Skaneateles Short Line Railroad
The Skaneateles Short Line Railroad ( AAR reporting mark: SSL) was an American Class 3 railroad company in Onondaga County , New York . The company, established in 1867, operated an eight-kilometer railway line until 1981.
history
The construction of the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad (A&S) in 1836 did not result in the town of Skaneateles being connected to the railroad network. Local entrepreneurs therefore founded the Skaneateles Railroad and also received the concession to build an eight-kilometer-long railway line from Skaneateles to the existing railway line. However, the construction did not materialize. In 1837 the concession for the Skaneateles & Jordan Railroad was granted. This rail project should lead to Jordan on the Erie Canal . In the end, only the construction of a horse-drawn railway line to Skaneateles Junction on the A&S line was implemented. The line was opened on September 30, 1840. Three horses were available for the transport. The railway could not compete with the parallel road connection because of the higher maintenance costs. On August 24, 1850, the company was dissolved again.
The transport of the mills and factories along the Skaneatales Creek increased further in the following years. A number of local entrepreneurs, led by Joel Thayer, took up the idea of a railroad again and founded the Skaneateles Railroad. On April 18, 1866, the company received the concession and the line was built for $ 88,877.29. At first only two decrepit steam locomotives were available when it opened on October 1, 1867. However, these were soon replaced by a D-coupler. The traffic on the line increased rapidly, so that more locomotives had to be purchased. Especially the excursion traffic to Skaneateles Lake was popular with wealthy Americans. In order to benefit from this excursion, a steamship was acquired in 1871. In the next few years the fleet was expanded by another three ships. In 1878 John E. Waller succeeded Thayer as President of the Society. In the mid-1880s, 15 men were employed by the railway. Under Waller, a number of projects to extend the route to the north and south were considered, but they were not implemented. From the turn of the century, the company received competition in passenger transport from the Interurban Auburn and Syracuse Electric Railroad . At the same time, the railway company sold its fleet of excursion boats to the overland tram. In addition, the company began to renew its railway systems. For example, heavier rails were installed, bridges with a higher load capacity were installed and the locomotives underwent general repairs.
At the same time, the presidents took turns in a short time. WK Niver became president in 1898 and was replaced by John McNamara in 1905, followed by Martin Dillon in 1907, Henry Reed in 1911 and Samuel Kane in 1922. Kane owned most of the company at the time.
The increasing traffic led to the replacement of the 40-year-old locomotives in 1914/1915. The economic slump caused by the Great Depression led to the suspension of passenger transport in 1932 after only empty trains were carried. In the late 1930s, US Gypsum ceased operations at its Skaneateles plant. This factory was one of the railway company's largest customers. Kane decided to shut down the route. This decision was approved on February 7, 1940.
However, 14 residents from Skanteatles did not accept it. They founded the Skaneateles Short Line Railroad for $ 50,000 and bought the existing railroad from Kane for $ 25,000. In May 1941 traffic was resumed. In 1947 the Cowles Chemical Company (later Stauffer Chemical Company) built a soap factory in Skaneateles Falls, which led to an increase in transport volumes and secured the railway company economically for the next few years. In 1950 the company switched the vehicle fleet to diesel operation.
On July 9, 1968, the line was badly damaged by flooding. In 1969 the Talcott Milling Company closed its Skaneateles factory. The railway company therefore decided to only operate the line to the soap factory and built a new company building in Skaneateles Falls. Since the line had not been adequately maintained since the 1920s, derailments were the order of the day. In 1974 the Stauffer Chemical Company acquired the railway company and operated it until July 13, 1981 to supply the soap factory.
Vehicle fleet
| No. | Construction year | Wheel alignment | Manufacturer | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1867 | B n2 | Mason Locomotive Works | SKANEATELES , sold to the Ithaca and Cortland Railroad in 1870 |
| 2 | 1870 | 1'B2 'n2t | Rogers Locomotive Works | Scrapped in 1914 |
| 3 | 1872 | 1'B2 'n2t | Rogers Locomotive Works | Sold to a scrap dealer in 1942 |
| 68 | 1882 | B n2 | NYC East Buffalo Shops | Acquired used by NYC in 1906, scrapped in 1914 |
| 4th | 1914 | C n2 | ALCo Schenectady | Sold to a scrap dealer in 1950 |
| 5 | 1915 | 1'C n2 | ALCo Schenectady | Sold to a scrap dealer in 1950 |
| 6th | 1950 | Bo'Bo ' | General Electric | GE 44-ton switcher , sold to New York State Electric and Gas No. 6 and later to Lowville and Beaver River Railroad No. 1993 |
| 7th | 1959 | Bo'Bo ' | General Electric | GE 45-ton switcher , sold to New York State Electric & Gas No. 3 |
literature
- Richard F. Palmer: A short line called Skaneateles . In: Trains . Kalmbach Publishing Co., May 1971, ISSN 0041-0934 , p. 41-45 .
- Franz Anton Gerstner: The inner communications of the United States of North America, Vienna, 1842, p. 154