New York Railways - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

New York State Railways was a grouping of several large city streetcar and electric interurban

Interurban

An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...

systems in upstate New York

Upstate New York

Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...

. It included the city transit systems in Rochester

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, Syracuse

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

, Utica

Utica, New York

Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....

, Oneida

Oneida, New York

Oneida is a city in Madison County located west of Oneida Castle and east of Canastota, New York, United States. The population was 10,987 at the 2000 census. The city, like both Oneida County and the nearby silver and china maker, takes its name from the Oneida tribe...

and Rome

Rome, New York

Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...

, plus various interurban lines connecting those cities.

The company was formed in 1909 when the New York Central Railroad

New York Central Railroad

The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

(NYC) consolidated its previously purchased (in 1905) Rochester Railways, serving that city, with the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway and Rochester & Sodus Bay interurban companies. In 1912 it added the Rochester & Suburban Ry., the Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway
Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway
The Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway, an interurban rail, was chartered on May 21, 1896. The company was a consolidation of the Syracuse Street Railroad Company, the Syracuse Consolidated Street Railway Company and the People's Railroad Company which was formerly leased to the Syracuse Street...

, the Oneida Railway
Oneida Railway
The Oneida Railway, an interurban rail, was established in 1907 when the New York Central Railroad electrified of the West Shore Railroad between Syracuse, New York and Utica, New York....

, and the Utica & Mohawk Valley Ry. In effect, the big steam railroad system (NYC) was able to monopolize local and intercity passenger business along its Mohawk Valley

Mohawk Valley

The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....

mainline.

History

In June 1920, the total value of the New York State Railway Corporation franchise in Syracuse

Syracuse, New York

as determined by the New York State Tax Commission was $2,320, down from $2,407,000 in 1919.

Patronage on the streetcar and interurban lines declined in the 1920s, thanks to autos, buses, and paved roads — but the electric utilities owned by the company grew. As a result, in 1928 the New York Central sold its control of the New York State Railways system to what became the Associated Gas & Electric Co.

Receivership

Shortly after the transaction, the stock market

Stock market

A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...

crashed, and on December 30, 1929, the company was put into receivership

Receivership

In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...

. Afterward the interurban routes were abandoned along with many unprofitable city and suburban routes.

New York State Railways emerged from receivership in 1934, and gradually the remaining core city lines were sold as separate operations. The Rochester lines became Rochester Transit Co. in 1938, Syracuse Transit Corp. took over that system in 1939, and, finally, the Utica lines were reorganized in 1948. During this period all remaining streetcar lines were converted to bus

Bustitution

The word bustitution is a neologism sometimes used to describe the practice of replacing a passenger train service with a bus service either on a temporary or permanent basis. The word is a portmanteau of the words "bus" and "substitution"...

. Rochester's last city streetcar ran March 31, 1941, and its unusual subway line

Rochester Subway

The Rochester Subway or Rochester Industrial and Rapid Transit Railway was an underground rapid transit line in the city of Rochester, New York from 1927 to 1956. Contemporary photos show it used single streetcars, like Boston's Green Line, as a light rail line, with a large portion underground...

ceased in 1956. Syracuse's streetcar service ended January 4, 1941, and Utica's on May 12, 1941.

Chronology

The story up to date with the present public agencies now operating in former N.Y.State Rys. territory.

Rochester

Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority

The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority is a public benefit organization which provides transportation services in the area in and around Rochester, New York. RGRTA was formed on August 1, 1970 by a state act of government which also formed three similar agencies in Syracuse,...

(Rochester)
Regionally owned since 1968

1868-1890 - Rochester City & Brighton Railroad
1890-1909 - Rochester Railway Co.
1904-1912 - Rochester & Eastern Rapid Railway
1906-1930 - Rochester, Syracuse & Eastern Railroad
1909-1928 - New York State Railways
1928-1935 - New York State Railways (Associated Gas & Electric Co.)
1935-1938 - New York State Railways
1923-1932 - operated trolleybuses
1938-1968 - Rochester Transit Co.
1941 - streetcars discontinued except for the Subway (Route 25)
1956 - passenger service ends on the Subway (Route 25)

Syracuse

CNY Centro

Central New York Regional Transportation Authority

The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, known as Centro, is the operator of mass transit in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, and Oneida counties in New York state. The CNYRTA was formed on August 1, 1970, along with similar agencies in Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo...

, a subsidiary of the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority

Central New York Regional Transportation Authority

(Syracuse)
Regionally owned since 1972