In the 1870s the New York Central Railroad feared that its rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, would use its position as the primary railroad serving the Pennsylvania coal fields to raise the price of coal. This would be damaging to the New York Central as coal was the primary fuel used by all its locomotives. To combat this threat the New York Central worked with a consortium of coal companies near Clearfield, PA to build a new line north to connect with the New York Central’s main line at Lyons, New York. While the route was built and operated by a number of independent companies, they all cooperated with the New York Central.
This route became known as the Fall Brook Railway or Fall Brook route because the Fall Brook Coal company was one of the major backers of the project. There were three main segments of this line: Lyons to Geneva, Geneva to Corning, and Corning to the Pennsylvania state line.
History
The Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway was incorporated in 1870 to build a line from Williamsport to Port, PA Allegany, PA. In 1884 the company’s name was changed to the Pine Creek Railway.
The Syracuse, Geneva, and Corning Railroad was incorporated in 1875 and was completed in late 1877. It ran south from Geneva to Corning, NY where it connected to railroads running to into the Pennsylvania coal fields.
In July of 1878, the Geneva and Lyons railroad was completed. It connected Lyons with The New York Central at East Geneva (now Border City). The first train ran in September 1878 and in November of that year, arrangements were made to run passenger trains of the Syracuse, Geneva, and Corning Railroad and The Lehigh Valley Railroad on the Geneva and Lyons route to Lyons.
The Tioga Railroad was opened in 1840 to connect Blossburg, Pennsylvania with the Chemung Canal at Corning. In 1854 the Tioga Railroad was renamed the Blossburg and Corning Railroad. In 1873, the Blossburg and Corning Railroad and the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad were merged to form the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Railway.
On July 1, 1892 the Corning, Cowanesque, and Antrim leased the Geneva and Lyons Railroad, the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railway, and the Pine Creek Railway. The combined lines were operated as the Fall Brook Railway. The Fall Brook Railway itself was leased by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad on April 11, 1899.
Stations
| Station | Distance |
| Lyons Thompsons Cuddeback Junius Geneva Nester Bilsborrow Earl Dresden Himrod Jct Ellis Dundee Reading Center Watkins Wedgewood Wentz Moreland Beaver Dam Post Creek Townley Ferenbaugh Corning Hollon Presho Lindley Lawrenceville | 0.0 4.7 6.8 8.5 14.0 19.8 23.0 28.0 35.1 38.2 40.2 47.6 51.4 53.7 55.5 56.3 59.5 61.5 67.0 69.6 75.2 79.0 82.7 85.5 |
At Dresden the Fall Brook connected with the Penn Yan and New York Railway, which eventually became the Penn Yan Branch of the New York Central Railroad.
Learn More
Listed below are some other good sources of information about the railroad.