Central New York Railroad

Central New York Railroad

CNYK (Binghamton to Port Jervis) and adjoining portions of the Southern Tier Line
Reporting mark	CNYK
Locale	West Branch Delaware River
Dates of operation	1972–1988 2004–
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	123.1 miles (198.1 km)[1]
Headquarters	Cooperstown, New York

The Central New York Railroad (reporting mark CNYK) is a shortline railroad operating local freight service along the ex-Erie Railroad Southern Tier Line in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. The line begins at Port Jervis, following the West Branch Delaware River to Deposit and the Susquehanna River from Lanesboro, where it crosses the Starrucca Viaduct, to Binghamton. It is a subsidiary of the Delaware Otsego Corporation, which also owns the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, operator of through trains over the line (along with the Norfolk Southern Railway, lessor).

History

The CNYK began operations on December 12, 1972^[2] between Cassville and Richfield Springs, New York, having purchased the trackage from the Erie Lackawanna Railway (EL). The 21.7-mile (34.9 km) line was opened by the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railway in November 1872 as a branch,^[3] and passed to the EL through consolidation. (EL successor Conrail sold the old Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley main line through Cassville to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway in 1982.^[4]) The CNYK suspended service in early 1988 and was authorized to abandon the line in August 1995, at which time the corporation became inactive.^[5]

Delaware Otsego brought the CNYK back to life on December 31, 2004, when it leased the Binghamton-Port Jervis section of the Southern Tier Line from the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line had been opened by the New York and Erie Railroad in December 1848,^[6] and passed through the Erie Lackawanna and Conrail to Norfolk Southern. When the CNYK leased the line, the Norfolk Southern retained overhead trackage rights to serve through freight traffic.^[1] Since the Delaware Otsego also had overhead trackage rights through the Susquehanna, the CNYK only operates local freight trains, interchanging with the Norfolk Southern and Susquehanna at Binghamton.^[7]

References

1. Surface Transportation Board, Finance Docket No. 34643, January 21, 2005
2. Railroad Retirement Board, Employer Status Determination: Central New York Railroad Corporation, May 24, 2005
3. Interstate Commerce Commission, 39 Val. Rep. 1: Valuation Docket No. 900, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company et al. (1932)
4. Philadelphia Inquirer, Conrail Sells 177.4 Miles of Track, April 3, 1982, p. C13
5. Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, p. 351
6. Christopher T. Baer, PRR Chronology (Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society), accessed December 2008
7. Central New York Railroad, accessed December 2008

External links

• Central New York Railroad