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The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW), better known as the Susie-Q, is a 400-mile+ regional operation based in Cooperstown, New York. The railroad has its roots dating all of the way back to 1881 when it was created through the merger of several other smaller Northeastern lines. Today the NYS&W operates between North Bergen, New Jersey (near New York City), runs along the New York/Pennsylvania border, then north through upstate New York connecting Utica and Syracuse (its lines are broken down into the Southern Division [southern NY/NJ] and Northern Division [northern NY]).

The Susie-Q has had a very interesting past in its 125+ year history. Beginning in the late 19th century the railroad was taken over by the Erie and both World War I and the Great Depression had an adverse impact causing significant wear to its physical plant as well as lost profits and traffic during the depression years.

The Erie Railroad is sometimes forgotten as a classic fallen flag because of its disappearance over a decade before most other lines began to fall. Until its merger in 1960 with the Lackawanna Railroad (to form the Erie Lackawanna) the Erie Railroad was another mid-sized Class I in the East Coast-Midwest market stretching from New York/ Jersey City to Chicago. Throughout its existence the Erie Railroad was troubled with bankruptcies and organizations but it was able, through the 1950s, to find a degree of success in a market extremely saturated with many other, and larger carries (such as the New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad just to name a few).

The end of its relationship with the Erie occurred in 1940 and from that time forward through the 1960s the railroad prospered quite well (by 1945 it was completely dieselized, the first Class I to achieve such stature). However, beginning in the 1970s fortunes for the railroad began to turn downward. It lost a vital connection with the Central Railroad of New Jersey due to flooding.

The NYS&W's current roster is an eclectic assortment of locomotives ranging from GEs and EMDs to Alcos (albeit all of the Alcos are currently out of service).

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway Roster

#77 - Alco C636: Originally Alco Demo 636-2, OOS

#116 - EMD NW2

#120 - EMD SW9: OOS

#1800, #1802, and 1804 - EMD GP18

#2012 - EMD GP38

#2062, #2064, and #2066 - EMD GP20

#2300 - GE B23-7: Ex-P&W

#3010 - EMD SD40T-2: Ex-Rio Grande

#3012, #3014, and #3016 - EMD SD40T-2

#3018 - EMD SD40-2: Ex-Norfolk Southern, ex-Southern

#3040 and #3042 - EMD GP40

#3614, #3618, and #3634 - EMD SD45

#3636 - EMD F45

#3660 - Alco C636

#3664, #3666, #3668, and #3670 - Alco M636

#3672 and #3674 - Alco M636

#4050, #4052, and #4054 - EMD SD70

By the time Conrail was formed in 1976 the railroad was up for abandonment but it was saved in 1980 when it was purchased by the Delaware Otsego Corporation. Throughout the 1980s the railroad rebounded from its woes of the 1970s, and its success continues today albeit it did lose important container traffic in 1999 when Conrail was split between CSX and Norfolk Southern.

Today, the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway serves over 85 customers and has a diverse traffic base ranging from lumber/building materials, plastics, paper, chemicals, aggregates, food grade products, and more. The railroad also offers the option of bulk transfer facilities.

For more reading on Regionals like the Susie-Q consider the book Regional Railroads of the Midwest by Steve Glischinksi. While the book obviously does not feature every Regional in the country it does cover the "Chicago Central Pacific; Dakota, Minnesota Eastern; Escanaba Lake Superior; Iowa Interstate Railroad; Iowa, Chicago Eastern; Indiana Rail Road; Kyle Railroad; Red River Valley Western; Twin Cities Western; Toledo, Peoria Western; Wisconsin Central; and Wisconsin Southern" with plenty of photographs and information about each. If you have an interest in smaller carriers like Regionals, and/or are interested in learning more about their operations, you will almost surely enjoy the book. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".

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