Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway (1895-1955)

Western New York & Pennsylvania Railway

WNY&P System Map circa 1900
Locale	Emporium, Pennsylvania and Mahoningtown, Pennsylvania to Buffalo, New York and Rochester, New York
Dates of operation	1895–1955
Predecessor	Western New York Railway and Northwestern Pennsylvania Railway
Successor	Penndel Company
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	586.145 miles (943.309 km)
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway was a railroad in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. Incorporated in 1887 as the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad from the reorganization of the Buffalo, New York, and Philadelphia, and reorganized in 1895 as the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway, it was acquired and leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1900 and merged into the Penndel Company in 1955.

The route the line followed from Emporium, Pennsylvania across the state line to Olean, Hinsdale, Cuba, Belfast, and Rochester was laid, from Belfast north, on the bed of the abandoned Genesee Valley Canal. A house of Italianate design was purchased on Main Street West at Trowbridge Street and converted into the Rochester station.

The 1895 to 1899 period saw revenue inadequate to pay the bond interest, and this was contemporaneous with the Pennsylvania's need to expand into western New York. Moreover, this expansion did not raise competitive issues with the Pennsy's principal rival, the New York Central. Thus, on 1 August 1900, the WNY&PRY signed an agreement with the PRR under which the latter operated the former. Although the WNY&PRY did not generate much profit in this arrangement, it did improve matters for the Allegheny Valley and the Philadelphia and Erie roads, so the net result was satisfactory to the Pennsylvania.

Eventually, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway became the Pennsylvania Railroad's Buffalo and Allegheny Valley Division.