Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad

The Elmira and Lake Ontario Railroad was a subsidiary of the Northern Central Railway and later the Pennsylvania Railroad, formed to give the Northern Central an outlet for coal traffic on Lake Ontario.

The Canandaigua and Corning Railroad Company was incorporated by a special act of the New York Legislature on May 14, 1845 to build between the two points named, and the Chemung Railroad was incorporated on the same date. The Chemung RR was the first to finish its line, from Horseheads, on the New York and Erie Railroad, to Watkins Glen (then known as Jefferson), on Seneca Lake, in 1850. It was operated as a branchline of the Erie, and accordingly used 6 ft (1,829 mm) broad gauge. On March 8, 1850, another act authorized the Canandaigua & Corning to change its name to the Canandaigua & Elmira and connect with the Chemung RR. It opened a line between the Chemung RR at Jefferson and Canandaigua on September 15, 1851, and was also operated by the Erie. On September 14, 1852, it was renamed the Canandaigua and Elmira Railroad Company.

On January 1, 1853, the Erie ceased to operate the two railroads, and the Chemung RR was run as part of the Canandaigua & Elmira, now an independent operation. On July 1, 1853, the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad opened between Canandaigua and North Tonawanda. It was also 6 ft (1,829 mm) broad gauge, and was leased by the Canandaigua & Elmira RR, giving it access to the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.

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