Certain sections of track serving shippers, many of which were industrial factories, were transferred by the bankruptcy court to other railroads, allowing continued rail access to the plants. The

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...

received track from Utica to

New Hartford, New York New Hartford is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 21,874. The name of New Hartford was provided by a settler family from Hartford, Connecticut. The Town of New Hartford contains a ...

, and track in

and

. The

took over sections of O&W

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

track between Fulton and Oswego, and the tracks in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

, and

. These transfers were approved before operations ceased at midnight on March 29, and the transfer of other sections to the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

was approved later. A section of the track in New Hartford was still in operation in 2018 by the Northern Division of the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Railroad classes#Class II, Class II Rail freight transport, freight r ...

Legacy

Rail historian George Drury later commented that the O&W "had always been sickly and should not have been built" at just "541 miles". Parts of the Summitville - Kingston division, ending at

, have become a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

. Some of the stations have been converted into residences, including the Alligerville station in

High Falls, New York High Falls is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 700 at the 2020 census. Portions of High Falls are located in the towns of Marbletown and Rosendale. History The High Fal ...

, owned by

Gerry Leonard Gerry Leonard (born 26 February 1962) is an Irish guitarist known for his harmonic and ambient guitar style and for his work with David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Duncan Sheik and many others. He has a solo projec ...

since 2001 and used as a recording studio. The Starlight station in Wayne County, Pennsylvania was acquired by Buckingham Township and servies as its Municipal Building. On September 27, 1955, a 50-car O&W train in

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...

, traveling on a mainline approached a switch set for a siding which led to a coal trestle. Although the engineer fully-applied the brakes, the train continued up the siding at more than and through the trestle. It was learned that the 213-ton

EMD FT The EMD FT is a diesel-electric locomotive that was produced between March 1939 and November 1945, by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC), later known as GM Electro-Motive Division (EMD). The "F" stood for Fourteen Hundred (1400) ...

diesel locomotive at the head of the train "flew" a distance of beyond the coal trestle from an elevation of . Two of the crew were seriously injured, but no crewmen were killed in the wreck. An investigation by New York state police as to why the switch had been thrown resulted in no arrests. A dinner was later given in honor of the crew, who each received a plaque proclaiming them to be members of the O&W's new "Flying Diesel Corps." Each plaque was topped with a cast presentation model of their F-unit locomotive; the castings were provided by EMD. One of the freight cars involved in the accident was loaded with chocolate bars from the

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

plant in nearby Fulton,

. It was said that when the younger residents of Hamilton learned of the spilled candy, they raced to collect what they could, and that as a result candy sales in the town were for some time afterward very low.O&W history at www.nyow.org
/ref> When Savannah and Atlanta 750 was rebuilt in 1949, it received a new tender and other parts from an ex-NYO&W Y-series 4-8-2 which the S&A had bought in 1945. This 4-8-2 was scrapped afterward.

References

External links