B&H Rail

B&H Rail Corporation, formerly the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad, was chartered in 1872 as a narrow gauge railroad running from the Erie and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroads interchange in Bath, New York, to Hammondsport, New York. In 1872, the B&H was converted to standard gauge. It later fell under the control of the Erie Railroad, which held on to the line until 1937. With passenger service ending in 1917, when 'Steamer' service on Keuka Lake was discontinued. The B&H owned 11 standard gauge steam locomotives, with the last being #11. #11 was built by Alco at its Cooke Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson, NJ for a sugar railway in Cuba, but the order was never fulfilled. It was sold to the Narragansett Pier Railroad, before being sold to the Bath & Hammondsport. The B&H sold #11 to Rail City Railroad Museum's Sandy Pond & Lake Ontario, after Rail City closed was sold back to the Narragansett Pier Railroad, to be used in an excursion service, which never occurred. It was sold to the Middletown & New Jersey (M&NJ) who were going to restore it in 2001. #11 was sold to the Everett Railroad of Pennsylvania in 2007.

In 1976 Conrail, sold the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western line between Bath and Wayland to the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency (SCIDA).

In May 1996, shortline Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad (LAL) assumed operation of the county-owned trackage, including the original B&H though subsidiary Cohocton Valley Railroad Corp. In 2001, the subsidiary was renamed B&H Rail Corp. and assumed a long-term lease of Norfolk Southern trackage between Bath and Painted Post. At this time, the LAL embarked on an aggressive track rehab program, replacing many ties. The track to Hammondsport remains out of service, but is not abandoned.

Present status as of August 2008 sees fairly regular Norfolk Southern trains on the main line, with about half of a mile of the Hammondsport branch line being used as a siding. The line continues to be very aggressively maintained, and some new construction is occuring on the main line from Bath to Painted Post just past the junction where dirt embankments have been built up as if additional sidings were going to be added.

External links

* [http://www.lalrr.com/bh.html B&H Rail Corp official Web site]