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Overview
Locale	New York state
Dates of operation	1849 (1849)–1901 (1901)
Successor	Rutland Railroad's Ogdensburg Division
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length	211 miles (340 km)
Route map v t e Legend 0.0 Ogdensburg Anschluss Riverview-Gefängnis 13.7 Lisbon NY Hague Crossing NY 27.4 Madrid NY Grass River Raquette River to Syracuse 39.9 Norwood NY (( Potsdam Junction) to Waddington to Massena 44.6 Knapps 56.8 Winthrop NY Saint Regis River 65.5 North Lawrence Deer River to Ottawa 75.5 Moira nach Bombay nach Tupper Lake 79.3 Brushton 88.4 Bangor 97.8 Malone Salmon River Verbindung nach Montréal 99.5 Malone Junction NY Montréal–Herkimer Verbindung von Herkimer Little Trout River 109.6 Burke Chateaugay River 117.2 Chateaugay 129.1 Churubusco Anschlussgleis Steinbruch 133.4 Clinton Mills 142.7 Ellenburg 147.3 Forest 151.8 Irona 155.8 Altona Great Chazy River ? Woods Falls NY Great Chazy River 165.1 Mooers Forks Lachine–Canada Junction 169.9 Mooers ? Perry Mills NY Great Chazy River (2×) Interstate 87 181.7 Champlain NY 187.6 Rouses Point Junction NY nach Troy und St.-Lambert 188.1 Rouses Point nach Burlington Verbindung nach St.-Lambert Verbindungsgleis Burlington–St.-Lambert Lake Champlain (New York/Vermont) Burlington–Rouses Point Essex Jct.–Rouses Point Burlington–Rouses Point 194.0 Alburgh 200.0 East Alburgh Lake Champlain 201.0 West Swanton to Lunenburg 211.0 Maquam

The Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad was founded in 1849 as the Northern Railroad running from Ogdensburg to Rouses Point, New York. The 118-mile (190 km) railroad was leased by rival Central Vermont Railroad for several decades, ending in 1896. It was purchased in 1901 by the Rutland Railroad and became its Ogdensburg Division.

History

Chartering and Construction

The Northern Railroad was incorporated on May 14, 1845, for the purpose of connecting Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence River to Rouses Point on Lake Champlain. An organizational meeting held in Ogdensburg in June, 1845 elected George Parish (later Baron von Senftenburg) as president, S. S. Walley as treasurer, James G. Hopkins as secretary, and Col. Charles L. Schiatter as chief engineer-superintendent. George Parish was allegedly upset that the route would not go through Parishville, named after his uncle David Parish, and resigned a few months that. He was replaced by Boston financier T.P. Chandler.

The railroad completed construction to Rouses Point on October 1, 1850. A connection was shortly after made to the Vermont and Canada Railroad in the State of Vermont when the railroads opened a floating bridge across Lake Champlain on September 1, 1851. This gave the Northern Railroad access to the markets in the growing New England cities. The shipment of agricultural products, especially butter, from New York farms to cities such as Boston was an sizeable part of the line's traffic. The company is alleged to have built and operated the first refrigerator car on an American railroad, starting operation in June, 1851 for shipping butter. Along with the rail line the company invested in docks and a grain elevator in Ogdensburg to serve steamship traffic.

Later History

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The Ogdensburg Division represented the Rutland Railroad's expansion across the top of New York state, to the St. Lawrence River and a connection with ships to Great Lakes ports. The colorful rural route remained "the outpost" throughout its existence. A final strike, staged by unionized crewmen, led to the last revenue train in the Fall of 1961. The dormant rails gathered rust until 1964, when the easternmost 93 miles (150 km) from Rouses Point to Norwood Junction, NY were removed. The State of New York and Ogdensburg Port Authority assumed control of the remaining 26 miles (42 km) to Ogdensburg's grain elevators, seaport, and coal furnace for a state hospital. Several shortline operators leased the line, starting with the Ogdensburg & Norwood Railroad from 1967 through 1972. The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority operated the track for a time after. Vermont Rail System subsidiary New York & Ogdensburg has operated the line since 2002.

The remaining portion of the O&LC is seeing growing business, with many track improvements during the summers of 2012 and 2013. Two veteran EMD diesels are the usual power for the average two or three trains a week.

Meanwhile, the lengthy, trackless wooden trestle crossing Lake Champlain from Alburgh to Rouses Point suffered severe damage in 2011, reducing the once mile-long behemoth to little more than matchsticks. The right of way crosses the top of New York State, where trainless depots remain at Mooers Junction (lovingly restored by Larry Marnes and Chris Trombley), Mooers Forks (a thrift store), Ellenburgh Depot (animal rendering facility), Chateaugay (brick, but decaying quickly), Malone (twin brick turrets remain, overhead walkway gone since 1949, now an Elm Street bank), Brushton (storage), Moira (church) and Lisbon (museum). Freighthouses remain at Winthrop and Champlain.

Route and Station listing

References

1. ^ Lyman, Susan (1976). Rails into Racquettesville. Massena, N.Y.: Massena Printing – via Russ Nelson's Home Page (transcription).
2. Barranco, Peter (May 1995). "Ticonderoga's Floating Drawbridge; 1871-1920" (PDF). Lake Champlain Basin Program. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
3. Rutland Railroad Company (1949). Historical sketch of the Rutland Railroad Company 1849-1949. Rutland, VT: Rutland Railroad Company – via Archive.org.
4. Shaughnessy, Jim (March 1, 1997). The Rutland Road (Second ed.). Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-0456-3 – via Google Books.
5. Heidt, Jim. "The Prototype O&N". Retrieved June 28, 2023.

Further reading

• Ashdown, Dana (1988). Railway Steamships of Ontario, 1850–1950. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press. pp. 88–96. ISBN 0-919783-80-5.

• Defunct New York (state) railroads
• Predecessors of the Rutland Railroad
• Railway companies established in 1864
• Railway companies disestablished in 1898
• American companies established in 1864