The Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad was established on August 18, 1851, and opened for business on October 18, 1854. The road merged in 1856 into Syracuse and Southern Railroad which was renamed to Syracuse, Binghamton and New York Railroad when the company reorganized after foreclosure in 1857. The road linked to the earlier

Oswego and Syracuse Railroad The Oswego and Syracuse Railroad was formed April 29, 1839, and the route was surveyed during the summer of that year. The Company was fully organized March 25, 1847. The road was opened on May 14, 1848, and ran a total distance of from Syracuse, ...

line shortly after both came under control of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&WRR) in 1869. This was accomplished despite difficulties caused by the use of wide gauge rails by one railroad and standard gauge by the other.

History

(Syracuse, Binghamton and New York, Engine 5, W

The Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad ran from Geddes to

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

for a total distance of . The company was chartered as the Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad Company on August 18, 1851, to bring coal from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

so it could be used as fuel for

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

's salt industry. In 1853, the company was consolidated with the

after the act was authorized by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

. The full length was opened for business on October 18, 1854. The company foreclosed, and the Syracuse and Binghamton's original line was sold to a new company, the Syracuse and Southern Railroad, in 1856, which was renamed to Syracuse, Binghamton and New York Railroad on April 30, 1857. When the Oswego and Syracuse was restored as an independent railroad is unclear. In 1862, the general offices were located in Washington Block on South Salina Street and the passenger depot was on the corner of West Onondaga and Clinton streets. The company had a machine shop West of Clinton Street near the "Regimental" Armory. By 1879, the Syracuse passenger depot for the railroad was located on West Jefferson Street opposite Armory Park and the freight office was on Clinton Street near West Onondaga Street. The superintendent of the Syracuse operation was W. K. Niver and the freight agent was A. H. Schwarz and ticket agent was J. H. Schwarz.

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad

The company was taken over by

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

in 1869. By December 1888, the company's rolling stock consisted of 20 locomotive engines, 9 passenger, baggage and mail cars, 594 freight, including box and platform, 75 service cars and 9 cabooses. The company had capital stock outstanding of $2,500,000 and funded debt of $1,966,000 due in 1906. As a result of the DL&WR buying the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York Railroad in 1869, and leasing the

on February 13, 1869, the company gained a branch from

north and northwest via

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

to Oswego, a port on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

Company management

By December 1888, directors of the company included Samuel Sloan, Percy R. Pyne, George Bliss, Uriel A. Murdock, Frederick H. Gibbens, Fred F. Chambers, Benjamin G. Clark, Moses Taylor Pyne, Edgar S. Auchinclose, E. R. Holden and W. S. Sloan, all of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Additionally, E. F. Holden of

and Arthur D. Chambers of

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

. Samuel Sloan was president of the company, Fred F. Chambers was secretary and Frederick H. Gibbens was treasurer. The company was headquartered at 26 Exchange Place in

Financial

In June 1920, the total value of the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York Railway franchise in

as determined by the New York State Tax Commission was $99,040, up from $98,106 in 1919.

References

{{North America Class I Defunct New York (state) railroads Defunct railroads in Syracuse, New York Predecessors of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Railway companies established in 1851 Railway companies disestablished in 1870 1851 establishments in New York (state)