New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
| File:Susei-Q.gif | |
| File:NYSW MAP.gif | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Cooperstown, New York |
| Reporting mark | NYSW |
| Locale | New York and New Jersey |
| Dates of operation | 1854–present |
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W), also known as the Susie-Q, is an American freight railway operating over 500 miles (800 km) of track in the northeastern U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.[1] It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several smaller railroads. Passenger service, including commuter service from Northern New Jersey to New York City, was offered until 1966. The bankrupt railroad was purchased by the Delaware Otsego Corporation in 1980[2], and became a regional player during the 1980s in the intermodal freight transport business. This saw the road hauling containers including Sealand and Hanjin units as part of a land bridge with Delaware and Hudson and CSX railroads. After losing the intermodal traffic in the late 1990s to CSX and Norfolk Southern (as a result of the Conrail breakup), the freight operations continue into the 21st Century with contracts to haul commercial waste and other materials.
Route
The line travels westward on its original alignment from the eastern terminus in North Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey through Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties in northern New Jersey. At Sparta, NJ the rails swing to the north and enter the tracks of the former Lehigh & Hudson River Railway. From Sparta to just past the state line, the L&HR tracks are owned by the NYS&W. Upon crossing the New York State Line at Warwick, Orange County, the railway continues over trackage rights through Orange County, New York, crossing the Delaware River to enter Pennsylvania at Mill Rift, Pike County. From there, the rails follow the Delaware River on a northwest course. The tracks cross back into New York from Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. On the New York route through to Binghamton, the tracks pass through the towns of Callicoon, Sullivan County, Hancock, and Deposit (both in Delaware County). At Deposit, the right of way begins following the Susquehanna River southward, dipping into Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, for approximately 15 mi (25 km) before entering New York again, and soon thereafter reaching Binghamton. From here the line branches, and the road's two northernmost termini are in Syracuse and Utica, New York.
The railroad is separated into two divisions at Binghamton - Northern and Southern.
History
Initial construction
At the end of the civil war, railroads in the United States expanded rapidly. The city of Paterson, New Jersey had seen considerable growth of its iron mills and manufacturing plants due to the war effort, and needed to obtain raw materials for these factories in the most economical means of the time: the railroad. The existing Morris and Essex Canal was slow and was shut down in winter due to ice. The Hoboken, Ridgefield and Paterson Railroad was chartered in 1866 to connect Paterson with the ports along the Hudson River at Hoboken. At the same time, Dewitt C. Littlejohn of Oswego, New York had gained power in the New York State Legislature and wanted to afford Oswego the growth possible by a rail connection to a major port. Littlejohn organized the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad (NY&OM), a route traversing much of New York State on its way to New York City. The next year saw more roads sprouting up between these points, with the New Jersey Western Railway (NJW) working westward from Paterson, and the Sussex Valley Railroad laying track from the New York state line at Hanford, New Jersey south to the Delaware Water Gap. The New Jersey Western was the most profitable of the roads and, led by Cornelius Wortendyke, began operating at Hawthorne in 1869. Later that year, Wortendyke signed an agreement with Dewitt Littlejohn to give the NY&OM trackage rights over the NJW to reach New York City. This agreement was pivotal, as the two roads would soon see themselves merged in 1870 to form the New Jersey Midland Railway (NJM). A leasing arrangement was set up, and work began on finishing the main line. By 1872 the line was complete from Hackensack to Hanford. Engine shops were located at Newfoundland. While the NY&OM ended some 14.5 miles north at Middletown, New York, it leased a small road called the Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad (MU&WG) which connected it to the NJM. The MU&WG was a branch line, and fed into the Erie Railroad. By the summer of 1872 the line was complete to Jersey City.
Aftermath of the panic of 1873
Soon however, the Panic of 1873 saw the NY&OM go into receivership, and freight traffic detoured to the Erie at Middletown. James McCulloh and Garret Hobart took ownership of the broken road in 1875, and after half a decade of bondholder hearings, it was reorganized as the Midland Railway of New Jersey in 1880. Subsequently, the NY&OM went through similar proceedings and emerged as the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad.
Shortly after the panic subsided, The New York and Scranton Construction Company was founded by entrepreneurs from both cities to create rail routes from New York to the coal-rich Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. They chartered at least four railroads to build inland routes. These roads were then, after consideration, merged with the Midland Railway of New Jersey to form the New York, Susquehanna and Western in 1881. Taking into account the massive project of building a railroad across the Pocono Mountains into the coal mine areas, it was decided to let the then-extant Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W, or simply Lackawanna) handle coal traffic from the mines to an interchange at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, from whence it travelled over the NYS&W to port. Passenger service between the growing Stroudsburg and New York City began in the fall of 1882, continuing until 1941.
Full control to Erie control
The Susquehanna was soon paying the DL&W a 37% fee for hauling coal from inland Pennsylvania, and also a small portion to the Pennsylvania Railroad to take the freight the final three miles to Jersey City. In 1892, the management decided that the NYS&W should own the entire road from coal fields to port and the Susquehanna began buying oceanfront property at Edgewater, New Jersey to build docks for coal shipment. The more difficult task lay westward: building a line from Stroudsburg, PA to Wilkes-Barre – the Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad. By 1896 both projects were completed and the road began to build north of Wilkes-Barre to Scranton and beyond. Meanwhile, the larger railroads were not ignoring this rapid expansion. J.P. Morgan, acting on behalf of the Erie Railroad, began acquiring Susquehanna stock in 1898. This continued until Erie was a majority owner and began operating the road in July of 1898.
Enter the twentieth century
World War I hit the Susquehanna heavily, as the USRA nationalized all railroads between 1918 and 1920. When the road regained control of its lines it saw former leased Erie locomotives, especially the famous “Russian” Decapods, as the motive power throughout the road. The Erie continued to equip the Susquehanna well, replacing aging equipment with new, state-of-the-art locomotives and rolling stock.
The depression-era railroad
Beyond the loss in revenue from The Great Depression, the railroad was struck a further blow by flooding in 1936, requiring costly repair of track and equipment. In 1937, a pair of mortgage bonds the road had taken out came due, and the railroad could not afford repayment. The railroad filed for federal reorganization due to bankruptcy on 1 June 1937.
Post-reorganization
Under new court-appointed trustee Walter Kidde, the first act was to terminate the lease of the money-losing Wilkes-Barre and Eastern branch. Coal sales had been losing out to oil and gas since the 1930s and the branch’s losses were covered by the NYS&W as part of the lease agreement. The spring of 1938 saw a one-third reduction in commuter trains from Butler to Susquehanna Transfer. Additional runs were cut that summer.
In 1940 the road severed the last of its ties with the Erie as it began working with the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad, sharing office facilities and shops at Middletown. These shops were already working to refurbish the ex-Erie locomotives which were now the heart of the Susquehanna fleet. Now that the road was standing on its own again, Kidde began the task of creating a new identity for it. He ordered ACF LRVs (see right) for use in the “Streamliner” rapid transit between Paterson and New York. These would augment the service already provided by ex-Erie Brill railcars. All service to Pennsylvania was dropped in 1941 with the abandonment of the Hainesburg-Stroudsburg line.
Dieselization and World War II
The newly-reinvigorated road was able to purchase new ALCO RS-1 and S-2 diesel locomotives to replace aging steam power. Business picked up as the war broke out, though the road remained under court supervision. Kidde died in 1943 and Henry K. Norton, who had been an executive under Kidde, was appointed to replace him. Under Norton the road saw the purchase of more ACF cars and more diesels. Indeed, by the end of the war the road had declared itself fully dieselized – the first Class I railroad to achieve this in the U.S. Norton also brokered the trading-in of the ACF cars for purchase of the road’s first Budd RDC cars by 1950. These railcars carried the traffic planned for the ACF cars, which were prone to engine failures (The first ACF unit, #1001, was destroyed when its engine caught fire).
The 1950s and 60s
The decade opened with a bright outlook for the Susquehanna; the last diesels on order were received, and the railroad was declared reorganized by the courts in 1953. New stainless steel passenger coaches had been purchased in 1951, matching the look of the RDCs. However, the recession of 1957 spelled the beginning of a new era for NYS&W. The Ontario and Western succumbed and was torn up that same year. The Susquehanna, desperate to avoid the same fate, began liquidating assets. The stainless steel rolling stock was sold off, and the Hanford branch was abandoned. The nearby Lehigh and New England Railroad folded in 1961, and the pressure mounted for the Susquehanna. In 1962 with the L&NE gone, the road was cut back to Sparta Junction. Irving Maidman, a real-estate developer, bought control of the road and immediately secured a government grant for three new EMD GP-18s. The older diesels were in disrepair and Maidman decided to cut back on maintenance to cut costs. The most drastic measure was realized on 30 June 1966, when the final commuter train operated between Butler and New York. The road was now solely dependent on freight revenue. In 1968 the NYS&W continued to shrink, when the line was embargoed west of Oakridge, NJ thereby cutting off the L&HR freight interchange at Sparta.
The 1970s and early 80s
In 1971 a large rainstorm washed out the line at Smoke Rise (in Butler, NJ), cutting off the railroad’s vital connection with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) at Green Pond junction, as well as to any western trackage. Soon after the washout, the CNJ abandoned its branch to the Susquehanna. The washout was never repaired, as there were no customers west of Butler at the time. In 1976 the NYSW was again in court over failure to pay New Jersey state taxes. The courts ordered the road to continue to operate while a feasibility study was conducted to see whether the line should continue operation or abandoned. In the early 1980 the Delaware Otsego System, headed by Walter Rich, bid for the road. The courts accepted this bid. On September 1st, 1980, DO took control and the road was saved from abandonment.
On April 2nd, 1982 the railroad assumed operations of the former Lackawanna Railroad's Syracuse and Utica branches after acquiring them from Conrail. However, Conrail retained trackage all the way into Syracuse. The main route was the Utica branch, where it connected with Conrail. These new lines were dubbed the "Northern Division". The disconnected original NYS&W main was dubbed the "Southern Division".
As part of the purchase of the Northern Division lines, NYS&W also purchased a portion of the former Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR), from Franklin, NJ to the NJ/NY state line near Warwick, NY. Three years later, they completed the purchase of the remaining L&HR in New Jersey by aquiring the portion from Sparta, New Jersey to Franklin. In mid 1985 the NYS&W begain an isolated service from Warwick to Sparta on its newly aquired portion of the L&HR. They would receive cars from Conrail in Warwick and deliver them to lumber and propane customers in Sparta.
Seeking to link their two operations, Susquehanna was extended north to Binghamton, New York via Conrail trackage rights and procurement of additional existing track.
Late 1980s rebirth
In 1984-1985 the Sea-Land container company entered into an agreement with the NYS&W to use the rail yard in Little Ferry as a container facility. Conrail had offered to share a previously-owned facility, an offer Sea-Land rejected. The Susquehanna had a haulage agreement with Conrail for trains between the Northern and Southern Divisions for their regular manifest trains (consisting of boxcars, tanker cars, and other common frieght cars). Now along with the manifest trains, Conrail crews begain to operate Susquehanna stack trains over their lines. Five ex-New York Central/Penn Central/Conrail ALCO C430 locomotives were purchased for this new service, along with former Burlington Northern Railroad SD45s and F45s. Already upset over losing the Sea-Land business to the NYS&W, Conrail wanted to cancel the haulage agreement with the smaller road and renegotiate their rates. This left the NYS&W with the choice of renegotiating the rates at a higher cost than before, or rebuilding the line west of Butler and using trackage rights over Conrail instead of haulage rights. This would allow NYS&W crews to operate the trains as actual NYS&W train movements rather than as part of a Conrail train movement. Rebuilding would be a costly measure, and Conrail never thought the smaller railroad would actually do it. However in late 1985, the NYS&W announced that they would rebuild the line. The line was to be rebuilt to Sparta, NJ, where it would join with the portion of the Lehigh and Hudson river the NYS&W had previously purchased. In the spring of 1986 workers begain rehabilitaing the railroad. The work was mostly completed by October of that year. There was now a competitor in the northeast for Conrail's business for the first time since its inception a decade before.
Four new GE Dash 8-40B locomotives were leased in 1988, the same year the Delaware & Hudson Railway was placed into receivership by Guilford Transportation Industries. With NYS&W declared as the designated operator of the D&H, the railroad found itself somewhat short on motive power. Then, two of the ALCO C430 locomotives (3002[1] and 3004[2]) were wrecked within two weeks of one another after derailing on icy grade crossings. Justified by the new added trackage and the loss of the two ALCOs, additional GE Dash 8-40B engines were purchased, financed by CSX Corp.
![[2]](http://64.246.11.82/images/2/20dec89a.jpg.33740.jpg){kind=link}
The 1990s
In 1990, CP Rail purchased the D&H, and the CSX-financed 8-40B engines were returned. In late December 1992, the NYS&W completed the purchase of a Chinese SY 2-8-2 (#142) 1998 built steam locomotive from the Valley Railroad in Essex, CT. This was to replace a brand new engine that the NYS&W ordered from China, but later lost when being shipped, this engine was to be numbered #141. Oddly, except for the Budd Cars, every engine including #142 is even numbered, a practice reserved for all of its multiple unit equipped diesel electric locomotives. In 1994 Onondoga County purchased the former DL&W line into Syracuse, with the proviso that the NYS&W operate Budd Car Service between Syracuse University, Armory Square, at the Carousel Mall with the option for further routes. Since a deal to purchase the ex DL&W station at Armory square could be not resolved, a new station was built right next door. With operations on this new segment, the Syracuse branch was rehabilitated and the Conrail interchange shifted to Syracuse, NY. Regular steam excursions were offered and used RDC Budd Cars were purchased for the regular OnTrack service. Intermodal trains rolled beyond Binghamton to Syracuse for interchange with Conrail. In 1995, the railroad purchased former CB&Q/BN E9 units #2400 and 2402 for passenger service, and brand new SD70Ms 4050, 4052, 4054 for freight service. After a few years, regular excursions were halted for the most part, with #142 going into intermittent storage at the Utica shops. The OnTrack operation continues as of 2006, albeit with lack luster ridership. A link with the new Syracuse Intermodal transportation Center and the new baseball stadium beyond, located just north of the Carousel Mall station was halted after structural problems with a nearby bridge and has foundered since.
NYS&W in the early 21st century
In 1999, CSX and Norfolk Southern split up Conrail between themselves, with the two railroads taking away all of NYS&W’s intermodal business. As a result, the Susquehanna spent the next few years relying on its original local customer base for revenue freight, in addition to hosting detour and overflow traffic from CSX. Afterward, the road acquired contracts hauling construction debris westward from Little Ferry. These are the bulk of the long-haul operations on the railway. The rest of the operations deal with the remaining customers along the line and its branches. There are two Evdesignations for the main line trains that link the two divisions, SU-99 (westbound from Little Ferry to Binghamton) and SU-100 which is the reverse eastbound.[3]
The northern and southern divisions have frequently hosted detour routes for other railroad since the Delaware Otsego era, from D&H detours on the Utica branch to CSX detours on the whole system between Syracuse, NY and NJ. The line acted as an overflow route during the congestion following the Conrail split up, and hosts regular CSX detours due to maintenance on CSX's ex NYC riverline. More recent D&H (CPR) detours have been hosted as well.
At the turn of the century the NYS&W found itself with motive power concerns. The SD70Ms were leased to the Indiana & Ohio in 2001, and the leases on the Dash 8 locomotives would be up within two years. The last remaining original C430s (3000 and 3006) were removed from service or were needing repairs, and were sold to the Livonia, Avon, and Lakeville RR Corp. Four former Union Pacific/Southern Pacific/D&RGW tunnel motor type engines were purchased. 3010, (first numbered 3002), 3012, and 3014, and 3016. To date, 3012 and 3016 have been repainted. B40s 4002, 4004, 4006, and 4008 were off lease in 2003 and were stored before they were shipped to the Providence & Worcester Railroad the following year. ALCO/MLW C636 and M636 locomotives were first leased and then purchased from Cartier Mining in Québec. SD45 3612 was scrapped, 3614 was salvaged for parts (although as of 2006 apprently being rebuilt), and the stored 3618 and 3634 were returned to service. F45 3636 was rebuilt and returned to service early in 2006. SW-9 #120 was sold in the Summer of 2006 to a locomotive rebuilder in Dansville, NY. Ex P&W GEs were leased, and then purchased. A former NS GP40 was also purchased, #3042, their second GP40. This unit was originally a high hood engine and recieved its low nose from scrapped SD45 #3612. The current roster is an amalgamation of GE, GM, and ALCO units. Some units in active service are routinely experiencing mechanical failures. As of September 2006, several locomotives are being rebuilt and/or refurbished.
Interchanges with Class I railroads
- CSX in Syracuse, New York and North Bergen, New Jersey
- Norfolk Southern in Binghamton, New York and the Passaic Junction rail yard in Saddle Brook, New Jersey
- Canadian Pacific Railway in Binghamton, New York
Company officers
Presidents of the Susquehanna have included:
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
- Walter Kidde, 1937-1943 (Trustee)
- Henry K. Norton, (Trustee 1943-1953) President 1953-1955
- Ralph E. Sease, 1955-1963
- John P. Clark
- Irving Maidmen
- Walter Rich, 1980-
See also
References
- George Povall (1986). The New Susquehanna Great Spots for Shots.
- Krause, John and Crist, Ed (1991). Susquehanna: New York Susquehanna & Western RR. Carstens Publications. ISBN 911868-80-1.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society
- NYS&W Technical & Historical Society
- Robert E. Mohowski (2003). The New York Susuquehanna & Western Railroad. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7222-7.
- Paul R. Tupaczewski (2002). New York Susquehanna & Western, In Color. Morning Sun Books. ISBN 1-582480-070-2.
External links
- NYS&W Web Site Official Corporate Site
- Railfan.net NYS&W Site
- Railroad.net NYS&W forum
- NYS&W Early History - The New Jersey Midland Railway
- Details operations at Hanford
- Photographs of the Northern Division
- Historical Photographs