The AC&N Rail Road

The AC&N Rail Road. The Chuctanunda Creek Trail. , The Amsterdam, Chuctanunda, and Northern Rail Road was created in 1879 by the Kelloggs family to connect their linseed factory (the building behind you) to the New York Central main line east of Amsterdam. It was incorporated as the AC&N in 1899 and was extended in 1905 to serve the Sanford and Sons mills (the mill complex in front of you)., In 1907, the NYCRR began leasing the AC&N line and in 1911 an extension was run to the center of the McCleary, Wallin and Crouse mills (later Mohawk Carpets). Around 1915, another branch sent coal to the mill's new power house, and much later, a branch was constructed to the Edson Industrial Park. The AC&N was in use until the 1990's when it became inactive due to changes in shipping needs in the City., The true benefit of the AC&N was that it saved time and money. It allowed bulk raw material, finished product, and coal to be shipped directly and gave access to areas of the city not accessible for shipping before., [ Photo Captions: ] , [ top right ] Circa 1930, Kellogs and Miller shipped linseed oil in their own fleet of rail cars across the country, [ main photo: ] NYC Locomotive 705 brings materials to the Sanford mills on Willow Street circa 1935., [ Lower Inset: ] , Additional Rail Services , The Utica and Schenectady Rail Road, one of Americas earliest, came to Amsterdam in 1836, originally limited to passengers only. Once it was allowed to carry freight it became a competitor to the Erie Canal. In 1853, it was merged into the New York Central Rail Road., The New York West Buffalo Shore Line, south of the Mohawk, was briefly a challenge to the NYCRR but soon was absorbed by them., Amsterdam also had street rail roads, or trolleys, which were originally horse-drawn and later became electric. These ran until the 1930s., [ Photo Caption: ] Amsterdam Railway Co. was Amsterdam's first public transit system in the late 1880s.