Central New York Railroad

The Central New York Railroad (reporting mark CNYK) is a shortline railroad operating local freight service along ex-Southern Tier Line trackage (ex-Erie Railroad/Erie Lackawanna Railway mainline trackage) in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. The line begins at Port Jervis, following the Delaware River to Deposit and the Susquehanna River from Lanesboro, where it passes over 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).

Central New York Railroad
CNYK (Binghamton to Port Jervis) and adjoining portions of the Southern Tier Line
Overview
HeadquartersCooperstown, New York
Reporting markCNYK
LocaleWest Branch Delaware River
Dates of operation1972–1988
2004–Present
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length123.1 miles (198.1 km)[1]

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 being operated by the CNYK 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] Though the CNYK was inactive from 1988-2004, the CNYK was still in existence.

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 is a former Erie Railroad property and this trackage was opened 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 CNYK does not own any locomotives or other rolling stock, all trains over the CNYK are operated by Delaware Otsego's New York Susquehanna & Western Railway subsidiary, interchanging with the Norfolk Southern at Binghamton.[7]

As of July, 2023, current freight traffic consists of two weekly trains in each direction, numbered SU-99 and SU-100. [8]

References
  1. Surface Transportation Board, Finance Docket No. 34643, January 21, 2005
  2. Railroad Retirement Board, Employer Status Determination: Central New York Railroad Corporation Archived 2009-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, 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. The 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 Archived 2013-12-22 at the Wayback Machine (Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society), accessed December 2008
  7. Central New York Railroad, accessed December 2008
  8. RAILPACE Magazine, August. 2003
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