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Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Gowanda, New York |
Reporting mark | NYLE |
Locale | New York |
Dates of operation | 1978–Present |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The New York & Lake Erie( reporting mark NYLE) is a class III railroad operating in Western New York. The NYLE was formed in 1978 to operate a portion of former Erie trackage that Conrail no longer wanted. Today, the railroad operates between Gowanda to Cherry Creek, New York. The main branch of the trackage connects with multiple railroads in Buffalo, New York and once connected with the now-WNYP owned (NS-leased) Southern Tier Line in Waterboro. However, that portion of the line (south of Conewango Valley) and the junction at Waterboro were decommissioned several years ago. [1] The NYLE also operated a branch Line between Dayton and Salamanca, also connecting with the Southern Tier Line there, until 1990; the portion south of Cattaraugus was torn out and eventually replaced with the Pat McGee Trail in the early 2000s, while the portion north of Cattaraugus was damaged by floods and landslides in the 2010s and is also no longer operational.
NYLE was used as the setting for railroad scenes in the 1987 film Planes, Trains & Automobiles and the railroad tracks and depot in South Dayton, along with other portions of the village, were featured in the 1983 Robert Redford movie The Natural. [2] The NYLE is also the owner and operator of Oil Creek and Titusville Lines, Inc.
The right-of-way was damaged by the 2009 flooding of the Cattaraugus Creek, resulting in passenger service on the New York & Lake Erie Railroad being suspended until late 2012. As of late 2016, the New York and Lake Erie offers a variety of excursion opportunities throughout the year with most trips ending in either Dayton or South Dayton and occasionally Cherry Creek. Operations South of Cherry Creek remain out of service.
The NYLE was awarded a NYSDOT grant in June 2016 totaling $732,768 to be put towards a rail rehabilitation project that the railroad will embark on between South Dayton and Cherry Creek. [3] The goal is to replace a switch at the NY&LE's southern end at Waterboro and restore full rail service between Gowanda and Jamestown by 2019, then Buffalo (through a connecting railroad) by 2020. [4] Despite the objections of Cattaraugus County (who accused the railroad of proposing the project as a grant-money scam), [5] the state and city of Jamestown announced its support for a feasibility study for the project in May 2017. [6] As of June 2018, restoration plans for the southern portion of the NYLE remain in the planning stages. [7]
In August 2023, the NY&LE announced a proposal to introduce rail bike service on the portion of the Dayton-Cattaraugus fork that remains usable. A separate rail bike service has proposed using the unusable portion of the rail, but this would require substantial renovations. [8]
Cattaraugus County is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1817. The county is part of the Western New York region of the state.
Gowanda is a village in western New York, United States. It lies partly in Erie County and partly in Cattaraugus County. The population was 2,512 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a local Seneca language term meaning "almost surrounded by hills" or "a valley among the hills". The Erie County portion of Gowanda is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan statistical area, while the Cattaraugus County portion is part of the Olean micropolitan statistical area.
Cattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation of the federally recognized Seneca Nation of Indians, formerly part of the Iroquois Confederacy located in New York. As of the 2000 census, the Indian reservation had a total population of 2,412. Its total area is about 34.4 mi² (89.1 km²). The reservation stretches from Lake Erie inward along Cattaraugus Creek, along either side of NY 438. It is divided among three counties for census purposes:
Salamanca is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States, inside the Allegany Indian Reservation, one of two governed by the Seneca Nation of New York. The population was 5,929 at the 2020 census. It was named after José de Salamanca, a Spanish nobleman and cabinet minister of the mid-19th century. Salamanca invested in railroads around the globe, including the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in New York State, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate region of New York State, geographically situated along or very near the state border with Pennsylvania. Definitions of the region vary widely, but generally encompass counties surrounding the Binghamton and Elmira-Corning metropolitan areas. This region is adjacent to the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, and both these regions together are known as the Twin Tiers.
Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY includes the cities of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Jamestown, and the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands and Niagara Frontier, and Chautauqua-Alleghany. Many would also place Rochester and the Genesee Valley in the region, while some would also include the western Finger Lakes within the region. Others would describe the latter three areas as being in a separate Finger Lakes region.
Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately 68 miles (109 km) long, in western New York in the United States. The creek drains a wooded rural portion of western New York southwest of Buffalo into Lake Erie. In its lower course it flows primarily through the Cattaraugus Reservation of the Seneca tribe. William Beauchamp identifies the name Cattaraugus as deriving from the Seneca word Gah-ta-ra-ke-ras, meaning "stinking shore" or "foul-smelling river bank." This in turn is likely a loanword from an extinct Attiwandiron, Erie, Wenro, or Wendat (Huron) language, combining the verb root -i'tar-, referring to clay or mud, and -akera(n)-, describing a bad or strong odor: hence, tke'tarakeras, place of strong-smelling mud or clay. This name is a result of the natural gas that oozes from the river mud.
Waterboro is a hamlet in Chautauqua County, New York, United States at an elevation of 1293 ft above sea level. Located in the northeast corner of the Town of Poland, it is now a closed railroad depot.
The Buffalo Southern Railroad is a class III railroad operating in western New York.
New York State Route 353 (NY 353) is a north–south state highway located within Cattaraugus County, New York, in the United States. It extends for 23.97 miles (38.58 km) from an intersection with NY 417 in the city of Salamanca to a junction with U.S. Route 62 (US 62) in the hamlet of Dayton. In between, the route traverses isolated and undeveloped areas of the county, save for the villages of Little Valley and Cattaraugus. In the latter, NY 353 intersects and briefly overlaps with NY 242.
The Buffalo and Jamestown Railroad was a railroad that ran between the towns of Jamestown, NY and Buffalo, NY. It was a predecessor of the Erie Railroad.
The Buffalo and South Western Railroad was a predecessor of the Erie Railroad that ran 89 miles between Jamestown, NY and Buffalo, NY.
The Erie and New York City Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York state.
U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Rich Creek, Virginia, to West Seneca, New York. In the U.S. state of New York, US 219 extends 67.63 miles (108.84 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Carrollton to an interchange with the New York State Thruway at exit 55 in West Seneca, southeast of downtown Buffalo. In Cattaraugus County, the area surrounding US 219 is predominantly rural. However, in northern Cattaraugus County, US 219 becomes a freeway leading through Erie County and into the heart of Buffalo. The route serves the villages of Ellicottville and Springville, where it meets New York State Route 242 (NY 242) and NY 39, respectively, and indirectly serves Hamburg via NY 391.
The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates freight trains in Western New York and Northwest Pennsylvania. The company is controlled by the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad, with which it does not connect. It started operations in 2001 on the Southern Tier Extension, a former Erie Railroad line between Hornell, New York and Corry, Pennsylvania, owned by the public Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority (STERA).
The Southtowns is a region of Western New York, United States, that lies within the snowbelt or ski country. It includes the southern suburbs of Buffalo, New York. This is the common name for the southern part of Erie County, New York.
U.S. Route 62 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from the United States–Mexico border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York. In the U.S. state of New York, US 62 extends 102.77 miles (165.39 km) from the New York–Pennsylvania border south of Jamestown to an intersection with New York State Route 104 in downtown Niagara Falls, bypassing the city of Jamestown and serves the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, along with several villages. It is the only north–south mainline U.S. highway in Western New York. US 62 was extended into New York c. 1932 and originally was concurrent with the state highways that had previously been designated along its routing—namely NY 18, NY 60, NY 83 and NY 241. These concurrencies were eliminated individually during the 1940s and 1960s. The last of the four concurrencies, with NY 18 from Dayton to Niagara Falls, was removed c. 1962. US 62 has one special route, US 62 Business, located in Niagara Falls. US 62 Business is a former routing of US 62 within the city and was once NY 62A.
The Rochester and State Line Railroad was a 19th-century railroad company in New York state.
The Pat McGee Trail is a rail trail in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States, named for Patricia McGee (1934-2005).