Buffalo, Corning and New York Railroad
As the New York and Erie Railroad built its line across the Southern Tier on its way to Dunkirk the inhabitants of Livingston and Wyoming Counties became anxious for a railroad through their region to connect them to Buffalo and New York City. Likewise, the people of Buffalo were anxious to connect to the New York and Erie so they could ship goods to and from New York City as well. The Attica and Hornellsville Railroad was organized to connect Hornellsville on the New York and Erie to the railroad line that ran east from Buffalo to Attica. This plan soon foundered and the line was not built.
The residents of the Genesee and Cohocton valleys surveyed a new route through their area that would connect Painted Post with Buffalo via Avon and Batavia. The proponents of this new route met with the directors of the Attica and Hornellsville Railroad and jointly agreed to stop work on the Attica and Hornellsville and build one the Painted Post route. On July 25, 1850 the Buffalo and Cohocton Valley Railroad (sometimes referred to as the "Buffalo and Conhocton Valley Railroad") was incorporated with $1.4 million of capital to connect Buffalo with Painted Post. The plan also included a branch from Avon to Rochester to allow that city access to the New York and Erie.
Construction began and the company proceeded to build the line. One March 3, 1852 the name of the railroad was changed to the Buffalo, Corning and New York Railroad. The railroad was opened for operation on a 45 mile stretch between Painted Post and Kennedyville (a village on the Steuben-Livingston county line) on April 13, 1852. The road was completed to Batavia in 1854.
The railroad was in dubious financial condition as the construction and equipment had been financed with multiple rounds of mortgages and bonds. On October 1, 1855 the company defaulted on the first mortgage and December 1 of that year it defaulted on the second mortgage. Foreclosure proceedings were soon begun on the company. Many of the stockholders believed that the default on the mortgage bonds was done deliberately so the bondholders, which included many of the directors of the company, could take control of the company at the expense of the shareholders. An investigation into this charge was conducted, but never completed. On October 31, 1857 the company was sold at foreclosure for $3 million to pay the bondholders. Every dollar that had been invested in the stock of the company was lost and the people along the route who had subscribed to the stock of the company were ruined. Many of these people had mortgaged their homes to buy the stock and bring the railroad and ended up loosing their property. The larger stockholders had exchanged their stock for bonds and ended up making money on the deal.
The Buffalo, Corning and New York Railroad was purchased by the Buffalo and New York City Railroad.
References
- Mott, Edward Harold. Between the Ocean and the Lakes, The Story of Erie. New York: John S. Collins, 1899.