Lehigh Valley Railroad

Lehigh Valley Railroad. Home of the Black Diamond line. , You are standing in the middle of the main track of The Lehigh Valley Railroad looking north towards Rippleton and Cazenovia. Can you imagine the CLANG of the bell, the sound of the steam escaping from the engine and the smell of the burning fire in the engine of the train as you wait to board the passenger car for a ride on The Lehigh Valley Railroad?, The Caboose in front of you is from The New York Central Railroad. There are several designs of these Cabooses but this one is representative of a style you would find on this line. The interior has been renovated to look like a typical working Caboose., Train Services to Towns, Villages and remote Hamlets began bere during the 1860's and 1870's, much to the enthusiasm of the citizens. They provided access to dependable transportation and also gave farms, factories and businesses a way of shipping products faster and cheaper than by stagecoach or wagon, which only traveled an average of ten miles an hour, while the new trains averaged 20 to 30 miles an hour., The New Woodstock Station was located at mile post 98.2 of The Lehigh Valley Railroad at an elevation of 1285 feet above sea level. The station in Sheds just a couple miles south of here was the high point of the line, at 1390 feet above sea level., The Canastota, Cazenovia and Deruyter RR built the depot in 1873, which became the Elmira, Cortland and Northern line in 1878. The Lehigh Valley RR leased that line in 1896, calling the line the "Elmira and Cortland Branch" of its Auburn Division. Which ran its greatest distance at 145 miles from Elmira to Camden. It's original purpose was to transport Pennsylvania coal to the North East for heating and was its Cash Crop for many years., The New Woodstock station continued to serve its new owner as a train order office, express and freight depot, and passenger stop. While on an average day fifteen or twenty stepped on, it is recorded that there were days when over 100 tickets where sold here at the station., The Historic photos of this station were taken around 1900, The main line was a single track and there was a passing siding to the left of the station with a handcar shed located on the left furtherup the track., A Double-Ended siding or "House Track" passed around the right side of the depot with one spur serving as a coilal dealer and a lumberyard and another serving as the feed mill. This area was a hub of activity., Almost 200,000 trains stopped in New Woodstock through the years of operation. They brought passengers, mail, express shipments and freight of all shapes and sizes. The railroad truly assisted in providing a reliable transportation service which helped this small community to market its milk, cheese and other products. It brought the outside world into the community by providing instant communication via the telegraph, allowing townspeople to send and receive messages all over the world., Passenger cars were pulled from the railroad during the 1950's and the final train passed the station on December 30 1967. For the 71 years the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company leased the line which played an integral part of life in New Woodstock as well the surrounding towns., As the old adage goes, the day the railroad stopped running, it truly was "the end of the line."