Genesee Valley Canal Railroad
| Locale | Hinsdale, NY to Rochester, NY |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1882– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Genesee Valley Canal Railroad was a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in central New York. It was built on the former Genesee Valley Canal alignment.
On May 6, 1836 an act was passed in New York authorizing the construction of the Genesee Valley Canal, running from the Erie Canal in Rochester southwest along the Genesee River valley to Mount Morris, Portageville, and Belfast, and then cross-country to the Allegheny River at Olean, with a branch from Mount Morris paralleling the Canaseraga Creek to Dansville.
On September 1, 1840 the canal was opened to navigation from Rochester to Mount Morris. The extension to Dansville opened in Fall 1841, and by then the split between the Dansville branch and the main line was set at Sonyea, southeast of Mount Morris.
After some partial openings, the full line was opened at the beginning of navigation in 1862, running to Olean on the Allegheny River and beyond to Mill Grove, on the river just north of the Pennsylvania state line. However, by then, the Main Line of Public Works and Pennsylvania Railroad had been completed, opening up the interior of Pennsylvania without depending on New York, and there was no interest in improving the Allegheny River. Instead, the Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad, connecting to the river at Carrollton, west of Olean, was used as a reason to continue building the canal.
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