The Borodino & Southern Railway
By Martin Collard
Introduction
My Borodino & Southern railroad is a product of imagination based on a proposed extension of the Marcellus & Otisco Lake Railroad in the early 1900s. The M. & O. L. proposed to extend from the north end of Otisco Lake through Borodino and points south to Homer, N.Y.
Originally my version of the extension was modeled in 3 foot narrow gauge developed from a personal desire to model a narrow gauge railroad yet stay in local history.
As age creeps up on all of us my arthritis became an issue dealing with the small under mount of HOn3 wheel sets. The decision was made to change to standard gauge HO scale trains. This decision allowed me to maintain most of my original layout. The interesting portion of the transition was the extra clearance required for the extra 20 ½” of rail gauge would make.
The expanded right of way required some businesses to be relocated or compression of the structures had to be considered. Once the roadbed and track was replaced I got back to modeling.
The M&OL has pulled into the Borodino Station. The station is my
rendition of the M&OL station in Marcellus. It was scratch built
from a photograph of the original structure.
The Story
The idea to build the Borodino & Southern came to be when the need arose for crushed limestone to be transported to the Solvay Process Company in Solvay to produce artificial soda ash. The Process was doing a very well and the existence of a large deposit of limestone and the desire to extract it was definitely worth further consideration. Ted’s Ore Mine Co. based in St. Cloud Florida showed an interest in the project. The concept and probability appeared to be coming together.
The Borodino & Southern Railway was granted permission by the State Railroad Commission on March 4th 1905 to survey the route from Otisco Lake to just south of the hamlet of Borodino. This small crossroad community was the culmination of families and friends that loved living off the land and had a sense of pride that could carry the train they wanted to bring to town. The town was behind the expansion, oh sure there were the some that didn’t want change and growth. A vote was taken and Ted’s Ore Mine Company was granted permission to press ahead with its idea. Within two months time the route was laid out and then the search for a company to build this railroad was sought. The Frost Construction Co. of Camillus received the bid and told the people of Borodino it would take a bond of $38,000 to reach their fair village. Construction on the 4.8-mile route was started June 29th. While the drive by horse and wagon was a relatively short one the railroad needed a bit more distance due to the very vertical terrain. In fact the final consideration was that the two roads would not physically touch. It was believed that the job could be accomplished with a tipple to transfer the stone to the M&OL and a two-story station to transfer passengers. To join the roads it would have required a double switch back and thousands of dollars the small community just could not afford. The grade was to be no more than 2% so the use of rod locomotives could be used to haul the hoppers of crushed stone.
There was concern about getting other farm related produces on to the M&OL but the powers to be reassured everyone they would be worked out and still be economical enough to make it feasible. The town creamery was just north of the village and would be easy to run a siding to. In fact G. F. Frost said if it was going to built after the road was there it would be in that exact location.
Once all was in place the town went looking for someone with the fire and tenacity to spearhead this railroad. Martin Collard, formerly of Marcellus and now living in Borodino, was hired to be the president of the Borodino & Southern Railway. His love of trains and foresight for the moderate growth of this quaint village made him a great choice.
The working relationship between G.F. Construction Co. and the Borodino & Southern Railway could not have been better. The future expansion of the railroad was already being discussed it seemed before the first rail was laid.
The M. & O. L. also needed a change; the tipple and a track to it had to be constructed as well. Ted’s Ore Mine Co. agreed to foot the bill for this aspect of the construction.
The B&S needed to build an engine house and yard facilities which was decided to be located a bit south of the village to, with the use of the prevailing west winds, help keep the smoke and cinders off the clothes lines of the ladies laundry. Well it was a friendly gesture at the time. There was a day in 1910 that all the good intentions in the world would not have helped. Mrs. Hole, the mother of a large brood, was hanging out her laundry and the B&S ran an extra train to bring some dignitaries from the Solvay Process Company to town. The wind was brisk out of the north and the engineer apparently thought it was time to blow down the boiler. I guess you could guess the results. It became one of her most told stories and got better with time.
Once the construction of the railroad was under way the small hamlet began to grow. The Legg block on the southeast corner of the crossroad had burned in 1902. There was some talk about rebuilding it but there was no real reason but with the railroad coming it seemed the right thing to do. The post office was also rebuilt in the old Legg block as before. The bandstand needed some repair and would be a great place to welcome the train to town.
The Marcellus Lighting Co. was granted an easement to place electric light poles on August 10, 1927. Power made was installed in the parsonage and church in 1929.
A fire destroyed the hotel and hardware in 1946, Nodine’s Gas station was built on the property. Bartlet’s store on the corner was still doing a good business. The little village was changing yet not losing its identity. This was something very important to the residents of Borodino to keep this quaint little crossroad town the same.
The train was not intended to come right to the crossroad itself. A station was to be built just north of the village. Maybe we would be known as a village instead of a hamlet.
During the 1950’s the B&S was then saving grace for the southern end of the M&OL which after the depression had little to do except haul crushed stone. In 1959 the M&OL had fallen into a state of financial failure and in 1960 finally filed for abandonment of the line. The Interstate Commerce Commission approved the request on April 15th 1960. The small railroad which had helped Marcellus grow was now put to rest. The B&S just could not buy out the M&OL so the tracks at the tipple were pulled up and trucks were used. In the middle 70’s the Solvay Process Company was closed by its parent company Allied Chemical Company. With no place for the limestone of Ted’s Ore Mine Inc. decided to expand its cement plant and sold crushed stone. With the closing of Solvay Process Company there was little use for the railroad and the Borodino & Southern filed for abandonment in September 16th 1974. The Interstate Commerce Commission granted the request on April 15th 1975. The Borodino & Southern was now a memory.
The kit built Fontney on Otisco Lake was used to transport M&OL passengers
to the Forest Home Restaurant overlooking the lake.
“Downtown” Borodino. Bartlet’s IGA was a busy place at the crossroads of this small hamlet. The model was scratch built from a 1941 Photo. The interior is a back-lit photograph with HO scale figures in the foreground.
The “Rose Hill” M&OL station in Marietta NY was measured in 2005 by Martin. The scratch built version was complete in 2021. The Rose Hill Seed company was a large plant seed producing company which shipped packages of seeds around the world. This side of the station is visible from Route 174 still today.
The backdrop was designed to extend the layout beyond its confines of the room. The farm fields just past the track are made in a space of three inches. The photo backdrop is a photo of the east side of Otisco Lake hillside and Printed out on self adhesive 8.5” x 11” postal shipping labels allowing me to permanently apply them to the wall. The large rock face to the left is a removable panel made to cover the window.
The M&OL combine which is lettered Marcellus & Otisco Lake RR was purchased at the Amherst Train show in Springfield, Mass. I don’t know how it came to be there, but thankful to have it on my layout. I am a believer of the models built by the creators of great models should never end up in a dumpster. During my years of owning my own train store I had the unfortunate opportunity to help liquidate fellow modeler’s collection after their passing. The fulfilling part of the process was the knowledge their collection would live on. One of my favorite symbols of this is the bridge over what I can Horner’s Hollow, named after Harold Horner of the Hartford Workshop Group. Don Clerke of the Hartford Workshop scratch built the bridge from Jack Work’s plans in a Model Railroader article. I always admired both modelers and when Earl Smallshaw told me the bridge was available from Dave Bascom, also of the Workshop, I bought it. The small bridge in the foreground is from Lou Sassi’s layout.
Local industry gives the B.& S. plenty of business.
