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The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 when it was ordered liquidated by a US bankruptcy judge. The O&W holds the distinction of being the first notable U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.〔(kodtrak.railfan.net )〕 The railroad began life as the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, organized by Dewitt C. Littlejohn during 1868. Its mainline extended from Weehawken, New Jersey in the greater New York City area to Oswego, New York, a port city on Lake Ontario. It had branch lines to Scranton, Pennsylvania; Kingston, New York; Port Jervis, New York; Monticello, New York; Delhi, New York; Utica, New York and Rome, New York. The part south of Cornwall, New York was operated over the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad via trackage rights. == History == During 1880, the O&W inherited the Oswego-New York corridor as well as the branches to Ellenville, Delhi and New Berlin, New York from the New York & Oswego Midland, which had constructed the lines. The O&W improved the line by providing a new route to the New York City area from Middletown, NY which extended to Cornwall on the Hudson River and then to Weehawken Terminal. This development was made possible by negotiating rights of way from the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railway, later part of the New York Central system. During 1886, the O&W acquired the operations of both the Utica, Clinton & Binghamton and the Rome & Clinton railroads from the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. By acquisition of these assets and construction of a new line to Sylvan Beach on the east shore of Lake Oneida, the O&W extended its operations into new market areas, and the Sylvan Beach Loop became a seasonally-significant corridor by providing transportation to central New York's recreational resort area. By 1889, the O&W added two new branches, New Berlin to Edmeston, and Port Jervis to Monticello, connecting to the main line at Summitville, New York. The most significant addition occurred during 1890, when the O&W constructed a 54-mile branch from Cadosia, New York to Scranton, Pennsylvania, through the rich anthracite coal reserves in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley. Revenues from this Scranton division strengthened O&W's revenues and provided the means for future improvements to the railroad. The railroad's W-in-O logo first appeared during 1892〔(Early 1890s O&W Annual Passes )〕 During the ill-fated "Morganization" of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH), the railroad acquired control of the O&W and installed NH president Charles Sanger Mellen as president for a year. Regulatory difficulties frustrated Mellen's plans to barter the O&W to the New York Central Railroad for concessions elsewhere. Improved highways ended the O&W's passenger service to the resort areas of the lower Catskill Mountains (the "Borscht Belt") and lightly populated portions of upstate New York, with the last train from Walton, New York to Weehawken operating during the summer of 1948. The last passenger train (from Roscoe, New York to Weehawken Terminal) operated on September 10, 1953. The O&W began bankruptcy proceedings as early as 1937 (which it ultimately would never emerge from), and, apart from total dieselization by the early 1950s, it became antiquated (then known to locals as the "Old & Weary", "Old & Wobbly" or "Old Woman").〔 The decrease of coal as a heating fuel for other than major power plants damaged its primary freight business, as did the end of rail transport of high-priority dairy products from upstate New York to the Metro New York City area. The NH offered to purchase the company during 1952, but later withdrew its offer, citing its own financial problems.〔 Abandonment was loudly protested by towns along the line, which considered unpaid back taxes as an investment in the railroad. The New York state legislature approved a $1 million aid bill, citing the O&W as essential for civil defense, but the state civil defense commission rejected it.〔 The federal government eventually recommended complete liquidation, which occurred on March 29, 1957. All O&W assets were auctioned — the diesel locomotives found new owners, but all else was scrapped.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New York, Ontario and Western Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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