Genesee Valley Canal: 1836-1878 On May 6, 1836 an act was passed in New York authorizing the construction of the
Genesee Valley Canal, running from the
Erie Canal in
Rochester southwest along the
Genesee River valley to
Mount Morris, Portageville, and Belfast, and then cross-country to the
Allegheny River at
Olean, with a branch from Mount Morris paralleling the
Canaseraga Creek to
Dansville. On September 1, 1840 the canal was opened to navigation from Rochester to Mount Morris. The extension to Dansville opened in fall 1841, and by then the split between the Dansville branch and the main line was set at
Sonyea, southeast of Mount Morris. After some partial openings, the full line was opened at the beginning of navigation in 1862, running to
Olean on the
Allegheny River and beyond to
Mill Grove, on the river just north of the
Pennsylvania state line. However, by then, the
Main Line of Public Works and
Pennsylvania Railroad had been completed, opening up the interior of Pennsylvania without depending on New York, and there was no interest in improving the Allegheny River. Instead, the
Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad, connecting to the river at
Carrollton, west of Olean, was used as a reason to continue building the canal. On June 4, 1877 the legislature approved an abandonment of the canal on or after September 30, 1878. The canal was sold on November 6, 1880 to the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, which had been chartered July 15 of that year.
Genesee Valley Canal Railroad: 1880-1990s The railroad began construction, and opened its line in 1882 from
Rochester to
Hinsdale. At Hinsdale it connected to the
Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway, and the rest of the canal south to and through
Olean was not used as it closely paralleled the BNY&P. The Genesee Valley Canal Railroad was immediately leased to the BNY&P. The branch of the canal to
Dansville was not used for a railroad, but two railroads already served that corridor - the
Erie and Genesee Valley Railroad and the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's
New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The
Rochester, Nunda and Pennsylvania Railroad had built a line roughly parallel to the canal between
Mount Morris and
Nunda, turning southeast there to
Swain. In 1881 the part north of Nunda was abandoned, and on July 11 of that year, the company was consolidated into the
Rochester, New York and Pennsylvania Railroad. That company opened a new line in 1882 from Nunda northeast to the new Genesee Valley Canal Railroad at
Nunda Junction, and the
Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway leased it that year. The
Genesee Valley Terminal Railroad was incorporated August 14, 1882, and in 1883 opened a branch from the Genesee Valley Railroad southwest of
Rochester north to a junction with the
New York Central Railroad main line at
Lincoln Park. In September 1887 the
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the
Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad and with it the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad. In 1900 the
Pennsylvania Railroad leased the WNYP. A short branch from
Scottsville west to
Garbutt on the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's
Rochester and State Line Railroad opened on September 16, 1907. This three mile section of track was abandoned in 1944, and no trace of it exists today. On November 15, 1912 the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad and Genesee Valley Terminal Railroad merged to form the
Pennsylvania and Rochester Railroad. That company was absorbed on February 28, 1916 into the
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway, still leased by the
Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1968 the PRR merged into
Penn Central, and in 1976 became part of
Conrail. The full line from Rochester to Hinsdale (minus a short spur immediately south of Rochester) was abandoned in 1963. == Genesee Valley Canal: 1991-present ==