New York, Lake Erie & Western

Erie Railroad

Erie system map, circa 1884
Reporting mark	ERIE
Locale	New Jersey Pennsylvania New York Ohio Indiana Illinois
Dates of operation	1832–1960
Successor	Erie Lackawanna Railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge	6 ft (1,829 mm) gauge
Length	2,316 miles (3,727 kilometers)
Headquarters	New York, New York (1832-1931) Cleveland, Ohio (1931-1960)

The Erie Railroad (reporting mark ERIE) was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's former terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie. It expanded west to Chicago with its 1941 merger with the former Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, also known as the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad (NYPANO RR). Its mainline route proved influential in the development and economic growth of the Southern Tier, including cities such as Binghamton, Elmira, and Hornell. The Erie Railroad repair shops were located in Hornell, and were Hornell's largest employer. Hornell was also where Erie's main line split into two routes, one north to Buffalo and the other west to Cleveland.

On October 17, 1960, the Erie merged with the former rival Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. The Hornell repair shops were closed, and repair operations moved to the Lackawanna's Scranton facility; this had a devastating effect on Hornell from which it has never recovered. (The repair shops have subsequently been used, intermittently, for the assembly of railroad/transit equipment.) Most of the former Erie line between Hornell and Binghamton was destroyed in 1972 by the floods of Hurricane Agnes. What was left of the Erie Lackawanna became part of Conrail in 1976. In 1983, Erie remnants became part of New Jersey Transit rail operations, including parts of its Main Line. Today, most of the surviving Erie Railroad routes are operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway.