Nearly forgotten is a publication called “Short-Line Railroader” edited and published in the 1950s and 1960s and published by noted railroad historian, author and photographer William S. Young.
Although the magazine focused on shortlines, Young made an exception and published detailed news articles on abandonment of his favorite railroad, the New York, Ontario & Western. His writing skill acquired much earlier as an investigative reporter served him well. Very little escaped his attention. Short-Line Railroader was published between 1954 and 1960. For years he also wrote a column for Trains Magazine. His last book was Life and Times of the Unadilla Valley Railway.
Following is a selection of news items regarding the N.Y. O. & W. as they appeared in Short-Line Railroader.
March, 1956:
An ICC examiner has recommended rejection of two recently discussed plans for ending New York, Ontario & Western Ry.' s 19-year trusteeship. NYO&W, which lost more than $3 million in 1954 and 1955, had been considering proposals made by short-line operator Samuel M. Pinsly and a bondholders group.
The examiner said that Pinsly's offer to buy NYO&W for $4,600,000 was " grossly inadequate" and would not satisfy claims against the company. He also pointed out (as did a federal court in 1954) that outright sale would contravene the federal Bankruptcy Act, which provides for reorganization of bankrupt carriers. Pinsly was also viewed as lacking the necessary experience to operate the 550-mile system.
The bondholder plan would meet some obligations by sale of branch lines and other assets and formation of a new company to operate the main line. But the examiner declared that such a move would “completely extinguish” many other obligations.
May, 1956:
Federal officials shocked to " discover" that New York, Ontario & Western Ry. has not paid amounts deducted from employees' pay and due the government for withholding taxes and railroad retirement since 1943.
November, 1956:
New York, Ontario & Western Ry. may be sold to the highest bidder next month unless bondholders are successful in a last-ditch legal maneuver to stop the sale. Further hearings before U. S. District Court Judge E. A. Conger were postponed from Nov. 15 to Dec. 6 pending outcome of the bondholders' appeal to the U. S. First District Court of Appeals, due for hearing on Dec. 3.
On Nov. 8 Judge Conger received a bid of $4,600,000 for the entire system from Samuel M. Pinsly, with an alternative proposal to pay $1,425,000 for the 100-mile section from Norwich to Oswego, N. Y. New York Central offered $1,420,000 for the Norwich Oswego line:, and the Lackawanna also indicated an interest. in this portion.
Judge Conger announced on Nov. 15 that further bids had been received after the deadline set for their submission. Swift Salvage, of New York City, offered the highest amount so far: $6 million for the entire system.
An unnamed Albany, N. Y., firm also submitted also bid of $5,100,000. Although Judge Conger expected to determine soon " whether I have the right to sell," it was not clear whether the tardy bidders would receive consideration.
March, 1957
Grass-Roots Funds keeps Ontario & Western Running
Last month, throughout the central New York region served b.y New York, Ontario & Western Ry., money was literally being raised in the streets to keep the bankrupt road going for 60 days. NYO&W’s new receivers, who took over on Feb. 9, were told by Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan to get the funds or close down.
In upstate communities like Middletown, Sidney, and Norwich, developments in the grass-roots drive to raise $250,000 for receivers' certificates all but pushed news of a violence-marked area milk producers' strike off the front pages. At Middletown, where NYO&W's main shops are located, Mayor Raymond Swalm worked into the night to total pledges made by local citizens: $19,580 in two days.
After getting nowhere in a formal hearing on Feb. 8, Judge Ryan took off his robes, came down into the well of the court, and held an informal gathering. Noting that NYO&W was losing $4,500 a day, he accepted an initial $15,000 raised by shippers, then ruled that the remaining $235,000 be paid by Feb. 14.
If this doesn't work out," said Ryan, " we'll wrap it up." He observed that New York Governor Averell Harriman and many others had urged him to keep NYO&W running, but added: "You can't keep a road going on ‘wind pudding. "
During the next few days local enthusiasm got into high gear, but not in time to. meet Judge Ryan’s deadline (several state legislators charged that foot-dragging in the Oswego area was being encouraged by railroads interested in buying NYO&W's western lines " at bargain basement rates," and called for an investigation.).
Ryan, however, relented. Since that time the fund drive has been lagging--it was still $46,755 short on Feb. 27--but economies effected by the receivers have virtually assured NYO&W's operation through March.
By laying off 133.employees (since increased to 191), cutting already slim maintenance to the bone, and making other reductions, Receivers Kilsheimer and Grumet were able to report on Feb. 27 that NYO&W' s monthly deficit had been pared by one-third. After considering abandonment of the Kingston, Port Jervis, and Monticello branches, the receivers decided to keep them going on a reduced budget. Judge Ryan termed their accomplishments “a splendid job,'' and bondholder committee chairman C. B. Marr commented: " In six weeks time they'll have it in the black. They should be congratulated."
What do NYO&W and its boosters hope to attain? The principal concern is to put the system on a day-to-day paying basis with the hope for selling it for continued operation. In the past, the Salzberg and Pinsly short-line organizations have expressed interest, while New York Central and Lackawanna have nibbled at the western 100 miles from Norwich t.o Oswego. Erie is rumored to be interested in the Scranton Branch, and has made preliminary surveys with a view to bringing passenger trains through Middletown from its low-grade ·Graham freight line north of the city and using the massive NYO&W passenger station.
Best bet seemed to be Lackawanna's reported new interest in the entire system. As an independent road, NYO&W has no friends among connecting carriers for reasons that the map makes obvious. But it cannot survive without bridge traffic. Possession of NYO&W could mean a direct long-haul for Lackawanna to and from the Maybrook Gateway to New England, plus new outlets in the Oswego area?
Late last month, as a 113-car Scranton - Maybrook freight rolled cautiously through Middletown, its high cars swaying dangerously on the uncertain track, observers wondered if the 541-mile system could really ever be abandoned. NYO&W had indeed almost died. Was it now on the threshold of a new era?
April, 1957
Ontario & Western Quits; Sale Due
All operations of New York, Ontario &Western Ry. ground to a halt on Mar. 29 after efforts to put the 543-mile system on a temporary paying basis failed. Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan ordered the shut-down March 14 when NYO&W’s receivers reported that a downturn in business was causing the road to lose ground in its desperate fight for interim solvency.
A sale was regarded as inevitable when Receivers James B. Kilsheimer III and Jacob Grumet took over the ailing road from Trustee Lewis D. Freeman on Feb. 9, but they hoped to put the NYO&W on a sustaining basis before disposlng of its properties--and with just a 10 percent increase in freight business they might have succeeded.
“I’m sorry,” Judge Ryan said. “We can't operate because we want to. We don't have the money or the. time. And Kilshelmer added: “It is like trying to push water uphlll."
During NYO&W’s last few days frantic efforts were made to save it. On Mar. 28 the New York state legislature voted one million dollars to the state Civil Defense Commission to operate NYO&W. But CD authorities had already ruled that the line was not essential to defense, and declined to undertake its operation. Federal authorities, who have a claim against NYO&W for $7 million in unpaid taxes, also termed the system non-essential and refused to call off the foreclosure.
Now added to the burden of claims is $227,000 in receivers' certificates, recently purchased by individuals, business concerns, and civic groups throughout central New York in an unprecedented grass-roots response to an appeal for funds.
Actually " Old & Weary' exceeded its court-ordered shut-down by several hours, the last train rolling into the central terminal. at Middletown, N.Y., at 3:15 a.m. on March 30. The final runs began coming into Middletown on the evening of the 29th.
Crews lingered to talk awhile, self-consciously shook hands, and regretfully turned their backs on a career. At 5 p.m. NW-10, the last scheduled freight, arrived from Norwich with four diesels, four cabooses, and off-line cars.
An extra from the Monticello branch with additional foreign cars and company equipment was greeted by exploding torpedos when it pulled in at 7:30. At 3:15 came the final train, an extra from Oswego behind diesel SOS, bringing the last engines and cars. Old & Weary was dead,
All eyes are now on the approaching sale of NYO&W properties. There is one big question: will the system be sold in its entirety or will it be split up among a number of buyers, with some portions going as junk. Probable bidders include the Salzberg and Pinsly groups, several connecting carriers, and a canpany now being talked up by Sullivan County businessmen to operate 90 miles from Port Jervis to Mountaindale, Liberty, and other communities as a short-line.
Meanwhile Erie, Lackawanna, and New York Central-all potential purchasers-have obtained emergency orders from the 10: to operate portions of the system. Erie is serving NYO&:W customers at Middletown and Port Jervis and continuing operation of a short section it has used for years to reach its Pine Bush branch. Lackawanna is running trains from Utica to New Hartford and switching cars at Norwich and Scranton. The New York Central has the Fulton Oswego line and tracks at Rome, Oneida, and Kingston.
May, 1957
ONTARIO & WESTERN: Its fate still undecided, New York, Ontario & Western Ry. lay idle last month while receivers planned the forthcoming sale of assets. Upstate nostalgia for the grass-roots New York road swelled anew when it was announced that private car No. 30, 71 feet of 1886-vintage ornateness, might be sold separately. Interested buyers: the Rail City and Smith's Clove museums at Sandy Creek and Monroe, N. Y., and the Buffalo Historical Society. Buffalo wants No. 30 because President Cleveland, who got his start as a lawyer in Buffalo, once honeymooned aboard the car.
Local indignation was aroused by reports that NYO&W may be split into several parts, e.g., Middletown- Cornwall and Middletown- Cadosia, for sale purposes. Also criticized: the leasing of 21 diesel switchers to New York Central for $25 a day.
Summer, 1957
Ontario & Western Sold by Segments
New York, Ontario & Western Ry. became a name of memory on June 27, when Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan received final bids on the entire property of the 543-mile system at the close of a three-day series of hearings in New York. A high bid of $6,850,000 made by the Salzberg interests for the entire road was topped by individual bids for segments of the property totaling $10,031,820.
Initially, Salzberg lawyer Stanley G. Falk offered $6,600,000, but was permitted to up his figure when other prospective purchasers-bidding on a segment basis--surpassed his original offer by little more than $3,000.
In this first round of segment bidding, several persons overbid heavily on machinery and certain equipment in an apparent effort to protect their bids on the rail property itself. Commenting on a $20,000 offer for four pieces of blueprint equipment, Judge Ryan observed: “That is the most expensive blueprint room I have seen in a long time.”
Falk, who had refrained from placing segment bids, then entered the last round of bidding, during which many previous offers (including the one for the blueprint room) were withdrawn. Initial bids for rolling stock totaling more than $750,000 dwindled to $179,800.
Ancient business car No. 30,- a center of attraction, was sold to banker Charles Diebold of Buffalo, N.Y., for $3,020. An ornate piece of equipment in which President Grover Cleveland once made a honeymoon trip, car 30 will go to the Buffalo Historical Society for exhibition.
The all-important sale of the actual railroad lines by sections was dominated by three bidders. For $3,935,000 Salzberg acquired the portion of the main line from Middletown to Cadosia and all track above Norwich, inCluding the Norwich - Oswego main line and the Rome and Utica branches.
Surprise big bidders were the Moscowitz salvage interests of Cincinnati, who offered $2,876,000 to secure the Norwich- Cadosia and Middletown - Cornwall main line segments, the Cadosia - Poyntelle portion of the Scranton branch, and the Delhi, Kingston, Port Jervis, and Monticello branches. The remainder of the Scranton branch in Pennsylvania from Poyntelle to Scranton, including lesser branches, went to Mayfield, Pa., scrap dealer John C. Baumann for $960,000.
Locomotives were sold during the first day of hearings in a separate proceeding brought by the equipment trust. Of the NYO&W’s nine two-unit FT road diesels, seven--Nos. 601, 801-805, and 808--were sold to New York dealer Harold Gottfried for $155,000, ostensibly for export to Mexico.
National Metal & Steel Corp. of Terminal Island, Calif., paid $63,000 for the two remaining FT' s, Nos. 806 and 807. Of the later-model F-3 road diesels, Nos. 821 and 822, two-unit locomotives,. were taken by the Erie for $154,000; while single units 50I-503 were purchased by HymanMichaels Co. for $92,000 and promptly resold to Western Pacific for use on Sacramento Northern. The latter were shipped to California late in July. New York Central took 17 of the road's 21 1,000-h.p. EMD switchers, Nos. 114 and 116-131. The Central had offered $1,477,000 for 20 of switchers, but was outbid on Nos. 111-113 by a dealer named Kaplan. The remaining engine, No. 115, went to Northern Pacific for $61,000.
Post-sale speculation centers about possibilities for continued operation. At least one new short-line company is expected to emerge as a result of the Salzberg purchases. Monticello businessmen, thwarted at the last minute in their attempt to get temporary service provided by the Erie between Port Jervis and Monticello, may work on another approach.
The Moscowitz_ interests have announced that their holdings will be put up for sale as scrap or for continued operation. Deprived of its southern connection by NYO&W's abandonment, the· Salzberg-owned Unadilla Valley Ry may want to buy a 2-mile stretch from New Berlin Jct. to Sidney and establish a new interchange with Delaware & Hudson.
On July 8 Judge Ryan confirmed all bids except those covering a part of the equipment and a 9-acre tract of real estate in New Jersey. NYO&W's creditors, including the federal government, bondholders, local tax authorities, and holders of the recently issued receivers' certificates, will soon be back in court to claim their share of the sale proceeds.
Late Developments
The trio of diesel switchers sold· to dealer Kaplan, Nos. 111-113, have turned up in Salzberg hands and are now at the Unadilla Valley Ry. shops at New Berlin, N. Y., for repairs and repainting. They are expected to see service on a new Salzberg short-·line in the Oswego - Utica - Norwich area.
The Erie is expected to buy 3.5 miles of line to continue service at Middletown and Fair Oaks, N. Y., and preserve the link to its own Pine Bush branch, now reached by trackage rights over the NYO&W. Less certain is Erie .interest in buying the massive Middletown station and abandoning its present western approach to Middletown which includes a number of grade crossings and ls regarded by civic planners as an obstacle to community development~ A 2-mile stretch of the line mentioned above would provide a new link north of the city with Erie's Graham freight cut-off. Ellenville, N. Y., shippers meanwhile claim to have interested Erie, New York Central, and short-line operator Sam Pinsly in their efforts to restore rail service to that community. Erie might take the entire line from Port Jervis to Summitvllle, Ellenville, and Kingston; lt does not now have an outlet to the Kingston area. Central and Pinsly are believed to be considering only the section from Kingston to Ellenville.
First Quarter, 1958
The New York, Ontarlo & Western abandonment received official blessing of ICC on Oct. 11. Shippers had previously tried to stop the close-out with a federal court suit. Erie is completing arrangements to buy the short stretch from Middletown to Crawford Jet., N. Y., key link with its Pine Bush branch.
Meanwhile citizens of upstate Walton have failed to get off the ground with plans for a new short-line to link Walton and Sidney via a piece of the O&W main line. O&W cabooses 8301, 8304, 8306, 8308, and 8360 have gone to Long Island R.R. (which also has six new cabooses-sans cupolas or bay windows-on order from International Car & Equipment Co.).
Second Quarter 1958
Ontario Track Removal Begun
With May l5 set as the final date for filing claims against the estate of New York, Ontario & Western Ry., deceased, track removal has already been started at several points. A contractor for the Salzberg interests has dismantled the Middletown yard, and work has begun on the main line above Middletown, north of Fair Oaks. Heading the salvage train is Wellsville, Addison & Galeton R.R. diesel No. 1200, which arrived at Middletown from Galeton, Pa., on Apr. 4.
The Moskowitz interests of Cincinnati, only bidders to fail to close title, hav~ been told by Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan to pay the balance on a $2,876,000 bid for extensive portions of the system or forfeit a deposit of $585,000. Moskowitz had sought to withdraw because of the decline in scrap prices. Although the final outcome was unreported at press time, one Moskowitz line, the Walton - Delhi branch, is understood to be in process of dismantlement. Mayfield, Pa., scrap dealer John C. Baumann has also begun salvaging his portion of the Scranton branch.
Salzberg has advertised for sale " substantial quantities" of 75, 76, and 90-lb. relay rail, bars, and plates, as well as 100,000 relay ties and timbers (some of which have been taken by Wellsville, Addison & Galeton and Middletown & New Jersey Ry.).
All equipment which remained at Middletown has been scrapped except former observation car R-151 and a steam crane. Some of the FT road diesels and cabooses acquired by New York dealer Harold Gottfried are still awaiting buyers at Erie's Croxton Yard in New Jersey.
Erie has applied to the ICC for permission to buy the 3.5-mile section of main line from Middletown to Crawford Jct. and Fair Oaks in order to retain a link with its Pine Bush branch at Crawford Jet. and serve former NYO&W customers at Fair Oaks. Lackawanna is reportedly angling for certain tracks at Utica and New Hartford, N. Y.
September, 1959
New York, Ontario & Western switchers 111-113 (EMD #3164-6. 3-1948. ) stored by Unadilla Valley Ry. (N.Y.) , have been sold to Rock Island.
November, 1959
Previously reported sale of three New York, Ontario & Western Ry. switchers to Rock Island took place last March. Nos. 111-113 (EMD #3164-6, 3-1948), 1,000 h.p. units had been stored by the Salzberg’s Unadilla Valley Ry. at New Berlin, N.Y., are now Rock Island 795-797. Their sale undid previous speculation that the three would be assigned by Salzberg to St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County R.R. or Louisiana & North West.
January, 1960
New York, Ontario & Western’s car 30, I’m which President Cleveland is said to have ridden, is slated for removal from Buffalo, N.Y. to the nearby Arcade & Attica. The 30, owned by the Buffalo Historical Society, will be stored by the 15-mile A&A and may be used for excursions.
Book Review
“O.& W.", by William F. Helmer; Howell-North: $5
Few railroad books have been awaited with as much anticipation as O. & W., for those who worship the memory of New York, Ontario & Western Ry. are many. To an account of NYO&W's fitful existence William F. Helmer has brought the fruits of long research and the literary capabilities of a university professor of English.
The lure and the lore of this singular railroad are such that his book seems destined to increase in value and to be treasured by rail enthusiasts yet unborn, for the “Old & Weary” is already becoming an Eastern counterpart to the now keenly studied Colorado Midland—and the obvious parallels are several.
O.& W. is neither a social nor a corporate history: the author himself carefully describes it as a selection of events, individuals and anecdotes. To that extent NYO&W has found a good biographer. The result is a lustrous account akin to that kind of history to be heard from the boys down at the roundhouse. Atmosphere is the book's framework; it has no other, and in the difficult stringing together of diverse facts in chronological order, some bad joints may be apparent to the critical reader. The road’s early days are covered with admirable thoroughness, although the story seems to lose direction during the last years of crisis, perhaps because it attempts to describe that hectic period in too few words.
Numerous illustrations, old and new, relate well to the book’s many asides. Accidents plagued the O. & W. to its final days, and wreck scenes are plentiful enough. Four crewmen died in one unscheduled meet that was also a series of numerological match-ups. In 1902 the second section of train 11 collided with its counterpart, No. 12, near Horton's, N. Y.; the engines were 2-6-0's 143 and 144; they fell on their sides rammed tightly and precisely cylinder to cylinder, smokeboxes interlapped and both exposed wheel-sets in the same position near top quarter; and the wreck had a considerable effect on their later rebuildings and renumberings in relation to other engines of
the same group.
The rosters suffer by exclusion of the diesels and from one error which originated with the undersigned (in the light of later knowledge: 2-6-0 No. 281 did not go to Unadilla Valley Ry., although her tender did).
From its beginnings the history of New York, Ontario & Western, however told, is a melancholy chronicle; readers of O. & W. will marvel that the road lasted as long as it did. Even so, there were those who could not believe that in the early hours of March 30, 1957, the “Old & Weary” was finally drawing its last breath. Our own knowledge
is that employees at the Mayfield, Pa., yard office, focal point of Scranton Branch operations, went home leaving even the utensils for coffee-break in the usual place.
W.S.Y.
