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return to: Railroads of Allegany County, Home Page

Miscl. CLIPS.....etc.

About Railroads....items of interest from the past;  A place to share what others find interesting as well as myself.

Humorous, interesting, informative---a flavor of the railroad---maybe not directly Allegany County, but, a part of railroad history to share which could have impacted Allegany County rail history.  rt

Clipping from archives of Dyke Street Museum, Wellsville,NY

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following was transcribed and submitted by Mary Rhodes

November 18, 1882 Wellsville Reporter

 

OUR THIRD RAILROAD

 

What Wellsville Should Do About It

 

 

 

The road bed of a narrow gauge railroad is practically completed from this village to Genesee Forks in Pennsylvania, a distance of twelve miles.  This work has been done and paid for by a company composed principally of citizens of Wellsville.  The control of the work has been entirely local, it has been done by parties deeply interested in the welfare of the project, who have taken into account everything tending to economy of construction, and it is a well founded boast of the management that a cheaper railroad grade of equal extent and quality was never built by any company.  This is of course partly due to the condition of the route taken by the road, it being laid out by nature apparently for the very purpose to which it was being put. The gradients are practically of no account whatever, and the short curves and long trestles which are a feature of most of the narrow gauge architecture in this region are not seen.

 

But all these advantages would not make a railroad valuable, unless the traffic was behind it to make it useful.  Anyone who is at all familiar with the resources and products of the region which it is intended to tap, will not question long on this latter point.  A journey upon either of the two upriver roads on almost any day and an observation of the amount of lumber, bark and produce of all kinds that drifts down these to this market would easily convince one that the traffic for a narrow gauge was ready made and only waiting to be gathered.  To go into details – there is enough of bark from that direction, which could be brought to the Wellsville tanneries by rail cheaper than it could be drawn, to furnish of itself a paying freight traffic to the road for at least two months of the year.  There is enough lumber now out and ready to be hauled to Wellsville to keep a road of the proposed facilities of this one reasonably busy this entire winter.  These are but two items and form but a small portion of the receipts which might be expected.

 

Now all these facts admitted, what is the duty of Wellsville’s business men in the premises.  Borrow a map which will show you Southern New York and Northern Pennsylvania, and see if that will help you to a more realizing sense of what should be done.

 

Two railroads are now building, with eastern connections both of which carry danger to Wellsville’s southern communications and threaten to seriously contract its trading area in that direction.  The first and most important of these is the extension of the Corning and Cowanesque road, from Elkland up the Cowanesque River. This is of standard gauge, is to be built to Westfield this fall, and there is a strong probability that work will be kept up until the line reaches Harrison Valley, only twenty four miles from Wellsville, and only eight miles from Ulysses, the objective point of the Wellsville line.  Over all this proposed route, the road follows the easy grade of the Cowanesque valley.  The road is built by the Magee interests and is therefore intimately connected with the New York Central system.  Over a week ago cars commenced running over the road as far as Knoxville, and Westfield must now be nearly reached.  It is rumored also in regard to this road that it does not intend to find an end at Harrison Valley, but will ultimately be extended through Potter County to Olean.  This, however, it too shadowy to need any discussion at present.  It is its present condition only that we call the serious attention of our business men to, with its tendency to head off to the Erie road at Corning a portion of our commerce.  Then there is the Addison and Northern Pennsylvania, which leaves the Erie at Addison, strikes the Cowanesque Valley at Elkland, follows it to Knoxville and Westfield, and turns southward into the Pine Creek region, with its present terminus at Gaines in Tioga county.  This road is being rapidly built and will be in running order this winter.  Although this does not come as near Wellsville as the former, it makes an entry into the Pine Creek region on which we have hopefully depended as an aid to future prosperity.

 

What is Wellsville to do, and why this long prelude?  It cannot prevent or hinder the building of these two or any other outside lines.  It must, however, act on the defensive and make some effort itself in common with other enterprising villages.  The Wellsville, Coudersport & Pine Creek Railroad affords a means of doing this very thing.  Even standing by itself, it will be an important feeder to our village interests, although no other part of the boasted chain of which it was to be a link is ever carried forward.  Wellsville should see to it that this road is finished.  This can be done as well this fall as next year, and should be done before the opposing lines gain a foothold.  Money is needed to do this.  The right of way and grading has been paid for by the stockholders, and to provide for the balance of the cost, bonds have been issued at the rate of $6,000 per mile.  This is a much smaller ratio of bonds than is usually carried by these narrow gauge roads, and as a purely financial investment can hardly fail of being good property.  There are a large number of our business men who have stood aloof from the project entirely, and have rather opposed than encouraged the earnest and enterprising men in charge.  There is now an opportunity for these men to make a fine investment, serve the business interests of the town and protect its material prosperity from threatening dangers, by subscribing for the portion of these bonds still untaken.  There are many who should see it not only as a duty but as a privilege to do this, who are amply able.

 

Ties, rails and rolling stock can be placed on the road bed speedily if the necessary money is forthcoming, and the road can commence earning its dividends this winter as well as next summer.

 

 

 

 
from page 233, June, 1893, Travelers' Official Guide

From Page 233, Vol. I, New York State Railroad Commissioners Report, 1888

 

Cuba Patriot, March 23, 1883   Researched & Submitted by Richard Palmer

        The Erie and the Narrow Gauges

                     ____

    The statement that the R.G. Taylor system of narrow gauges has been leased outright to the Erie road is both reported and denied. It is probably an error. However an arrangement has been entered into which brings these small roads into even closer communion with the Erie than has been.

      They have at all times been favored by the Erie, sing at points of junction their depots, having switch room furnished, and working together in the control of freight and passenger traffic as though under one management. 

      The treasurer of the Erie road,  B.W. Spencer, is treasurer of the narrow gauges, and officials of the former have been among the directors of the latter. They have been emphatically "Erie roads," and it is hard to see how they could be more intimately-connected, except under positive leases.

 

     It is said that the new arrangement definitely provides for the transfer of traffic between the two, and that the Erie guarantees the outstanding bonds of the various narrow gauges o the amount of $1,500,000. This will raise them to the rank of prime securities.

 

     The system includes 157 miles of road, made up of the Tonawanda Valley & Cuba, Bradford, Eldred & Cuba, the Bradford, Bordell & Kinzua, and the Bradford & Smethport road.

 

  Researched and submitted by Richard Palmer

Cuba Patriot, June 8, 1883

                   Railroads

                        ___

    A town without railroad facilities in this day is looked upon as benighted and unfortunate; and, per contra, a town with many railroads is supposed to be the heir of manifold blessings. This is of course true in a measure.

     Railroad facilities are a good thing when they are utilized for the benefit of a community, and the more the better. But there is no especial advantage in having frequent trains run through a place on a dozen roads if they do not bring trade or increase productive activities. The whistles make a welcome noise, the bells sound merrily and the "puff-puff"  has an air of business in it, but the road which dispenses nothing but cinders and smoke over a village is not especially valuable.

     Railroads are just as handy for people to get out of town on as to get in, and we have known places where the addition of railroad facilities simply led trade away to convenient and larger centers. Still we insist, railroads are a good thing  to have, and lots of them.

     They furnish a foundation on which a superstructure of increased prosperity may be built, that is, if citizens are inclined to furnish the brick of enterprise and the mortar of money to put up the superstructure. Otherwise - otherwise.

 

 

 KENDALL & ELDRED RAILROAD NEWS ITEM

Oil Echo, Richburg, N.Y., Sat., Jan. 28, 1882

 

                Railroad Accident

                       ____

A Kendall & Eldred Train Stops Short on a Trestle.

 

     Conductor Fragner’s train on the K. & E. R.R. met with a mishap on a trestle near Gridley’s Mills, about one o’clock yesterday afternoon, the passengers being shaken up and Baggage-master Sweetzer receiving some bruises. The train  left Eldred as usual early in the morning and, arriving at a point near Tarport, where a trestle bridge spanning Kendall creek had been washed away, turned back towards another train and carried into Bradford.

      Near Gridley’s Mills, while Fragner’s train was moving slowly over a low trestle that crosses Knapp’s Creek, the two passenger coaches were thrown from the track by a broken rail. The locomotive at the time had just crossed the bridge and the baggage car, immediately behind it, kept its position on the track. Fortunately for the passengers, the two derailed cars remained on the bridge, leaning over towards one side and presenting an alarming situation to the passengers within.

     The couplings held the whole train together, but this fortunate circumstance might not have happened had the train been going at its usual speed. The thirty passengers, including four ladies, escaped from the cars in short order and walked  back to Duke Center, whence stage transportation, provided by the railroad company, carried them to their intended destinations. The baggage master, Mfr. Sweetzer, was injured some by being thrown violently against the end of his car. The railroad company cleared the bridge and had trains running as usual soon after. 

 

If you feel you have something to share, email it to me and I will consider it for publish here.

email:  RON TAYLOR

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