A December 1905 article about the Erie Railroad awarding contracts to reroute part of the Meadville line in Chautauqua County and to build the Columbus and Erie Railroad. The article wrongly located Niobe in Pennsylvania; it is just north of the New York/Pennsylvania state line.
—The Erie Railway company awarded contracts for the construction of the Columbus & Erie railroad extending from Lakewood, at the foot of Chautauqua Lake, west 20 miles to Columbus, Pa. The first section, from Lakewood to Niobe, Pa. will be built by Parke Brothers, Scranton, Pa; and the second section, from Niobe to Columbus, by R. C. Hunt of New York city. Each section is about ten miles in length, and will provide a double track as well as a low grade line for that section of the Erie main line. The cost will be approximately $500,000.
Source: Westfield [NY] Republican, 13 December 1905, p. 3, NYS Historic Newspapers.