 CNYK (Binghamton to Port Jervis) and adjoining portions of theSouthern Tier Line | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Cooperstown, New York, U.S. |
| Reporting mark | CNYK |
| Locale | West Branch Delaware River |
| Dates of operation | 1972–1988 2004–Present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Length | 123.1 miles (198.1 km)[1] |
TheCentral New York Railroad (reporting markCNYK) is ashortline railroad operating localfreight service along ex-Southern Tier Line trackage (ex-Erie Railroad/Erie Lackawanna Railway mainline trackage) inNew York andPennsylvania.
The line begins atPort Jervis, following theDelaware River toDeposit and theSusquehanna River fromLanesboro, where it passes over theStarrucca Viaduct, toBinghamton. It is a subsidiary of theDelaware Otsego Corporation, which also owns theNew York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, operator of through trains over the line, along with theNorfolk Southern Railway.
The line the Central New York Railroad (CNYK) originally operated on, which was a 21.7-mile (34.9 km) branch line between Richfield Junction nearCassville andRichfield Springs, New York, was first opened in November 1872, when it began serving as a branch for theUtica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railway.[2] The railway was later absorbed into theDelaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W), which in turn merged into theErie Lackawanna Railway (EL). By the early 1970s, the Richfield Springs branch was deemed unprofitable by the EL, and they opted to abandon it.[3]
Walter Rich, the owner of theDelaware Otsego Corporation (DO), believed the branch could be reorganized as a profitable freight operation, and he was interested in expanding his company's short line assets.[3] In 1972, DO purchased the Richfield Springs branch from the EL, and the new Central New York Railroad commenced operations on December 12.[4] The CNYK initially turned profits for DO, since they served a number of freight customers who still relied on rail services, such asAgway'spropane distribution firm.[3]
In 1982, DO purchased two former EL routes out ofBinghamton, New York, fromConrail, one of which provided the CNYK's connection to theNational rail network.[5] The CNYK and the two routes quickly became labeled as the Northern Division of theNew York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W), another DO subsidiary.[5] Throughout the 1980s, the CNYK's freight profits gradually declined, and in 1987, the eastern end of the line was shut down.[6] In early 1988, the CNYK suspended the rest of their operations, and they were authorized to abandon their line in August 1995.[7] While the CNYK became inactive from 1988 to 2004, the CNYK charter was still intact.
On January 1, 2005, DO reactivated the CNYK as a paper corporation, when they leased theBinghamton-Port Jervis section of theSouthern Tier Line from theNorfolk Southern Railway (NS). NS retainedoverhead trackage rights to operate through freight traffic.[1] All trains the CNYK operates are powered by locomotives owned by the NYS&W, which interchanges with Norfolk Southern at Binghamton andWarwick.[8][9]
