The Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway was one of a series of railroads that ran along the east side of Chautauqua Lake between Jamestown and Mayville.
History
The Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway was chartered on September 25, 1900 for the purpose of constructing an 11.25 mile line from the northern terminus of the Jamestown and Chautauqua Railway in Mayville to Westfield. The company controlled the Jamestown and Chautauqua Railroad through ownership of its stock. The company also operated a fleet of steamboats on Chautauqua Lake.
The JC&LE didn’t actually begin railroad operations until July 1, 1902 due to delays in the construction of the line from Mayville to Westfield. It was on that date that it assumed all the operations of the Jamestown and Chautauqua Railway. One of the first priorities of the JC&LE was to serve the Chautauqua Assembly Grounds and in 1903 it spent a good deal of money on ballast for the line.
The JC&LE abandoned two of the branches it inherited from its predecessors. The Falconer branch was abandoned in the summer/fall of 1902, leased for a time to the Erie Railroad and was torn up in 1908. The Chautauqua branch was leased and later sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad which operated it as a freight-only line until abandonment in 1926.
The JC &LE went into receivership, and was purchased in December 1913 by the Broadhead interests, owners of the Jamestown Street Railway and the Chautauqua Traction Company. On December 8, 1913 the Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad took over the line and soon began electrifying it.
McKeen Motor Car
In addition to its steam locomotives, the Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie operated a McKeen gas-electric motorcar to provide passenger service on the line between 1912 and 1913. These, and similar, self-propelled cars were used by many railroads to reduce the cost of providing passenger service on lightly-patronized lines.
Viele Motor Car
A 1912 article about the McKeen motor car references a “Viele car brought here from Warren, Pa., some time ago.” I don’t know much about that, but the 1904 report to the New York State Railroad Commissioners mentioned that the company spent a significant amount of money on a new “gasoline propelled passenger car,” which was not yet complete.
According to a thread on the Railway Preservation News web site, the Viele car “was designed by J.A. Veile and built at Allegheny Foundry in Warren, PA. This was sometime between 1905 and 1910. It was powered by a gasoline engine and had three compartments comprised of the engine room, freight and mail room and a passenger room.” It was constructed by the Allegheny Foundry and sold by the Pennsylvania Railway Motor Company.
Locomotive Photographs
Stations
Jamestown * Clifton * Fluvanna/Elmhurst * Greenhurst * Griffiths/Sheldon Hill * Cheney’s Switch/Driftwood * Belleview * Colburns * Phillips Mills * Bemus Point * Bay View * Giffords * Maple Springs * Whiteside / Midway Park * Starr Farm * Dewittville * Point Chautauqua * Wooglin * Hartfield * W. N. Y. &P. Junction * Mayville
Most of these were flag stations, often a shack, platform, or sometimes just a road crossing, where the train would drop off passengers or pick up passengers, if they indicated they were waiting for a train by waving a flag. The only permanent, manned stations on the line were at Jamestown, Bemus Point, Dewittville, Hartfield, the W. N. Y. & P. Junction, and Mayville.
More details
| Distance from Jamestown | Station |
|---|---|
| 0 2.1 3.9 5.0 5.4 6.0 6.8 8.0 9.0 10.5 11.5 12.5 13.8 14.4 15.8 17.4 18.4 19.6 20.5 21.7 23 | Jamestown Clifton Fluvanna/Elmhurst Greenhurst Griffiths/Sheldon Hill Cheney’s Switch/Driftwood Belleview Colburns Phillips Mills Bemus Point Bay View Giffords Maple Springs Whiteside / Midway Park Starr Farm Dewittville Point Chautauqua Wooglin Hartfield W. N. Y. &P. Junction Mayville |
Clippings
Maps
Timetables
Other Interesting Things
Learn More
- Arend, Martin N. “Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway“
- McKeen Motor Car Company Historical Society. “Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway“
- Wilson, Juan. “Past Glories: Part II, The Trolley“