New York Railroading and Railfanning In "The Empire State"

New York railroading is immensely rich in history and diversity (for instance, it predates the B&O’s chartering by a year and is only behind Pennsylvania in the most route miles prior to 1840), and continues to be a vital link in the railroad chain today. Where once railroads such as the New York Central and Pennsylvania moved freight and passengers to and from New York City today that service is carried on by CSX, Norfolk Southern and the numerous commuter operations in and around the NYC region. Outside of New York’s largest city, however, one can still find numerous shortline operations all across the state, nearly two-dozen to be exact!

New York railroading has its beginnings dating back to 1826 when the Mohawk & Hudson (a future subsidiary of New York Central) was charted and completed its original main line between Albany and Schenectady in 1831. In the coming years New York would be home to a whole slew of celebrated railroads the most famous of which are likely the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad. However, these two were certainly not the only lines to operate within the state. Others include the Erie; Nickel Plate; Delaware & Hudson; New York, Ontario & Western; New Haven; New York, Susquehanna & Western; Lehigh Valley; CNJ; and Reading (the latter two only served New York City from across the Hudson River).

With so many beloved and respected carriers operating within New York it is tough to recognize just one railroad above the others. However, the New York Central is likely the most influential carrier to operate within the state with its popular (and at one time, quadruple track) Water Level Route following the Hudson River north to Albany and then west to reach cities such as Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and beyond (such as Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago).

The New York Central System had its humble beginnings as the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, chartered and built in 1831 to connect Albany with Schenectady, New York. In an attempt to build a route connecting Albany with the Great Lakes at Buffalo, a series of railroads where constructed that would be incorporated as the original New York Central Railroad in 1853.

Around this same time its most famous president, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who oversaw significant growth of the railroad and laid its future foundations as a world-class carrier, would head the new NYC. He immediately changed the railroad’s name to the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad when he merged the NYC with his own Hudson River Railroad. Later including the New York & Harlem as well, the NYC&HR now held a commanding presence in New York City and after gaining control of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern it reached Chicago on a northern route that was virtually flat (late known as the Water Level Route), in comparison to PRR’s main line through the Alleghenies.

The NYC&HR was again renamed as the New York Central Railroad when it merged with the LS&MS in 1914. Throughout the early 20th century the New York Central System continued to expand reaching Boston; Pittsburgh, PA; Wheeling, WV; the coalfields of southern West Virginia via the Toledo & Ohio Central; Columbus, OH; Cincinnati, Cleveland, and St. Louis via the Big Four Route (the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad), Columbus, OH; Detroit (and virtually the rest of Michigan via the Michigan Central); and even Montreal, Quebec and Ontario, Canada. Through the years the railroad gained control of notable railroads to reach these markets including the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, Indiana Harbor Belt, and the aforementioned Big Four.

The future of the NYC was still uncertain as an independent carrier beginning in the 1950s. However, the PRR was in far worse shape and nowhere near profitability by the late 1950s. It was during this time that the two lines began exploring the idea of merger, despite then-president Alfred Perlman’s protest to find some other partner than the PRR (fully realizing what a mistake such an idea would be). In the end, the PRR was chosen and surprisingly, the ICC approved the merger that virtually allowed for a monopoly in the Northeast and the ill-fated Penn Central Corporation was born on February 1, 1968. The PC quickly began losing more than $1 million a day and within three years declared bankruptcy sending the entire Northeastern rail network into pandemonium.

With the government’s help, Conrail was created in 1976 to help restore order to a worn out, dilapidated and chaotic Northeastern rail system. Although it took Conrail several years to turn a profit it finally began to do so in the early 1980s, eventually earning extremely healthy earnings by moving container traffic between New York ports and Chicago, in the process becoming a highly respected railroad.

Today, New York railroading still features large amounts of container traffic albeit under the CSX and Norfolk Southern banners. New York railroading also includes a dizzying array of shortlines and the historic Regional, New York Susquehanna & Western. New York’s shortlines include far too many to name here although some include the Delaware-Lackawanna, Rochester & Southern and Livonia, Avon & Lakeville.

Today, these railroads operate about 3,500 miles of track although at one time New York railroading featured more than twice that amount. For more in-depth information about New York’s rail mileage over the years please refer to the chart below.

As for passenger and commuter operations, well, just take your pick! While the 20th Century Limited may no longer skirt the Water Level Route and call at Grand Central Terminal, and the Broadway Limited may no longer call from Penn Station but Amtrak continues to serve the Northeast Corridor (which runs directly through NYC and the southeastern corner of New York) and operate several passenger trains in, around and through New York State. Some of these services include the Lake Shore Limited between Boston-NYC-Chicago, Empire Service between NYC-Albany-Niagara, the Maple Leaf to Toronto, the Adirondack to Montrea, and the Ethan Allen Express to Rutland, Vermont. Aside from Amtrak there is the NJ Transit, PATH and MTA services, the latter two of which are the country’s busiest commuter/passenger and subway systems.

If you thought that New York railroading included plenty of freight and passenger railroading, you should just see the excursion trains and railroad museums! New York is home to nearly two-dozen museums or tourist lines, the latter of which is operated by some of the state’s shortline freight carriers as well. There are far too many to name here but some include the Catskill Mountain Railroad, New York Museum of Transportation and the Empire State Railway Museum.

Other interesting features of New York railroading include the American Locomotive Company’s famous Schenectady Works, NYC’s regal Grand Central Terminal and the PRR’s late Penn Station (the underground station still remains but the above building was demolished in the late 1960s).

All in all New York railroading offers about any interest you may have in the hobby of railfanning from history to main line freight railroading. And, don’t expect to see everything in one visit because that won't happen! A planned trip to focus on one or a few things you’re interested in is probably the best route with future trips to see more at a later time. In any event, with so much to see and do, you shouldn't have any trouble having a wonderful and memorable time!