Hornell Traction Company

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The Hornell Traction Company was an electric streetcar company serving Hornell and Canisteo, New York, between 1892 and 1926.

Contents

Beginnings

The Hornellsville Electric Railway Company was formed December 16, 1891; President was Charles Adsit, Secretary was Demerville Page, and Treasurer was George T. Rehn. [1] : 13  The Canisteo Valley Railway Company was formed on December 28, 1891, with plans to run a line to Jasper, Woodhull, and Addison; President was William T. Bailey and Vice-President William Potter. It never began operations. [1] : 29  The Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company was formed May 12, 1892; President was Page, Secretary was Adsit, and Treasurer was Rehn. [1] : 33  It took over the assets and "certain obligations" of the previous company. [1] : 29 

Both companies shared a depot and car barn at Adsit and Thacher Streets in Hornell. [1] : 16  Offices were at 119 Main Street, later 126 Main Street, in Hornell. [1] : 13, 72 

Service began on August 4, 1892; [1] : 23  and was the occasion for a parade and speeches by local officials. The franchise required that the company pay Hornellsville 1% of its gross receipts. [2] : 62 

Service on the Canisteo line began December 28, 1892, after a trial run on the 22nd. [1] : 36  [3] Initial service was one car every two hours. [4] Through at least 1909 the fare within Hornell was 5¢; Hornell to Canisteo was 10¢; fare to the Glenwood from either Canisteo or Hornell was 5¢. [1] : 70  Frequency on the Canisteo line was never less than one car every two hours; more often it was hourly, and more often at peak hours, up to 20 trips a day. [2] : 91  (The horse-drawn "stage" which was its predecessor made two trips a day, for 25¢. [5] ) Construction was completed in 1893. A branch was built in 1894 to Babcock's Track, a horse race track, of which there is a drawing but whose exact location is not known. [6] ; perhaps it is the Jones Driving Park of the 1873 map. [7] The companies owned 15 miles (24 km) of track. [8]

Equipment

The original equipment was five 18 feet (5.5 m) cars, "finished in cherry with double thick French plate glass", with electric heat. Each had two 20-horsepower motors. Each cost $3,580 (equivalent to $117,000in 2022) delivered. There were also another five trailer cars without motors, to be attached at moments of peak load. [9] On these cars, which cost $965 each (equivalent to $31,430in 2022), the windows and sides could be removed in the summer, creating open cars. [10]

Routes

Hornell

The line started at the Shawmut (Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern RR) station on Seneca Street, near the line's car barn at Adsit and Thacher. South on Seneca to Main, east to Center, south on Center to Loder and the Erie Depot, Loder to River, east to Main, ending at East Main and East Avenue. Return was via Main Street; there were double tracks on Main between Center and Broad (today Broadway). The line was later extended south along East Avenue to Hart Street. It was divided into Green and White Lines, with only the White Line extending to Hart St. A North Hornell line was added, and then the Canisteo Line. The lines were timed to connect with each other, and the conductors issued transfers upon request. All lines met at Main and Broad Streets. Broad and Center both had double tracks, where cars could be parked between runs.

Canisteo

The biggest project was the line to Canisteo, whose first stage only went on Canisteo Street as far as St. James Mercy Hospital.

The Canisteo Line was delayed by the Erie Railroad that the tracks had to cross. The Erie, which charged 30¢ from Hornellsville to Canisteo, [11] saw the trolleys as competition (and was pressured to match their lower fare), [12] and their lack of cooperation, they having served the trolley company with an injunction, [13] ended up in court. [14] That disagreement resolved in principle, a major problem was crossing the Erie tracks at the south end of Broad Street. It was not practical to run the line across the Erie tracks, and at first the trolleys had to be pulled across the Erie tracks by horses. [1] : 36  The solution was to build an underpass, locally called a subway.

That the route between Hornell and Canisteo is on the south side of the Canisteo River, rather than the north, reflects inducements to follow that route. [15]

The line connected the Erie Railroad depot in Canisteo with the center of the village, Four Corners. Depot Street was renamed Railroad Street, since the trolley tracks ran down the middle of the street. At Walnut Street there was a second track where unused cars could be placed temporarily. The route continued through Four Corners south on Greenwood Street, ending at a miniature, one-car garage just south of Pine Street. Presumably that was the terminus because the Canisteo Silk Mill, at one point Canisteo's largest employer, was there. It is not correct that the route entered Canisteo on Pine Street, using the bed of the unbuilt Rochester, Hornellsville, and Pine Creek Railroad, ending at Depot and Walnut Streets. In its later years the trolley ended its route af Four Corners, offering connection with the New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, whose station was a block away, at the other end of Canisteo's park, The Green.

After the trolley ceased operation Railroad Street was renamed Depot Street, its original name.

The Glenwood Inn

In order to make ridership grow, "Hornellsville & Canisteo electric railway people" in 1893 bought property in South Hornell, formerly belonging to Hendershott, [16] "about midway between the two towns", to create "a summer park and picnic ground". [16] [17] This would be Glenwood Park, where the Glenwood Inn would be built. The company ran regular Sunday excursion trains to Glenwood, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Hornellsville and 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Canisteo. At the first 4 July celebration there, with fireworks, "It seemed as if the entire population of both Canisteo and Hornellsville had been emptied into the glen.... The carrying capacity of the road was taxed to its utmost." "The inn, boat house and merry go-round [sic] did a land office business." At the conclusion, "Car after car was packed to utmost capacity...the tracks on both sides lined with men women and children, all eager for the first conveyance home." [18]

Expansion plans

In 1906 the Steuben Traction Company, which issued stock, was formed from a merger of the Hornellsville Electric Railway Company, the Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company, and the otherwise unknown Canisteo Valley Traction Company and Canisteo, Jasper & Woodhull Railway Company. [19] [20] It had plans to build a line from Canisteo to Jasper. [21] In 1909, no reference being made to the Steuben Traction Company, the Hornellsville Electric Railway Company, the Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company, and the Canisteo Valley Electric Railway Company merged to form the Hornell Traction Company, which also issued stock. [22] [23] Service frequency improved (first car 8:30 AM instead of 9:05, for example). [24] Local line extensions were built in 1913. Nothing came of talk of extensions to Keuka Lake via Bath and Hammondsport, and through Arkport to Dansville, linking with service to Rochester. [25] [26] [27] [28] In 1920, the fare was 8¢. [29]

Deterioration and closure

Traffic dwindled in the 1910s and 1920s as the company was faced with stiff competition from automobiles and the new hard-surface state highway linking Hornell and Canisteo (later New York State Route 36), built in 1912. [30] [31] [32] By 1914 there were so many claims for injuries to passengers that the company was temporarily forced into receivership. [2] : 92  The Glenwood complex was completely destroyed by fire in 1923. At the same time, the company's equipment was "rapidly deteriorating"; it was "dilapidated". [8] [33] By 1924 it was again in receivership; [8] fares were cut to 7¢, or 20 for $1, and the Canisteo line service was cut from a car each half hour to one per hour. [34] At its liquidation shareholders received nothing and bondholders received ten cents on the dollar. [35] All service was shut down on July 15, 1926. [36] All assets except the rails in the streets were liquidated in 1926 for $14,600. [37] The wooden ties of the track were sold as firewood; some cars, sold for $50, became chicken coops; one became a home. [38] Car 34, the snowplow car, stripped and in poor condition, is in storage at the New York Museum of Transportation in Rush, New York. [39]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Huerta, Jose L. (2011). A Brief History of the Hornell and Canisteo Electric Companies, 1892–1926 (Reprint ed.). Kanestio Historical Society.
  2. 1 2 3 Mackenzie, Ian G. (2014). Railroads remembered : the history of railroads in western New York and western Pennsylvania. The author. ISBN   978-0-692-03004-2.
  3. ↑ "A Bird's-Eye View". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). December 24, 1892. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ "A Bird's Eye View". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). December 30, 1892. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Dickey, Virginia (2009). "The Canisteo of the 1890s" (PDF). Kanisteo Historical Society Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  6. ↑ Hornell Evening Tribune (1995). "A Family Album of Hornell, Canisteo & Arkport. Our History in Pictures". p. 28. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  7. ↑ "Hornellsville". Steuben County 1873. Historic Map Works Rare Historic Maps Collection. D. G. Beers & Co. 1873.
  8. 1 2 3 "Busses to Serve Hornell Public". Buffalo Evening Times. March 6, 1924. p. 20. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  9. ↑ "It's a Go! The Street Railway Contract All Finished. - It Will Be a First-Class Road and Equipments—Cars Every 10 Minutes. The Contractor Here". Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (Hornellsville, New York). April 8, 1892. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Its Extensions to Canisteo. Some Interesting Facts and Statistics". Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (Hornellsville, New York). November 18, 1892. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Steuben County. Hornellsville". Buffalo Courier. November 29, 1892. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Local In Brief". Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (Hornellsville, New York). November 25, 1892. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  13. ↑ "State and Vicinity Notes". Buffalo Evening News . September 17, 1892. p. 16. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "No Trouble". Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (Hornellsville, New York). January 6, 1893. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "The Street Railway". Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (Hornellsville, New York). July 15, 1892. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 "Roundabout Notes". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). April 7, 1893. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Roundabout Notes". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). April 15, 1893. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "The Fourth". Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (Hornellsville, New York). July 13, 1894. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Merge Trolley Lines". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). December 24, 1906. p. 3. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Electric Roads Consolidate". The Buffalo Times. December 23, 1906. p. 35. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Steuben Traction Company". Wall Street Journal . January 21, 1907. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Railway Companies Consolidate". Syracuse Post-Standard . October 7, 1909. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Hornell Trolley Merger Not Opposed". Buffalo Evening News . October 14, 1910. p. 74. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019– via newspaperarchive.com.
  24. ↑ "Schedule Improves". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). September 29, 1910. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "To Develop Large Area". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). April 24, 1907. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Joyful News for Hornellians". Buffalo Courier . April 14, 1907. p. 19. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Now Propose to Change Route of Bath-Hornell Trolley Line". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). May 11, 1910. p. 10. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Howard Now Wants Trolley". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). May 19, 1910. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "New York News Items In Brief". The Republic (Brockport, New York). July 1, 1920. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019– via newspaperarchive.com.
  30. ↑ "Campaign Under Way for First Class Highway from Buffalo to Elmira". Buffalo Courier . April 19, 1911. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Construction Company in Hornell Awarded Contract to Build Hornell-Canisteo Road". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). April 22, 1912. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "No Halt Is Expected In Road Construction". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). July 18, 1912. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ "Hornell May Get Badly Needed Trolley Cars". Olean Evening Herald (Olean, New York). November 17, 1920. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019– via newspaperarchive.com.
  34. ↑ "New Manager Hornell Traction Line Announces Fare Reduction". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York). April 1, 1924. p. 14. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  35. ↑ "Hornell Traction Co. Stockholders Get Nothing as Line Quits". Cattaraugus Republican . May 26, 1926. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019– via newspaperarchive.com.
  36. ↑ Reifschneider, Felix E. (1947). Toonervilles of the Empire State. Orlando, Florida. p. 15.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  37. ↑ "Hornell Street Cars Making Final Trips". Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, New York). July 16, 1926. p. 9. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ "News of the Night". The Record–Argus (Greenville, Pennsylvania). August 4, 1926. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019– via newspaperarchive.com.
  39. ↑ Lowe, Charles (Winter 2005). "Shop Report". Headend. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2019-06-16.

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