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• Dec 2005
• May 2007
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History

Branchline Articles

May 2007

New York Central’s Golden Anniversary

By Chris Granger

As much as it is a 50^th golden anniversary, it is a very grim memory to those that knew of the New York Central’s Ottawa Division. During a discussion with my fellow Ottawa railway research group this past February 13^th, I realized that the next day marked 50 years that the last NYC train pulled out of Ottawa and made its last trip down to Cornwall and across the St. Lawrence River back into the United States. After our group passed a few messages to each other, it came to me to write this requiem of sorts.

If any of you have the November 2001 issue of Branchline, you will know that my family were employees of that particular division and since then I had found a fourth member that was partly involved. I shall pass over my own feelings of the line since I had written a bit about them previously. The NYC line into Ottawa can trace its origins back to May 17, 1882 when the Ontario Pacific Railway was created to build a rail line from Cornwall to the French River with a bridge over the St. Lawrence River to connect to an American railroad. For fifteen years, the company pushed itself for promotion and acquiring funds to construct. On May 21, 1897 the name was changed to the Ottawa & New York Railway after the company partnered up with a like minded existing American line, opening a route from Ottawa to Cornwall on July 29, 1898. This was just half the route.

The other half in New York State had almost just as long of a history, but with more activity. On February 9, 1883 the Northern Adirondack Railroad was created to build from Moira to St. Regis Falls, which was opened that September 25^th. Although this company built further two years later to Santa Clara, it was not in official operation until the Northern Adirondack Extension Railroad came into being on February 17, 1886. This new company was to extend the railroad south to the shores of Racquette Pond. Rails first stopped at Brandon on July 6, 1886 then completed to Tupper Lake in 1889, the company merging into its parent on April 5, 1890. The first train to run this complete route was that July 1^st. A small 2 mile branch line was also in operation 15-miles north of Tupper Lake. The railroad would go into receivership on July 25, 1894 while still hoping to extend to the south.

On May 25, 1895, the line was sold and then renamed to the Northern New York Railroad two days later. The new owners had a larger dream of not just extending to the south, but to do so to make a route to New York City while also building into Canada. They had flirted with the creation of a company to extend from Tupper Lake and even for a time had a 9-mile line out of Moira under their control for a take-off point to the north. Both business proposals floundered in failure. Then on a fateful train trip from Ottawa, the owners from the Canadian and American companies first met and eventually would reach a deal to become partners. The New York & Ottawa Railroad was created to build from Moira to the St. Lawrence River on July 22, 1897 and would absorb the Northern New York line on October 28^th. The track from Moira to Nyando (now Rooseveltown) opened on September 28, 1898.

The two rail companies would become an operation under one guidance when the Americans purchased the Canadian company on June 13, 1898, the company of the Ottawa & New York Railway continued to exist though. Then on September 6^th, one of the bridges over the St. Lawrence would collapse, taking with it the lives of 15 workers and injuring 18 others. Although the bridge was rebuilt and the creation of an international railway was opened on October 1, 1900, the company itself would not recover from such a loss, as evident by them going in receivership six months prior to the bridge opening. On December 22, 1904 the railroad was put up for auction and was acquired by a group of men who renamed the line to the New York & Ottawa Railway on January 19, 1905. It would become clear who these gentlemen were when the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad leased the route on February 1^st.

The Tupper Lake - Ottawa line never became anything more under the NYC than a mere feeder line. Nonetheless, they were the only American company in Eastern Ontario, as well as the only one in the Canadian capital. On March 7, 1913 the New York & Ottawa Railway merged into the NYC, officially becoming their Ottawa Division, while a lease was maintained on the Ottawa & New York Railway. After the logging lines of the Adirondack Mountains packed up and there were no longer substantial businesses along that portion of the line, the Tupper Lake Junction to Helena part was abandoned on May 6, 1937, access for the NYC to the remaining Canadian part of the line was by trackage rights from Massena to Helena on Canadian National Railways. The "Tupper Lake Spur" as it became known as south of Tupper Lake Junction would be abandoned on July 6, 1972 by Penn Central.

Almost twenty years later, the NYC would run their last train out of Ottawa. On February 14, 1957, engine #8304 was operated by engineer William Sweeney, conductor William Forsyth, fireman Tom Leonard and brakeman William Carson pulled out of Ottawa at 3:30 in the afternoon and crossed into the United States by 8:45 that evening. The official abandonment of the route from Ottawa to Rooseveltown was March 22^nd, but no train ran on the line between those dates. CNR would purchase the Canadian portion in April and proceed to remove the rail two months later, although a section in Cornwall as well as from Ottawa to Ramseyville was relaid in time to come. The rest of the 4-mile line in the US remains in service by CSX today while the Canadian line can still be traced out by hikers, bicycles and ATVs.

I never seen the line, but I exist in part because of it. I lived beside it for many years and heard the stories from my grandmother about the trains and my great-grandfather. I may not have ever rode those rails, but I can tell you honestly that I wish I had just once. For a little more of the NYC’s Ottawa Division History, check out my web site (www.nyc-ottawadivision.com). I have been actively redesigning it to include the station stops so come on over and take a virtual trip to say the least. I would also like to thank Bruce Chapman for providing to me the correct time that the last NYC train had left Ottawa.