The Genesee Valley Canal Railroad was a part of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

system in western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It was built on the former Genesee Valley Canal alignment.

History

Genesee Valley Canal: 1836-1878

On May 6, 1836 an act was passed in New York authorizing the construction of the Genesee Valley Canal, running from the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

in Rochester southwest along the

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

valley to Mount Morris, Portageville, and Belfast, and then cross-country to the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

at Olean, with a branch from Mount Morris paralleling the

Canaseraga Creek Canaseraga Creek is a stream that flows through Livingston, Steuben, and Allegany Counties in western and central New York. It is a tributary of the Genesee River, and its watershed is the largest sub-watershed of that river. The creek's n ...

to Dansville. On September 1, 1840 the canal was opened to navigation from Rochester to Mount Morris. The extension to Dansville opened in fall 1841, and by then the split between the Dansville branch and the main line was set at Sonyea, southeast of Mount Morris. After some partial openings, the full line was opened at the beginning of navigation in 1862, running to Olean on the

and beyond to Mill Grove, on the river just north of the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

state line. However, by then, the

Main Line of Public Works The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various lon ...

and

had been completed, opening up the interior of Pennsylvania without depending on New York, and there was no interest in improving the Allegheny River. Instead, the Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad, connecting to the river at Carrollton, west of Olean, was used as a reason to continue building the canal. On June 4, 1877 the legislature approved an abandonment of the canal on or after September 30, 1878. The canal was sold on November 6, 1880 to the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, which had been chartered July 15 of that year.

Genesee Valley Canal Railroad: 1880-1990s

The railroad began construction, and opened its line in 1882 from Rochester to Hinsdale. At Hinsdale it connected to the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway, and the rest of the canal south to and through Olean was not used as it closely paralleled the BNY&P. The Genesee Valley Canal Railroad was immediately leased to the BNY&P. The branch of the canal to Dansville was not used for a railroad, but two railroads already served that corridor - the Erie and Genesee Valley Railroad and the

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 . The railroad was ...

's New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The Rochester, Nunda and Pennsylvania Railroad had built a line roughly parallel to the canal between Mount Morris and Nunda, turning southeast there to Swain. In 1881 the part north of Nunda was abandoned, and on July 11 of that year, the company was consolidated into the Rochester, New York and Pennsylvania Railroad. That company opened a new line in 1882 from Nunda northeast to the new Genesee Valley Canal Railroad at Nunda Junction, and the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway leased it that year. The Genesee Valley Terminal Railroad was incorporated August 14, 1882, and in 1883 opened a branch from the Genesee Valley Railroad southwest of Rochester north to a junction with the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

main line at

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

. In September 1887 the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad and with it the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad. In 1900 the

leased the WNYP. A short branch from Scottsville west to Garbutt on the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

's Rochester and State Line Railroad opened on September 16, 1907. This three mile section of track was abandoned in 1944, and no trace of it exists today. On November 15, 1912 the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad and Genesee Valley Terminal Railroad merged to form the Pennsylvania and Rochester Railroad. That company was absorbed on February 28, 1916 into the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway, still leased by the

. In 1968 the PRR merged into

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

, and in 1976 became part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

. The full line from Rochester to Hinsdale (minus a short spur immediately south of Rochester) was abandoned in 1963.

Genesee Valley Canal: 1991-present

In 1991, the Genesee Valley Greenway project was begun. This project is to transform the abandoned canal and railroad routes into a recreational pathway.

External links

Interactive map of the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad.

References

*Nobel E. Whitford

(1906) * * ttps://archive.today/20010601112151/http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Corphist/wny_p.html Corporate Genealogy - Western New York & Pennsylvaniabr>PRR Chronology

by Richard Palmer {{DEFAULTSORT:Genesee Valley Canal Railroad Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Defunct New York (state) railroads Canals in New York (state) Genesee River Railway companies established in 1880 Railway companies disestablished in 1912 1880 establishments in New York (state)