Local railroad historian Bruce Tracy will discuss the portion of the short-lived steam railroad that ran from Auburn to South Lansing in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The railroad served many local communities including Mapleton, Merryfield (Scipio) and Venice providing both freight and passenger service. It is known that Emily Howland and Isabel Howland were passengers. The grade (roadbed) is still visible at many points along the route, and remnants of the stations and other structures still exist.
Mr. Tracy has many historic photos of the railroad and local structures that it served. In 1876, the UI&E bought part of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad's Auburn Branch, extending from Freeville on the Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad to Scipio, and was operated by the UI&E. It subsequently extended the line north from Scipio to Auburn. In 1883, it was leased by the Southern Central Railroad (a subsidiary of the Lehigh Valley Railroad), whose route it paralleled. On November 2, 1889, the line between Auburn and Dougal Road was bought at foreclosure by the Lehigh Valley subsidiary Auburn and Ithaca Railway, which built a line diverging from the IA&W at Genoa Junction (just west of Auburn) to Cayuga Junction on the Geneva and Sayre Railroad, another subsidiary. The rest of the line, however, was redundant to the Southern Central, and passed through sparsely settled and unprofitable country. It was abandoned in 1891.
The grade from a point south of Genoa Junction to South Lansing was re-used by the Ithaca-Auburn Short Line, which was itself abandoned in 1923. The small portion preserved by the Lehigh Valley was abandoned in 1971. The grade from Genoa Junction to Mapleton is now a power line right-of-way.
The museum is open for regular hours from 1-4pm that day. Come by early and visit the exhibits before the program.
Zoom link available from hssmsherwood@gmail.com the week before the program.
