CNYrailroadnut
Lehigh Valley Rails
I found these rails last spring while trout fishing and searching for the location at which the Lehigh Valley bridge crossed Cowaselon Creek north of Canastota, NY. I think these may in fact be rails from the Elmira, Cortland, & Northern branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. There are/were 6 rails total, 5 on the south bank, and one was resting on the north side. At the time it looked as though this area of the creek had been dredged and the rails excavated from the water. The right-of-way is a few hundred feet from where I found them. I hypothesize that after the line from Canastota to Camden, NY was abandoned and scrapped in 1938, the bridge and rails may have remained for some time after. When the bridge was finally scrapped, the rails were tossed in the creek for whatever reason. There are 6 rails total, which seems about what it would take to span the creek. I cannot think of any other explanation as to why 6 rails would be this far away from the highway, on both sides of the creek, and coincidentally in such close proximity to a defunct railroad bed? It would be nice these rails could somehow be verified as belonging to the Lehigh, and preserved by some type of historical group. If I make it back this spring, I will update if I find any identifying marks.
Lehigh Valley Rails
I found these rails last spring while trout fishing and searching for the location at which the Lehigh Valley bridge crossed Cowaselon Creek north of Canastota, NY. I think these may in fact be rails from the Elmira, Cortland, & Northern branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. There are/were 6 rails total, 5 on the south bank, and one was resting on the north side. At the time it looked as though this area of the creek had been dredged and the rails excavated from the water. The right-of-way is a few hundred feet from where I found them. I hypothesize that after the line from Canastota to Camden, NY was abandoned and scrapped in 1938, the bridge and rails may have remained for some time after. When the bridge was finally scrapped, the rails were tossed in the creek for whatever reason. There are 6 rails total, which seems about what it would take to span the creek. I cannot think of any other explanation as to why 6 rails would be this far away from the highway, on both sides of the creek, and coincidentally in such close proximity to a defunct railroad bed? It would be nice these rails could somehow be verified as belonging to the Lehigh, and preserved by some type of historical group. If I make it back this spring, I will update if I find any identifying marks.