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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad Company was organized under general law to construct a road from a point in the town of Spencer where connection was to be made withdThe Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad Company was organized under general law to construct a road from a point in the town of Spencer where connection was to be made with the Ithaca and Athens road, through Newfield, Enfield, Ulysses, Covert, Ovid, Varick, to Seneca Falls. Rights of way were procured, the track graded, and many culverts and some bridges built. Towns on the route were bonded in its aid, but the enterprise was finally abandoned, there have been changes in ownership and lawsuits innumerable in regard to the property. Six of the nine towns of Tompkins County issued bonds in aid of railroads as follows: Ithaca, $300,000, in the aid of the Ithaca and Athens road, and $100,000 in the aid of the Geneva and Ithaca road. Ithaca village, $100,000 in aid of the Ithaca and Cortland road. Lansing, $75,000 in aid of Midland road and the same amount in aid of the Cayuga Lake railway. Groton, $15,000, in aid of the Utica, Ithaca, and Elmira road. Enfield $25,000 in aid of Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay road. Newfield, $52,000 and Ulysses, $75,000 for the same road. There now remains due as principal the following sums: Ithaca for Ithaca and Athens road $75,000 Ithaca for the Ithaca and Geneva road $30,836.19 Ithaca city for the Ithaca and Cortland road $29,509.55 Groton.. $15,000 Enfield for Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay road $16,800 Newfield $45,800 Ulysses $54,200 At the termination of an extended lawsuit the bonds issued by the town of Lansing were declared invalid and ordered canceled. Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York by John H. Selkreg, 1894; D. Mason & Co., Publisher This railroad was to run from N Spencer to Lake Ontario via Newfield, Enfield, Trumansburg, and Seneca Falls. It was never completed, a casualty of the panic of 1873. The grades were constructed for narrow gauge. http://home.hetnet.nl/~fatcat/railways.htm D G Rossiter, rossiter@hetnet.nl Narrow-gauge railways are railways or railroads where the distance between the two parallel rails constituting the railway track (the track gauge) is less than the 1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) of standard gauge railways. In practice, most presently existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm) or less. The rationale for the use of a narrower gauge is that a railway using such a gauge can be substantially cheaper to build, equip, and operate than one employing standard gauge. This allows railways to be built in mountainous regions, and other places where heavy rail trains would need tunnels or bridges. Narrow gauge railways also have specialized use in mines and other environments where their smaller size is an advantage. On the other hand, broad gauge railways have a greater haulage capacity and allow greater train speeds than narrow gauge systems. Historically, many narrow gauge railways were built as part of specific industrial enterprises and were primarily industrial railways rather than general carriers. Some common uses for these industrial narrow gauge railways were mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, and the conveying of agricultural products. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrow_gauge The Ithaca and Owego Railroad, incorporated 1828 was the second railroad chartered in the State of New York. It was not until after the Civil War (1865) that the railroad industry really started in Tompkins County. The Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad, an unchartered railroad sponsored by Erastus C. Gregg and Joseph H. Biggs of Trumansburg offered the towns of Newfield, Enfield and Ulysses an end to their public transportation isolation. The town of Enfield in support of this railroad purchased bonds total $25,000 in aid of the project. The $25,000 bond purchased by the Town of Enfield was purchased at the rate of 7% payable to the Bank of Union Trust of New York City in March and September of each year. May 1870 the Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad was chartered, two weeks later, the Geneva and Ithaca Railroad was chartered. This created debate in Tompkins County as to whether both the railroads could economically exist. Surveys, Rights of Way were obtained during the summer of 1870. Ground was broken and the track grading for the Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad was started by the end of 1871. The grades were constructed for narrow gauge (most presently existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of 3 ft 6 in. between the two parallel rails constituting the railway track). The track was to go from a point in the town of North Spencer to Lake Ontario via Newfield, Enfield, Trumansburg, and Seneca Falls. The connection was to be made with the Ithaca and Athens railroad. The Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad was rumored to have bought 5,000 railroad ties. These ties were never seen and never laid. Work on the railroad ceased completely. This was also probably a casualty of the economic panic of 1873. The relics of the 1876 railroad were bought by Merritt King, an Ithaca lawyer, with the intention of completing the line or at least the section from Seneca Falls to Romulus. Although the Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad no longer existed, the Town of Enfield (plus the other town who invested) had to continue to pay on the Bank bonds. Each year the Railroad Commissioner for the town reported to the Board of Supervisors of Tompkins County the amount still owed and paid on the railroad bond. November 1901 Enfield Town officers: Supervisor James H. Hine, Town Justices of the Peace: Charles Fletcher, Charles Gray, Fred Chase and H.A. Rockwell, and Town Clerk Clinton J. Updike, passed a resolution that the office of Railroad commissioner for the town be abolished and the duties transferred to the Supervisor of the Town. On March 1, 1911 the last payment of $1,400 plus interested of $24.50 was made by the town. The north and south grade section, parallel to NY 327, approximately 100-200 meters west of the road in Enfield Center is still traceable. Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Tompkins for the Year. 1872-1911, Ithaca, New York. A History of Railroads in Tompkins County. 1977. H.C. Lee and W. Rossiter. Dewitt Historical Society of Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York. Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls, The Town of. 2002. Enfield Historical Society and Sue Thompson. Enfield, NY