Short Line Railroads

This Central New York Railroad locomotive was a hard postcard to find. Guess it wasn’t too popular.

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Amsterdam, Chuctanunda and Northern Railroad

Jaxport Terminal Railway and the Municipal Docks Railway of the Jacksonville Port Authority

(The) Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge & Railroad Company

Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad

Short Line and Regional Railroad Facts and Figures Book is NOW available!

This publication is the definitive guide to the Short Line freight rail industry with insightful narrative and supporting graphs, charts and infographics.

Using the results from ASLRRA’s 2016 Member Survey, the report provides an industry overview on the nation’s 603 short line and regional railroads, their impact on the U.S. economy, and key factors in their success.

Known as the “Fact Book”, this publication paints the picture of an American success story, from the industry’s origin as cast-offs of the Class Is, to today’s vibrant, entrepreneurial, customer-focused entities that operate 29% of the U.S. freight rail system, providing the first, or last mile of service for one in five cars moving on the U.S. freight network.

The Fact Book provides information such as:

A profile of the short Line and regional railroad industry
The evolution of the short Line freight industry
Its impact on U.S. economy and society, with a state-by-state view

Charts include:

U.S. Freight Railroad Performance Since Staggers Act
Number of Railroads Over Time
Short Line Railroad Key Facts
Short Line Railroad Miles Operated By Type
Network Size of Small Railroads
Railroad Ownership by Type
Traffic Type
Carloads by Commodity
Short Line Industry Highlights
State-by-State Rail Network Facts
State-by-State Impact to Economy

The 36-page soft-copy booklet is available for $25.00 for members, and $50.00 for non-members, including first class postage. Each purchase includes access to a password protected online NxtBook version of the publication.

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Buckingham Branch Railroad

The Buckingham Branch has 6 interchanges with Class I Railroads. Three interchanges each with CSX and Norfolk Southern give our customers freight connections to anywhere in North America and to the Port of Virginia. With connection alternatives to both CSX and Norfolk Southern our customers also are assured of the most competitive freight rates and the best freight schedules.

With three divisions and 275 miles of track the Buckingham Branch is the largest short line railroad in Virginia. The Buckingham Division consists of 17 miles between Bremo, VA and Dillwyn, VA. The Richmond & Alleghany Division consists of 199 miles between Richmond, VA and Clifton Forge, VA. The Virginia Southern Division encompasses 59 miles between Burkeville, VA and Clarksville, VA

The Buckingham Branch operates seven days a week, with regularly scheduled trains Monday through Friday and special trains as needed by our customers on Saturday and Sunday. Our Rail Traffic Control Center, which dispatches trains for the Buckingham Branch and for CSX and Amtrak trains on the Richmond & Alleghany Division, operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

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Railroad Station at Troy, New York

The station in Troy was owned by the Troy Union Rail Road. The TURR lasted from the mid 19th Century till the mid 20th Century. It was owned by the New York Central, Delaware & Hudson and Boston & Maine. Access from the South was from Rensselaer; from the West, via the Green Island Bridge; from the North was street running almost the entire length of Troy. See Penney’s blog for more information (and a great movie from the 1950’s).

Troy Union Rail Road had no locomotives of its own. The “owners” supplied them. Here is the D&H “Transfer” running some cars.

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Gary Railway

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Little Falls & Dolgeville RR

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The Port of) New York and New Jersey

has several interesting short lines. East Jersey Railroad and Terminal Company A 2 mile terminal road at Bayonne, NJ. In 2008, their roster was as follows:
17 GE 65 ton 400hp /48 — acquired new; parts unit, cannibalized
18 GE 65 ton 400hp 03/50 i/s acquired new
19 GE 80 ton 600hp /48 –exUS Steel; sold, off roster
EMD SW900 900hp 12/55 i/s exCR / PC 8634, exNYC 9634
EMD SW8 800hp 02/53 i/s exCR / PC 8621, exNYC 9621
Port Jersey Railroad is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
New York New Jersey Rail LLC is part of the national transportation rail system and moves rail freight by rail barge across NYC Harbor.

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Notre Dame & Western Railroad

moved coal from the New York Central to the Power Plant on the campus.

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The Ontario Eastern Railroad Corp.(ONER)

was incorporated in 1981 to take over as designated operator of the Ogdensburg-DeKalb Jct line.

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ONTARIO MIDLAND RAILROAD

ADDRESS & PHONE: 48 Beldon Avenue, Sodus, NY 14551 – 315-483-6914

OWNERSHIP: Fixed property: Wayne and Monroe Counties; Operating Company: Shipper controlled.

REPORTING MARK: OMID

RADIO FREQUENCIES: 161.370

PRIMARY BUSINESS

Food products

Lumber

Fertilizer

Pulpboard

Chemicals

ANNUAL TRAFFIC: 850 cars

INFRASTRUCTURE: 56 miles of track, 80-136 lb rail

Former Conrail Ontario Secondary Track – MP 34.2 to 84.8

Former Conrail Sodus Bay Secondary Track – MP 1.3 to MP 16.6 (track north of the PRR/NYC diamond in Wallington placed out of service in the 80’s, and much of the track was abandoned in place).

Former Conrail Main Industrial Track – Newark to Marion (since abandonded)

ONLINE CUSTOMERS:

Unknown new future customer at Webster Lumber site, Webster

Xerox Corporation, Webster (offline for more than 10 years – switches and sidings still there but paved over)

Williamson Lumber, Williamson

Thatcher Chemical, Williamson

Cadbury Beverages, Williamson

Seneca Foods, Williamson

Plassche Lumber, Williamson

Golden State Foods (Sodus Cold Storage), Sodus

Nikano Foods, Wallington (unconfirmed)

Benchmark Quarry, Wallington (unconfirmed)

Reckitt Benckiser, Wolcott

Folopak Corporation, Newark (closed Nov 2001)

SCHEDULE OF OPERATIONS:

Monday-Friday, 8-4, weekends and other hours as needed.

TRAINSPOTTING LOCATIONS:

PRR diamond at Rt. 104, Wallington

CSX Interchange in Newark

Enginehouse in Sodus

INTERCHANGE POINT & RAILROAD: Newark with CSX

LOCOMOTIVE ROSTER: Enginehouse located in Sodus, pictures from http://www.railroad.net and http://gelwood.railfan.net

#

TYPE

YEAR

BUILDER’S #

HERITAGE / NOTES

3 ALCO S-4 1953 80941 ex Conn Central 36 exx G&W 36 and 1776, exxx NYC 8655, exxxx P&LE 8655 – recently restored by OMID and repainted in Dale Earnhardt inspired style.

35 ALCO S-4 1959 82008 ex Conn Central 35 exx G&W 35, privately owned

36 ALCO RS-11 1957 82638 ex N&W 361 – currently at the LAL shops for work, 8/02

408 ALCO RS-36 1962 84108 ex OMID 40, exx N&W 408

The OMID serves fruit and vegetable processors, as well as a chemical company in Wayne County on the former NYC Hojack and Penn RR lines with a connection to Conrail in Newark. The line runs east-west from Wolcott to Webster, and north-south from Sodus to Newark. At this time, Xerox does not use rail for shipping/receiving, as all the grade crossings on all the sidings in Xerox’s property have been paved over (there has been talk that Xerox may resume rail service in the near future – when they were on-line, traffic to Xerox was sporadic and there has not been any since the 70’s). Most of the rail in Monroe County is light 80 pound stuff. The line running north-south from Rt. 104 in Sodus to Sodus Point, while still in place – but the grade crossing over Rt. 104 was pulled up years ago, is for all intents and purposes abandoned as there are no potential customers north of Rt. 104 (at one point, there was a coal rail float operation from Sodus Point to Ontario, Canada… the operation ceased in the 50’s due to problems with the lake levels preventing access from Sodus Bay to Lake Ontario). The Ontario Midland also runs very popular fall foliage passenger excursions in September and October (this year sold out quicky as I found out the hard way, so reserve early!). The 34 mile trip in vintage NYC stainless steel cars takes passengers from Sodus to Newark and back in 2 hours.

HISTORY: The Sodus Point line was built by the Sodus Point & Southern Railroad, which was chartered in 1852 but not opened until 1872. In 1875 ut was reorganized as the Ontario Southern, and seven years later as the Sodus Bay & Southern. In 1884 it was sold to the Northern Central Railroad (Pennsylvania RR). The Webster line was built by the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, which was chartered in 1858. That line was sold to the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg in 1875, and the following year it became part of a through route from Lewiston, near Niagara Falls, to Oswego. RW&O became part of the New York Central and this line earned the nickname “The Hojack Line”. OMID service started October 1, 1979. Most of the Hojack was abandoned west of Webster by Conrail in 1979.

IS THIS THE WEDGE-PLOW FOR SNOW REMOVAL ON ONTARIO MIDLAND?

Southern New York Railway

started as an electric interurban that gradually cut back on passenger service until, in 1940, all wire was taken down and all track removed except a short segment between Oneonta and West Oneonta, NY, which was switched with diesels. Connected with the Delaware & Hudson.

See more on the Southern New York Railway

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THE OWASCO RIVER RAILWAY

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DEXTER AND NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY

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Bath & Hammondsport Railroad

A 9.28 mile short line in Western New York State that used to own a coach and a combination passenger baggage car. According to the Railroad Magazine rosters, this line owned two GE 44-tonners numbered D-1 and D-3 and one Plymouth JDT numbered D-2. Two Alco S-1s, 4 and 5, were later on the roster.

Description of the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad from the Wiki.

The future of the Bath & Hammondsport Railroadby newspaper columnist and reporter Richard F. Palmer

Rail City Museum description of the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad Bath & Hammondsport Railroad

Abandoned Rails talks about the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad

A brief history of the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad

Recent NY State grants (December 2012): Rehabilitation of the Bath & Hammondsport’s original line between Bath Jct. to a siding adjacent to the Steuben County Jail also requires a local match (10 percent). That track is currently out of service. After completion next year, B&H Rail Corp. will be able to serve Steuben County IDA industrial sites in the area of the jail.

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Skaneateles Short Line Railroad

The Skaneateles & Jordan Railroad Company started in 1836. Starting in the small village of Skaneateles, NY at its depot on the Lake (the Sherwood Inn sits there presently) it ran just five miles North to Hartlot, NY (Later changed to Skaneateles Falls, NY a.k.a. Skaneateles Junction by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad). The orignal plan was to connect the railroad with the Erie canal. S&JRR had deep financial difficulties and was sold 1850 – the first attempt to build a railroad had failed.

It was not until after the Civil War that the village and local Industy requested that service be restored due to the expansion of plants along the river. With roads being as primitave as they were, the railroad, with help from the community and industries, gathered $100,000 began reconstruction in 1866.

The SSLR struggled for years with things getting worse after 1930. The line lost some industries but kept plugging away. After WWII things got even worse as passenger service fell to the point that the conductor was the only person on the train during its 2 daily trips from Skaneateles JCT to Skaneateles itself. Abandondments took place when industries started to drop service in favor of trucks. The tracks had seen no maintaince from the 1930 to the mid 1970.

By 1974 Stauffer Chemical was the only operating customer on the line and to ensure its rail traffic it purchased the line and started an immediate rehabilitation progam of the line which included several thousand ties and ballast. The railroad kept its own name through the Stauffer years. On Monday, July 13, 1981 the SSLR delivered its final shipment to Stauffer Chemical and the line was cleared later that night.

The Skaneateles short Line served 17 industries from 1836-1981 and had a fleet of 6 steam engines, all retired by 1950, and 2 GE-Erie 44 tonners which were sold to New York State Electric & Gas in 1981. From 1831-1901 the railroad also operated the Skaneateles Steamboat & Transportation Company.and operated 8 Boats mixed of mail and dinner boats. The boat company still lives on and runs a dinner cruise weekly.

See Gino DiCarlo’s WebSite on the Skaneateles Short Line Railroad.

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Jacksonville, Florida is quite modern now. The Jaxport Terminal Railway and the Municipal Docks Railway of the Jacksonville Port Authority easy access to the Port of Jacksonville.

To help rush goods to market, shippers can take advantage of Jacksonville’s location at the crossroads of three major railroads (CSX, Norfolk Southern and Florida East Coast Railway)

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) is a full-service, international trade seaport in the Southeastern United States. JAXPORT owns and manages three cargo terminals in Jacksonville, Fla., including the Blount Island Marine Terminal, the Dames Point Marine Terminal and the Talleyrand Marine Terminal.

BLUEPRINT FOR JAXPORT IS FOUND IN COMMUTER RAIL

A solution to Jacksonville’s Logistics problems

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#	TYPE	YEAR	BUILDER’S #	HERITAGE / NOTES
3	ALCO S-4	1953	80941	ex Conn Central 36 exx G&W 36 and 1776, exxx NYC 8655, exxxx P&LE 8655 – recently restored by OMID and repainted in Dale Earnhardt inspired style.
35	ALCO S-4	1959	82008	ex Conn Central 35 exx G&W 35, privately owned
36	ALCO RS-11	1957	82638	ex N&W 361 – currently at the LAL shops for work, 8/02
408	ALCO RS-36	1962	84108	ex OMID 40, exx N&W 408

This Central New York Railroad locomotive was a hard postcard to find. Guess it wasn’t too popular.

Short Line and Regional Railroad Facts and Figures Book is NOW available!

The Fact Book provides information such as:

Charts include:​

The 36-page soft-copy booklet is available for $25.00 for members, and $50.00 for non-members, including first class postage. Each purchase includes access to a password protected online NxtBook version of the publication.

Railroad Station at Troy, New York

Troy Union Rail Road had no locomotives of its own. The “owners” supplied them. Here is the D&H “Transfer” running some cars.

The Port of) New York and New Jersey

Notre Dame & Western Railroad

The Ontario Eastern Railroad Corp.(ONER)

Southern New York Railway

Charts include: