Cortland station

Cortland station is a defunct Lehigh Valley Railroad station in Cortland, New York. It was located on the Lehigh Valley's Elmira and Cortland Branch. The station building still stands; the tracks are owned by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway. Cortland was one of two depots; the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Lackawanna) depot was located on Railroad Street in the center of the city.

Not to be confused with Cortlandt station or Courtland station.
Cortland
Cortland in 1966
Location7 South Avenue
Cortland, New York
Coordinates42.592022°N 76.180599°W / 42.592022; -76.180599
Line(s)New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
History
OpenedApril 4, 1911 (1911-04-04)
ClosedApril 25, 1948 (1948-04-25)
Former lines
Preceding station Lehigh Valley Railroad Following station
Gracie
toward Elmira
 Elmira and Cortland Branch Lorings
toward Camden

History

The first railroad to reach Cortland was the Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad, a forerunner of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, which opened a line between Syracuse, New York, and Binghamton, New York, on October 18, 1854.[1] It was joined in 1872 by the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, which extended west from its existing line at Norwich, New York, to Freeville, New York.[2] This line was later leased by the Elmira, Cortland and Northern Railroad,[3] which in turn became part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1896.[4]

The present building was constructed in 1910–1911, with a formal opening on April 4, 1911. The brick building measured 155 by 50 feet (47 by 15 m) and stood two stories tall. The space was sufficient to contain a waiting room, baggage room, a "women's retiring room", a smoking room, and a ticket office. The second floor was given over to company offices.[5] It replaced the original station, which had served both freight and passengers. A new freight house was also built.[6]

Traffic declined on the Elmira and Cortland Branch after World War I, and the Lehigh Valley gradually reduced service throughout the 1930s and 1940s.[7] The last scheduled passenger service, between Cortland and DeRuyter, New York, ended on April 25, 1948.[8] Limited service remained in the form of mixed trains. Even these ended south of Cortland on April 30, 1950, leaving a roundtrip between Cortland and Canastota, New York.[9] This was effectively withdrawn after 1954.[10] Lackawanna passenger service ended in 1958.[11]

The Lehigh Valley abandoned the branch north of Cortland in 1967.[12] Most of the branch south of Cortland was out of service by the mid-1970s. Conrail, successor to the Lehigh Valley, abandoned all but 3 miles (4.8 km) within the vicinity of Cortland. This line is owned by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway.[13]

Notes
  1. Taber 1977, p. 218
  2. Marcham 2009, p. 13
  3. Marcham 2009, p. 19
  4. Marcham 2009, p. 44
  5. Graves, Dorothy E. (April 1965). "Lehigh Valley Railroad Station, 7 South Avenue, Cortland, Cortland County, NY" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. pp. 2–3.
  6. Marcham 2009, p. 84
  7. Marcham 2009, pp. 101–103
  8. Marcham 2009, p. 109
  9. Marcham 2009, p. 117
  10. Marcham 2009, p. 121
  11. Taber & Taber 1980, p. 302
  12. Trice 2004, p. 139
  13. Trice 2004, p. 141

References
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