Construction of the Skaneateles & Jordan Railroad Company started in 1836 at a cost of $1,500 dollars using wooden rails at the time due to a lack of money to buy iron rails the spikes were 5 1/2 inches long. The railroad did however did find the money to buy iron rails in 1845. Starting in the small village of Skaneateles, NY at its depot on the Lake (the Sherwood Inn sits there presently) it ran just five miles North to Hartlot, NY (Later changed to Skaneateles Falls, NY a.k.a. Skaneateles Junction by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad) The orignal plan was to connect the railroad with the Erie canal. There engine house and car shop which held 2 small 24ft wooden passenger cars were just off Fennal Street (P&C now sits on the present site). S&JRR had deep financial difficulties and was sold on Augest 24, 1850 -  the first attempt to build a railraod had failed.   It was not until after the Civial War that the village and local Industy requested that service be restored due to the expansion of plants along the river.  With roads being as primitave as they were, the railroad, with help from the community and industries, gathered $100,000 began reconstruction on April 18, 1866.  With the help of men hired on immediately from the New York Central total construction of the railroad was $88,877.29. The SSLR opened a steam boat operation for dinner cruises and mail boats sailed along Skaneateles Lake. The SSLR struggled for years with things getting worse after 1930.  The line lost some industries but kept plugging away.  After WWII things got even worse as passenger service fell to the point that the conductor was the only person on the train during its 2 daily trips from Skaneateles JCT to Skaneateles itself. Abandondments took place when industries started to drop service in favor of trucks. The tracks had seen no maintaince from the 1930 to the mid 1970.  The ties and ballast were just about gone and derailments were common, sometimes within 1-2 feet from where they had just rerailed a car. By 1974 Stauffer Chemical was the only operating customer on the line and to ensure its rail traffic it purchased the line and started an immediate rehabilitation progam of the line which included several thousand ties and ballast.  The railroad kept its own name through the Stauffer years. On Monday, July 13, 1981 the SSLR delivered its final shipment to Stauffer Chemical and the line was cleared later that night. Ironically, as it was on the return trip from Stauffer to the Junction the small GE 44 tonner # 6 derailed at a switch.  Crews tried to put the locomotive back on the track using a bar and a jack.  The jack broke and was smashed like a beer can after a few hours of trying to get the engine back on the tracks.  A pay loader was called in to reset the engine back on the rails and that was the end of the ill-fated 5 mile short line... The Skaneateles short Line served 17 industries from 1836-1981 and had a fleet of 6 steam engines, all retired by 1950, and 2 GE-Erie 44 tonners which were sold to New York State Electric & Gas in 1981. From 1831-1901 the railroad also operated the Skaneateles Steamboat & Transportation Company.and operated 8 Boats mixed of mail and dinner boats. The boat company still lives on and runs a dinner cruise weekley. The railroad employed 12 Engineers, 9 Firemen, 5 Conductors, 6 Brakmen, 8 Managment Staff, and 14 yard staff.

Mottville to Skaneateles Jct          -          Skaneateles Short Line Railroad

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Construction of the Skaneateles & Jordan Railroad Company started in 1836 at a cost of $1,500 dollars using wooden rails at the time due to a lack of money to buy iron rails the spikes were 5 1/2 inches long. The railroad did however did find the money to buy iron rails in 1845. Starting in the small village of Skaneateles, NY at its depot on the Lake (the Sherwood Inn sits there presently) it ran just five miles North to Hartlot, NY (Later changed to Skaneateles Falls, NY a.k.a. Skaneateles Junction by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad) The orignal plan was to connect the railroad with the Erie canal. There engine house and car shop which held 2 small 24ft wooden passenger cars were just off Fennal Street (P&C now sits on the present site). S&JRR had deep financial difficulties and was sold on Augest 24, 1850 -  the first attempt to build a railraod had failed.   It was not until after the Civial War that the village and local Industy requested that service be restored due to the expansion of plants along the river.  With roads being as primitave as they were, the railroad, with help from the community and industries, gathered $100,000 began reconstruction on April 18, 1866.  With the help of men hired on immediately from the New York Central total construction of the railroad was $88,877.29. The SSLR opened a steam boat operation for dinner cruises and mail boats sailed along Skaneateles Lake. The SSLR struggled for years with things getting worse after 1930.  The line lost some industries but kept plugging away.  After WWII things got even worse as passenger service fell to the point that the conductor was the only person on the train during its 2 daily trips from Skaneateles JCT to Skaneateles itself. Abandondments took place when industries started to drop service in favor of trucks. The tracks had seen no maintaince from the 1930 to the mid 1970.  The ties and ballast were just about gone and derailments were common, sometimes within 1-2 feet from where they had just rerailed a car. By 1974 Stauffer Chemical was the only operating customer on the line and to ensure its rail traffic it purchased the line and started an immediate rehabilitation progam of the line which included several thousand ties and ballast.  The railroad kept its own name through the Stauffer years. On Monday, July 13, 1981 the SSLR delivered its final shipment to Stauffer Chemical and the line was cleared later that night. Ironically, as it was on the return trip from Stauffer to the Junction the small GE 44 tonner # 6 derailed at a switch.  Crews tried to put the locomotive back on the track using a bar and a jack.  The jack broke and was smashed like a beer can after a few hours of trying to get the engine back on the tracks.  A pay loader was called in to reset the engine back on the rails and that was the end of the ill-fated 5 mile short line... The Skaneateles short Line served 17 industries from 1836-1981 and had a fleet of 6 steam engines, all retired by 1950, and 2 GE-Erie 44 tonners which were sold to New York State Electric & Gas in 1981. From 1831-1901 the railroad also operated the Skaneateles Steamboat & Transportation Company.and operated 8 Boats mixed of mail and dinner boats. The boat company still lives on and runs a dinner cruise weekley. The railroad employed 12 Engineers, 9 Firemen, 5 Conductors, 6 Brakmen, 8 Managment Staff, and 14 yard staff.

Special thanks to Brendan Kelly of Auburn, NY, for the write-up and pictures of this line.

This view is looking North along the Skaneateles Short Line Railroad about 1 1/2 miles North of the Village of Skaneatlas itself. This was the beginning of the Skaneatles & Jordan Railroad Comapny before the name was changed to the SSLR in1866. All of the SSLR became part of the New York State Rails to Trails Program.

This view shows another section that crossed Fennel Street. The SSLR zig-zaged around and is very easy to follow throughout the 5 miles that it covered.

This is the SSLR / N.Y.C. & H.R.R.R. Station. This staion was closed in the 50's and has changed hands many times starting with the Auburn & Syrause R.R., then the New York Central, Penn Central, Conrail, and now the Finger Lakes Railway in 1995. The SSLR sidings are now gone but were on the other side of the freight house next to the present Finger Lakes Railway Tracks.

The Concrete Bridge Pier to the right of the stone bridge is part of the orignal SSLR before a track realignment. The tracks were moved to the other side of the creek some time in the 1930's. The road is Crow Hill Road.