Owasco River Railway

The Owasco River Railway was a switching railroad^[3] that provided rail service to several industries on the Owasco River in Auburn, New York, interchanging with the New York Central Railroad and the Lehigh Valley Railroad via trackage rights on the New York Central. Incorporated on June 2, 1881,^[5][6] completed construction in 1882,^[5] and opened by 1886, it was initially owned by the International Harvester Company.^[7][8][9] In 1919, the Interstate Commerce Commission found, in a decision for the Owasco River Railroad, that short line and industrial railroads were common carriers and were entitled to appropriate haulage rates from trunk lines.^[10][11]

The New York Central gained control of the company by lease in 1929^[1] and sold half of the stock to the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1931.^[12][2]

The company was eventually acquired by the Penn Central Transportation Company,^[13] successor to the New York Central, and was abandoned in 1976 when Conrail was formed. Penn Central later used the company to own real estate from abandoned rail lines, and it remains as a subsidiary of American Premier Underwriters, successor to Penn Central.

References

1. "Permits Central to Lease Six Roads; I.C.C. Order Effects Michigan Rail Properties". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, MI. Associated Press. July 4, 1929. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Gets Half-Interest; Lehigh Valley Buys Into Owasco River Railway". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. Associated Press. November 22, 1931. p. 49 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Owasco River Railway". Eighteenth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York for the Year 1900. Vol. I. Albany, NY: James B. Lyon, State Printer. 1901. pp. 470–471 – via Google Books.
4. Second Annual Report on the Statistics of Railways in the United States to the Interstate Commerce Commission for the Year Ending June 30, 1889. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1890. p. 136 – via Google Books.
5. Moody, John (1917). "Owasco River Railway". Moody's Analyses of Investments: Steam Railroads. New York: Moody's Investors Service. p. 1018 – via Google Books.
6. "Alphabetical List of Companies Formed Under the Laws of This State". Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1883. Vol. I. Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons & Company. 1884. p. 518 – via Google Books.
7. "Burke Judgment is Sidetracked". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY. August 16, 1907. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com. ...the Owasco River Company, which is an adjunct of the International Harvester Company...
8. "The International Harvester Company". The Nebraska State Capital. Lincoln, NE. November 25, 1909. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "(untitled)". The Times. Munster, IN. February 10, 1930. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Short Line Industrial Roads Common Carriers". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, NY. May 15, 1919. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Owasco River Railway (53 I.C.C., 104)". 33D. Annual Report of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. December 1, 1919. p. 120 – via Google Books.
12. "Finance Docket No. 8980; Owasco River Railway Joint Control". Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States (Finance Reports). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1932. pp. 775–778 – via Google Books.
13. McMahon, Bob (December 29, 1986). "Putnam development overtaking last remnants of old raiload [sic] line". The Journal News. White Plains, NY. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com. Most of the railroad property in Putnam County was conveyed in 1978 to the Owasco River Railway Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Penn Central.

External links

• The Owasco River Railroad (Abandoned Rails)