Historic Moments: A look at the Skaneateles Railroad and the Skaneateles Short Line Railroad

By Jorge Batlle

Skaneateles Village Historian

The Skaneateles Railroad was incorporated on May 19, 1836 after local industrialists and mill operators expressed dismay of being more than five miles away from the newly completed Auburn and Syracuse Railroad (forerunner of the New York Central Railroad). They craved a commercial connection with the outside world. That point would be Hart Lot, in the Town of Elbridge, also now known as Skaneateles Junction.

The railroad opened on Sept. 30, 1840. They used wooden rails and strap iron, as they could not afford to purchase iron rails. Ties were placed on the ground at 7 foot intervals. They were notched near each end into which were placed the actual wood rails.

It cost approximately $1,500 a mile to construct. In 1845 iron rails replaced the wooden rails. The flat cars for freight and passenger coaches were pulled by horses. These first coaches weren’t very roomy. It was said that by sitting close together they might hold 12 passengers. In 1844 the railroad added a new, much larger and very elegant passenger car built locally by J. Legg. Also at that time the management experimented with a steam locomotive. In late 1846 the locomotive exploded while pulling a passenger train near Mottville. The horses returned as motive power.

The railroad company failed and went bankrupt Aug. 24, 1850. One reason suggested was competition from the newly completed parallel plank road running from the village north to Jordan and the Erie Canal.

The tracks were abandoned and the wooden rails and bridge beams were taken up.  Local farmers used them for building materials. The Aug. 29, 1850 Skaneateles Columbian stated that “Messrs. Perry and Horace Cornell are now running stages from Skaneateles to the Junction…By this means our citizens and the traveling public will be subject to no inconvenience from the stoppage of cars in this road.”

Following the Civil War, industries along the Skaneateles Creek, with its abundant water power, expanded and grew. Revival of the railroad was pushed. Joel Thayer led the drive.

The community gave its full support and over $100,000 was subscribed. The new second Skaneateles Railroad was incorporated on April 17, 1866. Workmen from the New York Central Railroad in Syracuse were hired. Total construction cost was $88,877 for the 5 mile long road running north from the village and connecting with the New York Central Railroad at Skaneateles Junction in the Town of Elbridge.

The new railroad opened on Oct. 1, 1867. It now used two wood burning steam engines. These engines were deemed inadequate for this type of service. They were better suited for street railways. Later that year a locomotive from Mason Locomotive Works was put into service. This 30 tonner with four large driving wheels, was named “The Skaneateles.” It too proved to be inadequate for this type of service. In 1869 over 37,000 people rode the railroad.

The next locomotive was a tank style from the Rogers Locomotive Company. This 1870 model has specially designed swivel trucks (wheels) for the Skaneateles Railroad’s, sharp curves and the inability to turn the locomotive around at the end of the line. It ran forward and backward equally well. A second engine was purchased in 1872. These tank engines provided service until 1914 and one continued service until 1942.

Skaneateles became a very popular summer resort for some the state’s wealthiest and influential people. As this passenger business increased, the railroad management thought they could make more money by carrying these vacationers right to their lakeside retreats. So, in 1871 the railroad purchased an interest in the steam passenger boat The Ben Porter. In June 1876 daily service was provided by the passenger boat”the Glen Haven. Other boats such as The City of Syracuse and Ossahinta. worked the lake for over 40 years.

Freight and mail service also increased dramatically in the 1870s. In the 1880s this little railroad now had 15 employees. The increase in farm mechanization saw agricultural product shipments triple using the railroad to get their products to market. In 1888, according to historian Richard Palmer, 1788 tons of grain  were shipped out of Skaneateles. The “Gay Nineties” brought many celebrities out to the town, with many chartered excursions and special dining cars coming to Skaneateles.

On March 20, 1902, the engine house, located where the present Top’s Market is today, burned, damaging locomotives #2 & #3. Also, competition for the railroad’s passenger business (six trains daily each way, except Sunday) came from the Auburn and Syracuse trolley line. This line ran from Syracuse southwest to Skaneateles, right through the center of the village, and westward to the City of Auburn. However, the railroad made improvements with heavier 60 pound rails and stronger bridges. Also gone were the oil headlamps, diamond shaped stacks and wood burning fireboxes. They were replaced with coal burning fireboxes, straight stacks and generator powered headlamps.

Freight and passenger business slumped in the late 1920s. The Great Depression shut down many of the mills, including the U.S. Gypsum plant at Skaneateles Falls. Passenger service was stopped in 1932. The railroad filed for abandonment in Feb. 1940.

In Oct. of 1940, a group of 14 citizens banded together to revive the railroad and purchased the company for $25,000. The new business was called The Skaneateles Short Line Railroad. Service resumed in April of 1941. World War 2 brought new prosperity to the area. In addition, in 1947, Cowles Chemical Company established a soap making plant in Skaneateles Falls.

Now strictly a freight service, the Village’s passenger station was torn down in 1947. It was located on Railroad Street, the former name for now Fennell Street. A historic sign marks its location.

The Short Line went to using diesels in 1950 with a GE 44 ton blue painted switcher. The remaining steam locomotives were sold for scrap.

The Talcott Mill in the village closed in 1969. Abandonment was sought for 3 miles of track running from the Village north to Mottville. The engine house and the Railway Express buildings on Fennell Street were torn down to make way for a P&C grocery store and a Laundromat. The ‘short line’ is much shorter.

The only customer left was Stauffer Chemical Company in Skaneateles Falls. In 1974 Stauffer purchased the railroad with a track rehabilitation program. It was still called the Skaneateles Short Line Railroad. The railroad’s office was then in the building that houses the Jordan Road ‘The Sinclair of Skaneateles’ wedding venue.

On July 13, 1981, the railroad delivered its last shipment to Stauffer. July 15, 1981 the Skaneateles Short Line Railroad closed. The diesel engine was sold to the New York State Electric and Gas plant on Seneca Lake. Part of the right-of-way is now the Charlie Major Nature Trail.

Submitted photos

From 1836 up to 1981 Skaneateles and the surrounding area utilized various railroads to transport people and goods.