Newark and Marion Railway

Train at the station in Marion. Standing in cab is engineer Bill DuBois. Three men next to the engine are, from left, brakeman John Hermenet. fireman Peter Keukelaar and station master Nelson Terry. Tall man at left is telegrapher Mr. Marshall. Short man at left is depot worker Elmer Corey.

    The 8.9-mile Newark and Marion Railway operated between Newark and Marion, New York. It was chartered in 1900, it opened for business in 1905. The railroad was constructed by the Beebe Syndicate, a conglomerate of streetcar and interurban lines across New York State. The Newark and Marion was not electrified. An off-shoot, the Newark, Williamson and Northern Railroad had been formed by the Beebe Syndicate in 1914 to construct an extension from Newark to Williamson through Marion. The Syracuse Railroad Construction Company surveyed portions of the line in 1915. When the Newark and Marion went into receivership in 1915 and was no longer controlled by the Beebe Syndicate, plans for extensions were abandoned.

   The company entered receivership in 1915, and control by the Beebe Syndicate ended. The railroad was reorganized as the Marion Railway Corporation in 1917. The Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the line in 1930. It continued to operate as a spur of the Elmira Branch through the Penn Central and Conrail eras. Operation passed to short line Ontario Midland Railroad in 1979. Dwindling freight traffic and deteriorating track conditions led to abandonment in July 1984.

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

January 20, 1906

    First Freight Car on Marion Road

    Marion, Jan. 19. - The first freight car on the Newark and Marion Railroad came into town this afternoon. It will be loaded with canned goods from the warehouse of J. B. Malcolm & Co., for shipment to New York. This marks an important event, for hereafter thousands of tons of freight which pass annually in and out of Marion will have the advantage of better facilities and lower rates. For several days past a force of men have been at work putting necessary switches on the railroad and it is expected that regular traffic will soon begin.

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, March 27, 1930

Marion Railway Asks 

Right To Drop Its

Passenger Service

                          ___

    Albany, March 26 - The Marion Railway Company, operating a nine mile steam railroad between Newark and Marion, Wayne County, today petitioned the Public Service Commission to discontinue operation of its mixed passenger train service, alleging that passenger revenue had declined in 1930 to $332, or $1.06 a day.

   The cost of giving the passenger service, the company contends, is greater than the revenue received from it. It is further stated that Marion has bus service with Palmyra where bus connections can be made with trolley or train and also with Rochester.

               Photo taken at Newark

Marion Enterprise

August 4, 1995

The Demise of a Landmark

The depot building, once the center of shipping produce and transporting people on the Newark and Marion Railroad, was demolished on June 21,1995. The dark, wooden building will be missed by many who travel by its familiar spot on Buffalo Street in Marion. At the turn of the century, Marion sat between two east and west trunk line railroads - each about six miles away. In order to ship fruits, vegetables and factory products, a railway was constructed. The railroad, running from Newark to Marion , a distance of  10 miles. The first train ran on December 14, 1905. In 1917, local citizens bought the railway in a foreclosure sale and formed the Marion Railway Corporation. In 1928, Stephen Comstock of Newark. purchased the corporation, and in 1930 the railway was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad.

One of the last locomotives to operate on the Newark & Marion - Conrail #5943, shown at Marion station about 1978 with former Pennsylvania R.R. caboose. Ex Erie-Lackawanna GP-7 #1213, Erie #1213. 1,500 horsepower.  Built October, 1950. Serial No. 12007. Scrapped in McCook, Ill., 1986.

                                                                Photo by Paul J. Templeton

Newark and Marion train on West Pearl Street, Newark, October 24, 1977. Pulled by an EMD SW-1 switch engine.

                                                                       Photo by Paul J. Templeton

Penn-Central train headed for Marion on bridge over old New York Central mainline west of Newark,  early 1970s. Looking west. 

                                                                      Photo by Paul J. Templeton

        Original Newark & Marion Locomotives

No.                   Type   Bldr. & No.     Year  Cylinders    Drivers     Notes

“Mary Ann”    2-4-2    Cooke  1066   1879   10” x 20” -                     Purchased Sept., 1902 by Syracuse Railroad Construction Co. from N.Y. Ex- Metropolitan Elevated (N.Y. City) #247. Used in construction.

1                       0-4-4T  Baldwin 12703 5-1892  15”x 20”    51”          ex-Long Island R.R. #153

2                       0-4-0    New York Central Shops, N.Y. City  7-1881  16” x 22”  48” ex NYC #56                                                                                

3                       0-4-0    New York Central Shops, E. Buffalo 4-1889  16” x 22”  53” ex NYC #74

5                       2-6-2   Vulcan 3254  10-1922  16” x 24”       44”               (Note 1)

6                       2-6-2   Vulcan 3525  4-1925    16” x 24”       44”               (Note 2)

                                Pennsylvania Railroad Locomotives Used on Marion Branch

No.    Class         Type  Bldr. & No.        Year Cylinders         Drivers     Weight      Notes

778    H6b   2-8-0 Baldwin  28983  1906  22” x 28”                      56”       204,800 lbs   Rebuilt 1/1917

2846  H6b   2-8-0 Baldwin  26744 1905   22” x 28”                      56”       204,800 lbs 

[On display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg, Pa.]

2910  H6b   2-8-0 Baldwin  26878 5-1905   22” x 28”                   56”       204,800 lbs Rebuilt  10-1916 

3065  H6b  2-8-0 Baldwin  28621  7-1906   22” x 28”                   56”       204,800 lbs Rebuilt 11-1913  Scrapped 2-1934

3110  H6b  2-8-0 Baldwin  28285 1910       22” x 28”                   56”        204,800 lbs Rebuilt 8-1914    Scrapped at Northumberland, Pa. [last steamer used on Marion branch, 1954]

4050 H3b   2-8-0 Altoona  1939     1/1895  20” x 24” 50” ex-Northern Central  #50     Scrapped July, 1914

4105 D13c  4-4-0 Altoona   2018    9/1897  18” x 24” 58” ex-Northern Central  #105  Scrapped March, 1914 

                        

                                  Diesel locomotives used on Marion Branch

Road  No.                    Bldr    No.      Model   Year         Notes

P.R.R. 5947                  EMD 3580   SW-1       6-1946  To PC/Conrail #8547 Sold for scrap to MSAX

P.R.R. 5948                  EMD 3581   SW-1       6-1946  To PC/Conrail #8548

P.R.R. 8504                  EMD 6763   SW-1       4-1949

P.C.    8576                  EMD 5379   SW-1       7-1948    ex-Pennsylvania Railroad #8576

P.C.    8597                  EMD 5674   SW-1       4-1948    ex-P.R.R. #8597, later Conrail #8597. Sold to Transco Railway Products, Oelwein, Iowa.         

P.C.   9340                  Alco   20323 S1            3-1950    ex-NYC   #864

Conrail 5943              EMD  12007 GP-7       10-1950   ex-Erie-Lackawanna #1213 Scrapped 1986

Conrail 8411              EMD  6391  SW-1       4-1949     ex-NYC #585; PC and.

Ontario Midland 5   GE      27603 45-ton     6-1944   ex-U.S. Army #8526 Sold to Landisville R.R. #8526, Landisville, Pa.

Ontario Midland 16  Alco  76203 S2           11-1948   ex-Wyandotte Terminal #106 Blt. as B&O #522, reno. 9066

Ontario Midland 36 Alco  82638 RS-11     12-1957   ex-Norfolk & Western #361

Ontario Midland 40 Alco  84108 RS-36     8- 1962    ex-Norfolk & Western #408

Ontario Central   86  (reno. 418) Alco  83697 RS-36         1962    ex-Norfolk & Western #2865, Nickel Plate #865 

Note 1 Transferred to Maryland & Delaware Seacoast R.R. Denton, Md., subsidiary of P.R.R., Nov. 9, 1932

Note 2 Transferred to Maryland & Delaware Seacoast R.R. December, 1932; sold to Emmitsburg R.R., April, 1936