Railroads

The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad, despite its undesirable impact on Weedsport, is an interesting story. It was the first railroad in this part of the state. In August 1964 the Syracuse-Herald-American carried a story which vividly describes the earliest days of that railroad. "James C. Buckingham, an English traveler, wrote in his journal Aug. 9, 1858: On Thursday August 9th, we left Syracuse in a coach that conveyed us to a railway, beginning at a distance of three or four miles from the town to take us to Auburn; but great was our disappointment at finding that, instead of a locomotive engine, the cars were drawn by horses, of which there were only two to draw about 20 passengers, the horses being placed one before the other, as tandems are driven, and not abreast. ' The horses he writes of were owned and operated by Col. John M. Sherwood, a stage coach proprietor in Auburn who had a contract to run his stages fitted with railroad wheels, to carry passengers. Under the contract terms, Sherwood was to receive half the profits.

"The rails too, were of wood instead of iron" Buckingham continues, and We had to wait half an hour before starting, and our progress was then so tedious that we all thought of getting out to walk the distance, when, to add to our mortification, we met a train of cars drawn by a single horse coming right against us, and, the rails being single and the places for turning off being wide apart, we had to shift our tandem pair from the front to the hind part of the train, and be drawn back about a mile and a half to get off the track, and let our advancing rival go past us'.

Buckingham's journey to Auburn took two hours. The Auburn & Syracuse Railroad didn't come all the way into Syracuse until sometime later that fall.

A year later, on June 4, 1839, the road was completed into Syracuse

and an excursion celebrated the event by being drawn by a steam engine.

When the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad began business in 1839, William G. Fargo was the first freight agent at the Auburn Station, and in the Federal Census of 1840 he was residing in the Tom of Brutus. The famous Wells-Fargo Express Company had its beginning in Cayuga County, more specifically in Port Byron and Weedsport. As a young man, Henry Wells lived in Port Byron for a few years. His first experience in the carrying business was gained in the Albany area. He later moved to Buffalo and conducted business from that city. Mr. Wells became associated with Win. G. Fargo in 1844, when Wells and Fargo, with another partner, established an express line from Buffalo to Detroit.

Win. G. Fargo was brought up in Pompey in Onondaga County. During their career as carriers, these two men involved in a number of different express businesses. Best known are American Express Company and Adams Express. The famous Wells, Fargo & Co., was organized in 1852 primarily to make a carrier connection between the East and California while the gold rush was at its peek. Wells-Fargo operated the well known "Pony Express" during the last few months of its service in 1861. The organization became American Express Company in 1878. Mr. Wells retired from the presidency of the company and settled in Aurora. Earlier, in 1868, he had rounded Wells Seminary, which later became Wells College, located at Aurora, and one of the three first Women's colleges in the nation.

Win. G. Fargo made his home in Buffalo. He was active in civic affairs and served as Buffalo's mayor from 1862-66.

Weedsport's first rail service was initiated in 1851 when the Rochester and Syracuse Direct Line Railroad was completed. The Direct Line was one of a series of eight railroads that extended across the State from Albany to Buffalo. These lines could not be connected directly because several different gauges were in use. However, in 1858 all were standardized and combined and the New York Central was born with Erastus Coming as president. There was no direct connection between upstate and New York City until 1869. At that time Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had gained control of the Hudson River Railroad, united the two lines into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. The new 1858 line had a revitalizing effect on Weedsport but Port Byron suffered greatly "becoming little more than whistle stop." The New York Central has always been characterized by its famous "name trains," particularly the Empire State Express and the Twentieth Century Limited. The Empire acquired still greater fame when it put its 999 locomotive into use. On 'the tenth of May 1898 the Empire pulled into Syracuse from the east twenty minutes late. 999 replaced the former engine and started for Buffalo. Before reaching Batavia the 90 miles per hour speed had more than put the Empire back on schedule. West of Buffalo,engineer Carlie Hogan really opened the throttle. The great engine covered the mile in 32 seconds-112 m.p.h.- the fastest man had ever traveled at that time. Old 999 is now on display in a Chicago Museum.*(also see footnote)

Even more famous than the Empire, the Twentieth Century Limited became the byword of people traveling between New York and Chicago. The Century was put into service on June 15, 1902. The running time between the two terminals was about 20 hours. At one time in its history the company paid every passenger a dollar a minute for every minute the train was late.

Before 1875, most railway locomotives used wood for fuel and it is said that the New York Central has a wood-yard filled with hundreds of cords of wood near where it crossed the Lehigh.

In the ten years before 1936, innumerable accidents, several fatal, had occurred at the Route 34 crossing north of the village. Highway traffic was controlled by a watchman and by gates but at the very busy four track crossing, accidents happened anyway. So at a cost of over $100,000,a new overhead bridge was constructed. the bridge was completed in 1937 and is still in use.

As the railroad period passed, the Central removed two of its four tracks, the small feeder lines were discontinued, and in the 1950's, the passenger depot was removed at Weedsport and in the early 1960's, the freight depot was taken out.

In 1852 the Lake Ontario, Auburn and New York Railroad was chartered to build a 74 mile line from Fair Haven to Pugsley's Station(now Caroline) south of Ithaca. The organization spent $450,000 on grading between Fair Haven and Auburn but work was stopped since no more funds were available.

The Civil War further delayed progress on the project but in 1865 another group using the title Southern Railroad acquired the right and franchise of the LOA&NY. Work began at once and by 1867 the road bed was ready for rails. March 8, 1870 is the beginning date of scheduled freight runs on the new line.

One of the prime objectives of the Southern Central management was to connect Fair Haven with the coal mine areas of Pennsylvania. Lacking funds to complete the construction, they borrowed $500,000 from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company giving a mortgage on $500,000 worth of track as security.After a series of confusing financial transactions the company had accumulated a deficit of about $900,000 and on December 1, 1888 the Lehigh Valley took over.

"Trouble often seemed to come to the Southern Central in Bunches" stated Herbert V. Trice in his booklet "The Southern Central Railroad." On December 13, 1875, a fire in the engine house at Fair Haven destroyed the engine "Weedsport" and one other. To quote Mr. Trice again, "Probably the most serious and tragic SC incident occurred on February 14, 1884, at the Seneca River Bridge north of Weedsport. A southbound accommodation train No. 19, due at Weedsport at 3:40 p.m., consisting of Engine No. 65, the 'Owasco, ' two box cars, one caboose and one passenger car, in the order named, had started to cross the bridge when the first span collapsed, dropping the engine and box cars in to the river. The engineer, fireman and brakeman on the engine were drowned, but seven passengers and two other crew members riding in the passenger car, which remained on the rails, escaped injury.

In the ensuing weeks the Auburn newspapers devoted considerable space to

the bridge failure and its tragic consequences. When the incident occurred, the river was high and covered with ice so that salvage efforts immediately attempted were impeded. The bodies of the men on the engine were eventually recovered singly, only after patient dragging and diving efforts that extended over a month and a half. On April 7, 1884, the State Board of Railroad Commissioners forth rightly found the SCRR and its chief engineer at fault in the bridge collapse, while three days later a coroner's jury determined the death of the engineer and fireman to be due to suffocation and the death of the head brakeman to be due to drowning, rather diffidently declaring the SCRR Co. to be "responsible only for having neglected to examine the bridge as often and as thoroughly as a structure of this kind demands. "'

The Lehigh was never important as a passenger line but it hauled millions of tons of coal from Pennsylvania to Fair Haven where a large docking facility enabled the coal to be loaded onto boats and trans-shipped to Canada. Profo Hopkins states that soon after it started operations the Southern Central "used sixteen locomotives, nine passenger cars and a large number of freight cars including 24 coal cars."

The line was finally abandoned in 1957 and the rails removed.

New York West Shore and Buffalo Railway was an abortive attempt of the Morgan interest to break the New York Central monopoly controlled by the Vanderbilts. But it didn't work out that way - an unidentified undated clipping at Old Brutus Museum pretty well summarizes the preliminary development of the road and gives some local color to the first passenger train to pass thru Weedsport on January 1, 1884. Mr. C. H. Bibbens, editor of the Jordan Times described the trip from Jordan as follows: "The train arrived in Jordan drawn by Locomotive No. 42 and consisted of seven elegant coaches and two baggage cars. The trio boarded the train, shortly cry of 'all 'aboard' was sounded, and we glided swiftly and silently over the smoothly laid track. The car was quite well filled with passengers and the elegance of surroundings soon became the topic of conversation.

The passenger cars were simply luxurious. They were not gaudy, but rich in style of finish, solidity and were far superior to cars used on other roads. Comfortably warm by steam, lighted by gas, the large plate glass windows, carpeted aisles and with a wash room on each car. Pullman cars are great improvements which the public greatly appreciates.

Alighting from the car, we were greatly surprised to see the large and enthusiastic congregation of citizens who had assembled around the station to greet us. The Weedsport cornet band was there, dressed in uniforms, discoursing sweet strains of common metre; a mounted cannon pealed forth thundering salutes, and the depot was appropriately decked with the stars and stripes illustrating the enthusiastic feeling of the citizens of Mr. Bibbens' native village ..'

Statistics on the building of the West Shore railroad, as taken from the papers of 1883 and 1884 follows: March 8, 1888 - there are now about 125 Italians at work on the West Shore in the vicinity of Port Byron.

March 15, 1883 - Stone and iron used in the construction of the West Shore bridge over the Erie Canal in the village of Weedsport will cost upwards of $60,000.

June 28, 1883 - The Italians on the West Shore spend 15 to 25 cents a day living expenses.

August 2, 1883 - the work of laying the track for the West Shore is progressing rapidly. Two West Shore engines, Nos. 84 and 89 arrived in Jordan last Saturday. They came by way of the New York Central. McIntyre's gravel bed has been leased by the West Shore and a road to the track will be laid from the gravel bed to the rail bed. A steam shovel arrived in Jordan by way of the Central and will be placed in position in a few days.

August 9, 1883 - Upwards of 125 of the sons of Italy will leave during the week for other quarters to work on the West Shore. The grading of the Jordan section will be completed about Aug. 9.

Sept. 20, 1883 - the laying of the track of the West Shore thru the Jordan section is completed and hallasting is being rapidly pushed forward. Seventy five acres of land within the city of East Buffalo are owned by the West Shore. Six buildings at a'cost of $250,000 are being erected soon.

Nov. 1883 - On Monday the West Shore Railroad Company discharged all men employed in ballssting the road, and thereafter the same will be done under different management. The road has been divided into sections between Syracuse and Buffalo, and the company will employ 10 men in each section to do the work necessary to complete the road. About 250 men in the area were thrown out of work.

January 1, 1884 - The opening of the New York, West Shore and Buffalo railroad between Syracuse and Buffalo was successfully completed.

February 28, 1884 - The West Shore finally secured a loan of $2,000,000 from the Central Trust Company of New York which will lift it out of its difficulties, complete its buildings and side tracks and place it in first-class condition.

Cut-throat competition between the two lines which paralleled each other across the state quickly became the order of the day. The Central reduced its passenger fare to one cent per mile and West Shore had to do the same. The rate was continued for over a year at which time the Central negotiated a long-term lease of the West Shore line at very favorable terms. The new arrangement was in effect by 1894.

In 1889 West Shore"s assessment in the Town of Brutus was as follows: 11.2 miles single main track @ $7, 000; $78,400; 1 mile siding, First Class passenger and freight depots, water tank, engine and pump house, 3 houses and lots and 64 acres outside land, $1600; Total assessment $80,000. The houses and lots were occupied by the company's section foreman and other officials. One such structure was located on the west side of Horton Street; north of the tracks. It was occupied by Michael Whalen. The original passenger depot located on the north side of the tracks on East Street became inadequate and was sold to Mr. Fenslet who moved it across the tracks to the south side of East Street at number 2760. He used the lower level for a grocery store and probably a restaurant. He had expected to sell to farmers delivering milk at the Dairymen's League Plant across the street. Unfortunately the project was very short lived. The house is now the residence of the George Donahue family.

The railway age brought a plethora of accidents to railway workers, lay citizens and horses, then later automobiles. The Central was worst. Section workers on the fast four track road were frequent victims. Wesley Hunter drove a "bus" which met the trains at all three depots. His team was killed when struck by a locomotive at the Willow Street crossing of the West Shore. There were so many others.

The West Shore ceased operation in the late 1950's and the rails were removed.

One of the most dramatic innovations in railway transportation took place soon after the beginning of the Century in the form of the electrically powered Interurban, popularly called "The Trolley" The Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Railroad was incorporated in "1901 for the purpose of constructing a high speed, double track electric railroad between Rochester and Syracuse." The line was completed and began operation on December 18, 1909. It proved to be an ill-advised venture. The two-track roadbed was as good as the best but it is said to have cost $144,000 per mile to bid. It paralleled the New York Central 's two roads and was introduced toward the end of the railroad cycle. It had speed, a degree of comfort and greater flexibility of destination than its predecessors but it never paid its way and service was discontinued in 1931.

At Port Byron, a connection was established with the newly completed Auburn & Northern Electric Railroad. This connection enabled many Weedsport people to work in Auburn and still live at home. The Auburn line discontinued operation on April 15, 1980.

The Weedsport depot is about the only identifiable reminder of "Trolley,, days left in the village. It still survives in modified form as the home of Weedsport Grange 995.