New York State Railways was created by the
New York Central Railroad in 1909 to control several streetcar and interurban railway systems across upstate New York. The
Syracuse Lines consisted of the city and suburban railways that had been previously consolidated under the
Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway and came under control of New York State Railways in 1912. New York Central sold the company in 1928 and it entered receivership in 1929. The process to convert streetcar lines to bus operation began in 1933 with the Burnet line. Additional line closures followed even as New York State Railways emerged from receivership in 1934. The Syracuse Lines were reorganized as the privately owned
Syracuse Transit Corporation on November 22, 1939, with Benjamin E. Tilton as president (Tilton has been previously appointed as a trustee of the New York State Railways while it was in bankruptcy proceedings). One month before the reorganization, the University line was closed on September 30. Only seven streetcar lines remained, with the rest of the routes previously converted to bus operation. The South Salina and Nedrow lines were closed on June 29, 1940. The Elm Street line followed on November 11, 1940. The last day of streetcar operation in Syracuse was January 4, 1941, when the Walnut, Westcott, Butternut, and Wolf lines were closed. Cars 1074 and 1078 were coupled together as the final train operated for the benefit of transit officials and local politicians. ==From Private to Public==