Cortland station

Cortland
Cortland in 1966
Location	7 South Avenue Cortland, New York
Coordinates	42°35′31″N 76°10′50″W / 42.592022°N 76.180599°W / 42.592022; -76.180599Coordinates: 42°35′31″N 76°10′50″W / 42.592022°N 76.180599°W / 42.592022; -76.180599
Line(s)	New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
History
Opened	April 4, 1911 (1911-04-04)
Closed	April 25, 1948 (1948-04-25)
Former lines
Preceding station Lehigh Valley Railroad Following station toward Elmira Elmira and Cortland Branch toward

Cortland station is a defunct Lehigh Valley Railroad station in Cortland, New York. It was located on the Lehigh Valley's Elmira and Cortland Branch. The station building still stands; the tracks are owned by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway. Cortland was one of two depots; the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Lackawanna) depot was located on Railroad Street in the center of the city.

History[]

The first railroad to reach Cortland was the Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad, a forerunner of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, which opened a line between Syracuse, New York, and Binghamton, New York, on October 18, 1854.^[1] It was joined in 1872 by the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, which extended west from its existing line at Norwich, New York, to Freeville, New York.^[2] This line was later leased by the Elmira, Cortland and Northern Railroad,^[3] which in turn became part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1896.^[4]

The present building was constructed in 1910–1911, with a formal opening on April 4, 1911. The brick building measured 155 by 50 feet (47 by 15 m) and stood two stories tall. The space was sufficient to contain a waiting room, baggage room, a "women's retiring room", a smoking room, and a ticket office. The second floor was given over to company offices.^[5] It replaced the original station, which had served both freight and passengers. A new freight house was also built.^[6]

Traffic declined on the Elmira and Cortland Branch after World War I, and the Lehigh Valley gradually reduced service throughout the 1930s and 1940s.^[7] The last scheduled passenger service, between Cortland and DeRuyter, New York, ended on April 25, 1948.^[8] Limited service remained in the form of mixed trains. Even these ended south of Cortland on April 30, 1950, leaving a roundtrip between Cortland and Canastota, New York.^[9] This was effectively withdrawn after 1954.^[10] Lackawanna passenger service ended on September 15, 1958.^[11]

The Lehigh Valley abandoned the branch north of Cortland in 1967.^[12] Most of the branch south of Cortland was out of service by the mid-1970s. Conrail, successor to the Lehigh Valley, abandoned all but 3 miles (4.8 km) within the vicinity of Cortland. This line is owned by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway.^[13]

Notes[]

References[]

• Marcham, David (2009). The Ups & Downs of a Rural Line: Elmira, Cortland & Northern RR, 1867 to 1967 and on. Ithaca, New York: DeWitt Historical Society.
• Taber, Thomas Townsend (1977). The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Nineteenth Century. Muncy, Pennsylvania: Privately printed.
• Taber, Thomas Townsend; Taber, Thomas Townsend III (1980). The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century. Vol. 1. Muncy, PA: Privately printed. ISBN 0-9603398-2-5.
• Trice, Herbert V. (2004). The Gangly Country Cousin: the Lehigh Valley's Auburn Division. Ithaca, New York: DeWitt Historical Society.

External links[]

• Media related to Cortland station at Wikimedia Commons