Canandaigua Street Railroad

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Canandaigua Street Railroad
Locale Canandaigua, New York
Dates of operation 1887–1930
Successor Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway
New York State Railways
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Headquarters Canandaigua, New York

Chartered in 1886, the Canandaigua Street Railroad was a local streetcar line serving the lakeside city of Canandaigua, New York beginning in 1887. The railroad was sold to the Canandaigua Electric Light and Railroad which rebuilt and electrified the line in 1892. The Ontario Light and Traction Company purchased it in 1900, and leased the line to the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway in 1903. In 1905, the line came under the control of the Mohawk Valley Company, and in turn, New York State Railways in 1909. Operation was converted to bus operation some time in the 1920s, but this service ended when the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway shut down on July 31, 1930. The lease of the former Canandaiua lines was allowed to lapse.

Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway

The Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway was an electric interurban railway connecting Rochester, Canandaigua, and Geneva. Chartered in 1901, service between Rochester and Canandaigua began in 1903, and to Geneva in 1904. In 1905 the line came under control of the New York Central Railroad through its Mohawk Valley Company subsidiary. The Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway was consolidated with the Rochester Railway Company and the Rochester and Sodus Bay Railway in 1909 to form New York State Railways. Ridership declined sharply through the 1920s, and New York State Railways petitioned to abandon the R&E in 1929. Months later the courts granted permission to end all service on July 31, 1930. The line was dismantled soon after and there was no successor.

New York State Railways

New York State Railways was a subsidiary of the New York Central Railroad that controlled several large city streetcar and electric interurban systems in upstate New York. It included the city transit lines in Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Oneida and Rome, plus various interurban lines connecting those cities. New York State Railways also held a 50% interest in the Schenectady Railway Company, but it remained a separate independent operation. The New York Central took control of the Rochester Railway Company, the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway and the Rochester and Sodus Bay Railway in 1905, and the Mohawk Valley Company was formed by the railroad to manage these new acquisitions. New York State Railways was formed in 1909 when the properties controlled by the Mohawk Valley Company were merged. In 1912 it added the Rochester and Suburban Railway, the Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway, the Oneida Railway, and the Utica and Mohawk Valley Railway. The New York Central Railroad was interested in acquiring these lines in an effort to control the competition and to gain control of the lucrative electric utility companies that were behind many of these streetcar and interurban railways. Ridership across the system dropped through the 1920s as operating costs continued to rise, coupled with competition from better highways and private automobile use. New York Central sold New York State Railways in 1928 to a consortium led by investor E. L. Phillips, who was looking to gain control of the upstate utilities. Phillips sold his stake to Associated Gas & Electric in 1929, and the new owners allowed the railway bonds to default. New York State Railways entered receivership on December 30, 1929. The company emerged from receivership in 1934, and local operations were sold off to new private operators between 1938 and 1948.

Contents

Early History (1887-1905)

The line began operating as a horse car line on September 6, 1887, with a two-mile extension following a month later. Stretching from the steamship wharf at the north end of Canandaigua Lake, the line ran along Main Street to the western edge of town. A branch to the fairgrounds was opened in 1889. All cars met the steamships that brought passengers across Canandaigua Lake. The railroad closed in July 1892, and was sold to the Canandaigua Electric Light and Railroad Company which electrified and rebuilt the lines for streetcar operation in 1893. A hydro-electric plant in Littleville provided the power for the streetcar line.

Canandaigua Lake lake in Ontario County, New York, USA

Canandaigua Lake is the fourth largest of the Finger Lakes in the U.S. state of New York. The City of Canandaigua is located at the northern end of the lake and the village of Naples is several miles south of the southern end. Traveling west to east in the Finger Lakes region, it is the first of the major Finger Lakes.

The Ontario Light and Traction Company purchased the line on June 1, 1900, maintaining local service in the city. [1] In 1901, the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway was chartered to build a new interurban line between Rochester and Geneva. Headquartered in Canandaigua, the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway leased the Ontario Light and Traction line in 1903 to gain access through the city limits. At this time the power plant in Littleville and the substation on Phoenix Street were abandoned because the Rochester and Eastern had built a larger power plant of its own in Canandaigua. In 1905 the branches serving the fairground and the steamship wharf were abandoned. [2]

Rochester, New York City in New York, United States

Rochester is a city on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in western New York. With a population of 208,046 residents, Rochester is the seat of Monroe County and the third most populous city in New York state, after New York City and Buffalo. The metropolitan area has a population of just over 1 million people. It is about 73 miles (117 km) east of Buffalo and 87 miles (140 km) west of Syracuse.

Geneva, New York City in New York, United States

Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake; all land portions of the city are within Ontario County; the water portions are in Seneca County. The population was 13,261 at the 2010 census. The city is supposedly named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. The main settlement of the Seneca was spelled Zoneshio by early white settlers, and was described as being 2 miles north of Seneca Lake.

Control by New York State Railways (1906-1930)

The New York Central Railroad began taking an interest in the streetcar and interurban railways springing up along their territory. The Mohawk Valley Company was formed in 1905 to take control of the Rochester Railway Company, the Rochester and Sodus Bay Railway, and the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway. In 1909 these properties were combined to form New York State Railways, and the Canandaigua route became part of the Rochester Lines. [3] In 1917, the electric utility properties of the Ontario Light & Traction were sold to the Rochester Railway and Light Co., leaving the railway property in control of New York State Railways. [4]

New York Central Railroad defunct American Class I railroad

The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midwest along with the intermediate cities of Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Detroit. New York Central was headquartered in New York City's New York Central Building, adjacent to its largest station, Grand Central Terminal.

The Rochester Railway Company operated a streetcar transit system throughout the city of Rochester from 1890 until its acquisition by Rochester Transit Corp. in 1938. Formed by a group of Pittsburgh investors, the Rochester Railway Company purchased the Rochester City & Brighton Railroad in 1890, followed by a lease of the Rochester Electric Railway in 1894. The Rochester and Suburban Railway was leased in 1905, extending the system's reach to Irondequoit and Sea Breeze. Rochester Railways was acquired by the Mohawk Valley Company, a subsidiary of the New York Central Railroad set up to take control of electric railways in its territory. In 1909 the holdings of the Mohawk Valley Company were consolidated as the New York State Railways.

Rochester and Sodus Bay Railway

The Rochester and Sodus Bay Railway was an electric interurban railway connecting Rochester with the shores of Lake Ontario at Sodus Point. The line was leased to the Rochester Railway Company in 1902 and later merged into New York State Railways in 1909. Ridership dropped off in the 1920s, and the railway east of Glen Haven was abandoned in 1929. The remaining local streetcar service ended in 1933.

The Canandaigua line was never particularly busy, as two streetcars were assigned to the line to handle all of the traffic. Known locally as "The Dinky," streetcars would run from the Orphans Asylum down to the lake and back. Sometime in the late 1920s, local city operation was converted to bus, but continued to be operated by New York State Railways. The Great Depression brought fewer customers and increased competition from better highways and more automobiles joining the roads. When the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway shut down for good on July 31, 1930, the lease of the Ontario Light and Traction was allowed to lapse. [5] Ontario Light and Traction did not resume independent operation, and the streetcar era came to a close in Canandaigua.

Great Depression 20th-century worldwide economic depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

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References

  1. ↑ Reifschneider, Felix E. (1947). Toonervilles of the Empire State. Orlando, Florida. p. 7.
  2. ↑ King 1975, p. 1.
  3. ↑ King 1975, p. 51.
  4. ↑ Moodys Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities. New York: Poor's Publishing Co. 1922. p. 533.
  5. ↑ King 1975, p. 52.
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