The New York, Ontario and Western Railway

By Joe Bux and Ontario and Western Railway Historical Society

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway was the first class-one railroad in the United States to be abandoned in its entirety. Whereas other rail lines were closed gradually, the federal government closed down the railroad on March 29, 1957, for its failure to pay employee withholding taxes. The railroad went into bankruptcy in 1937 after its main shipping commodity, coal, was rapidly replaced by oil for home heat. As time passed, the interest in this abandoned railroad grew, and much of the company's records have been recovered and preserved. Today, with 750 members, the Ontario and Western Railway Historical Society Archives Center houses this unique corporate record collection. In addition, there are extensive private collections of everything from locomotives, passenger cars, lanterns, and tools to company passes and railroad police memorabilia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jan 12, 2009
• ISBN: 9781439637043

Joe Bux

Joe Bux has had a lifelong interest in trains. He joined the Ontario and Western Railway Historical Society in 1970, became its first archivist, and acquired and catalogued much of the society's present collection. He has served as the society's chairman of the board of trustees for the last 10 years.

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INTRODUCTION

Much has been written and documented about all aspects of the Ontario and Western Railway (O&W), but there has never been a collective volume of postcards published about this railroad and its environs. A significant portion of the O&W’s route was over the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway (NYWS&B) from which it had trackage rights. O&W trains would only stop at these stations on the River Division to pick up or discharge passengers from O&W points. Again postcards of these West Shore locations have never been collectively shown. Now you can enjoy viewing them. An act of Congress in 1898 allowed postcards to be sent through the U.S. mail for one penny. The golden age of the postcard era lasted until about 1920. Many cards of this era were real photographs with much detail. Others were considerably retouched. The postcard photographs presented here are from that vintage period. Therefore you may not see pictures of subjects and scenes that have changed in more recent times.

During the late 1860s, every small village in the United States sought to connect itself to the outside world with the hopes of increased commercial activity and relief from the simple life its residents endured. Thus was born the New York and Oswego Midland Railway. The line had financial woes from its inception and fell into bankruptcy during the financial panic of 1873. It never recovered.

In 1879, a syndicate of businessmen purchased the property. It was incorporated as the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W) in 1880. The old New York and Oswego Midland Railway never had a direct outlet to the great New York City market and used leased lines to reach the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Among the syndicate members were friends of George Pullman of sleeping railroad car fame. Pullman disliked Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt for his exclusive use of Wagner sleeping cars on his New York Central and Harlem River Railroad. Eventually a plan was hatched to create the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway to directly compete with the Central and Harlem River Railroad, whose tracks were on the east side of the Hudson River. This line would be built on the west shore of the river from Weehawken, New Jersey, to Buffalo. A connection was also built from Cornwall-on-Hudson to Middletown, giving the NYO&W the trackage rights to the route that it needed for entry into the New York market.

Vanderbilt became gravely concerned about his new competition and cut freight rates on his lines in an effort to bankrupt it. In 1885, the Vanderbilt’s New York Central and Harlem River Railroad cut a deal and leased the NYWS&B for 475 years from the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad had become a new power player in the game. The NYWS&B would no longer be a problem for Vanderbilt.

During this period, the southern Catskills became a popular summer resort destination for much of New York City’s Jewish population. These folks lived in crowed East Side tenements and wanted to escape to the country. The O&W’s main line and trains took them there. New passenger cars were purchased to accommodate this trade but such seasonal business was never a real moneymaker for the railroad.

The Ontario’s investors saw another source of income—coal. A division that branched from Cadosia, New York, to Scranton, Pennsylvania, was planned and built to the finest construction standards of the day. The southern portion of the O&W was double tracked from Cornwall to Cadosia, as was the Scranton Division. The company prospered from the anthracite business, until the 1930s when oil rapidly replaced coal as home heating fuel. The O&W declared bankruptcy in 1937 and received an extended life because it was deemed a vital transportation link during the Second World War.

By the late 1950s, the railroad was in serious trouble with the federal government for non-payment of employee withholding taxes. To satisfy the tax lien, the line was ordered shut down in its entirety on March 29, 1957. Its assets and real estate were sold off piecemeal.

As previously mentioned, the penny postcard became a popular and inexpensive way to communicate simple messages to relatives and friends. A first-class letter cost 3¢ and required an envelope and paper. Thus the postcard became a fast and easy way to advise your loved ones that you arrived safely at your destination.

This early-20th-century practice was particularly popular when traveling by train. The U.S. mail was carried under contract by virtually all railroads, and many stations were also local post offices. Upon arrival at the train station of one’s destination, a post card and 1¢ stamp could be purchased, a quick note written. and the card dropped in the waiting room mailbox.

Aside from the postcard’s graphic interest, it is