Ithaca-Auburn Short Line
Encyclopedia
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
line to operate in Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...
.
Origins
Promoted by Albert H. Flint, the New York, Auburn and Lansing Railroad was chartered on March 16, 1900. It was to re-use the old "Murdock Line", a rail grade which had briefly seen service as part of the Auburn Branch of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, to connect IthacaIthaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
and Auburn
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
, and would enter Ithaca via a friendly connection with the Ithaca Street Railway.
The road was conceived of as a third-rail-powered interurban, but as the expense proved prohibitive, the line was only electrified between Ithaca and South Lansing
Lansing, New York
Lansing, New York can refer to:*Lansing , New York, a town in Tompkins County.*Lansing , New York, a village in the town of Lansing....
, using overhead wire. Operations north of there were run by steam. The line used the Ithaca street railway's Tioga Street line from its terminus between State and Seneca Streets in Ithaca to the north side of Percy Field (current site of Ithaca High School), then climbed out of the Lake Cayuga basin through Renwick and Twin Glens, parallel to and below the current New York State Route 13
New York State Route 13
New York State Route 13 is a state highway that runs mainly north–south for between NY 14 in Horseheads and NY 3 west of Pulaski in Central New York in the United States. In between, NY 13 intersects with Interstate 81 in Cortland and Pulaski and meets the New York...
, and reached the Murdock Line grade at South Lansing. It followed the grade north through the hamlets of Genoa
Genoa, New York
Genoa is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,935 at the 2010 census.The Town of Genoa is located in the southwest corner of the county and is north of Ithaca, New York...
, Venice
Venice, New York
Venice is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,368 at the 2010 census.The Town of Venice is in the south part of Cayuga County and is south of Auburn, New York.- History :...
, Scipio
Scipio, New York
Scipio is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,713 at the 2010 census. The town name was provided by a clerk with an interest in the classics....
, and Mapleton. On the outskirts of Auburn, it swung east from the former Ithaca, Auburn and Western Railroad
Ithaca, Auburn and Western Railroad
The Ithaca, Auburn and Western Railroad was a short-lived railroad connecting Ithaca and Auburn.In 1876, it bought part of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad's Auburn Branch, extending from Freeville on the Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad to Scipio, and was operated by the UI&E. It...
grade (which had built from the end of the Midland's Auburn Branch at Scipio to Genoa Jct., just west of Auburn), and reached a connection with the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
just within the city limits of Auburn. Construction began in 1906 from the Auburn end, and reached South Lansing on March 1, 1908. The line into Ithaca was opened on December 12, 1908.
Operations
Service between Ithaca and South Lansing, was operated with streetcars leased from the Ithaca Street Ry. An interchange track with the Lehigh Valley was laid at Remington, near the base of the hill, but the steep grade and limited tractive capacity of the streetcars meant that business was minimal. Service from South Lansing to Auburn was steam-operated. In 1909, a 0.5-mile branch was built by Col. J.V. McIntyre, owner of the Rogues Harbor Hotel, from his establishment to South Lansing. This was also electrified, and regular service from Ithaca to Rogues Harbor was established.Throughout its life, the Short Line (as it was known to residents) faced stiff competition from the Lehigh Valley's Ithaca & Auburn Branch. The two-car maximum up the hill out of Ithaca effectively guaranteed to the LV the freight business of Ithaca, but the Short Line offered four trains a day between Ithaca and Auburn, against two for the Lehigh Valley. However, the Short Line lacked the financial resources of the Lehigh Valley, and struggled in the harsh upstate winters. It went into receivership in 1912 and was reorganized as the Central New York Southern Railroad in 1914 (organized May 28; property of NYA&L conveyed July 14). At this time the initial grade out of Ithaca was eased somewhat with the construction of an S-shaped approach from Percy Field, replacing the use of the steeper Cayuga Heights loop of the Ithaca Street Railway; this is the abutment over East Shore Drive that is still in place.
