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The Gangly Country Cousin: The Lehigh Valley's Auburn Division

Author
Trice, Herbert V.
Abstract
This is the story of how the Lehigh Valley Railroad consolidated
many hastily built shortlines in upstate New York to create its
Auburn Division in the late 1800s. Basically a rural railroad
launched by colorful entrepreneurs, the division stood apart
from the LV's mainline segments - somewhat in the role of a
gangly country cousin.
Traveling no less than 415 route miles in the scenic Finger Lakes
region, light engines chugged along spindly single tracks, over
bridges cheaply built to span glacial creeks and valleys.
Business was mostly local, except a thread of Pennsylvania coal
traffic. A healthy volume of farm products, particularly milk,
made their way to urban markets. Passenger service, in great
demand before the automobile appeared, was crude.
Despite all this, the Auburn Division was a serviceable railroad
until the late 1930s. The arc of its growth followed that of most
American railroads.
One prosperous stretch of the Auburn Division remains. Before
the others were abandoned, they contributed richly to the history
and economy of their region, recorded here in 190 illustrations
and a graceful untangling of complicated tales.
Date Issued
2004Publisher
Dewitt Historical Society
Subject
Railroads; Lehigh Valley; Auburn; Ithaca
Type
book