Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway

The Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway (reporting mark GJ) was a railroad in Upstate New York. It was founded in 1866 to construct a line from Greenwich to Johnsonville. The line opened in 1870. The Delaware and Hudson Railway acquired control of the railroad in 1906 and sold it to the Batten Kill Railroad in 1982.

Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway

The Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway in 1907, after the completion of the Salem branch
Overview
Dates of operation	1866 (1866)–1982 (1982)
Successor	Batten Kill Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

History

The railroad incorporated as the Union Village and Johnsonville Railroad on October 13, 1866, for the purpose of constructing a line from Union Village (as Greenwich was then known) to Johnsonville.[1] Union Village was renamed Greenwich in 1867,[2] and thereafter the company did business as the Greenwich and Johnsonville Railroad. The 14-mile (23 km) line between Greenwich and Johnsonville opened on August 31, 1870.[3] At Johnsonville it connected with the Troy and Boston Railroad, a forerunner of the Boston and Maine Railroad.[4] The company's name change became official on March 26, 1874; it reorganized as the Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway on September 10, 1879.[1]

At the turn of the twentieth century the company extended its line west from Greenwich to Schuylerville, New York, to connect with the Boston and Maine's Saratoga branch. It chartered the Battenkill Railroad for this purpose on December 15, 1902, and consolidated that company on August 12 the following year when the 7-mile (11 km) branch opened.[5][1] The Delaware and Hudson took an interest in the small railroad, and in 1906 bought up the Greenwich and Johnsonville's capital stock, acquiring complete control.[3] Under the aegis of the D&H the G&J built the "Salem branch," a 10.12-mile (16.29 km) extension eastward from Greenwich to the D&H's line near Salem, New York at Greenwich Junction.[6]

Under the D&H the original line between Greenwich and Johnsonville was abandoned on July 28, 1932, leaving Schuylerville–Greenwich Junction.[7] Passenger service ended in 1933.[8] The D&H made little use of the connection with the B&M at Schuylerville, and cut the line back to Thomson after the bridge over the Hudson River washed out.[9] The D&H sold the Greenwich and Johnsonville to the Batten Kill Railroad in 1982.[10]

Notes

1. Seventh Annual Report of the Public Service Commission, Second District. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon. 1914. p. 8.
2. Eisenstadt & Moss 2005, p. 668
3. Shaughnessy 1997, p. 219
4. "No title". American Railroad Journal. XXVI (37): 1017. September 10, 1870.
5. Reports of Decisions of the Public Service Commission. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon. 1910. p. 92.
6. Shaughnessy 1997, pp. 219; 221
7. Shaughnessy 1997, p. 313
8. Cormier, William A. (January 25, 2015). "Out of the Great Depression: The Experience of the Town of Salem, New York". New York History Review. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
9. Shaughnessy 1997, p. 221
10. Lewis 1991, p. 32

References

• Eisenstadt, Peter R.; Moss, Laura-Eve (2005). The Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-0808-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lewis, Edward A. (1991). American Shortline Railway Guide (4th ed.). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-109-0. OCLC 25150373.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Shaughnessy, Jim (1997) [1982]. Delaware & Hudson. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-0455-6. OCLC 36008594.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading

• Nestle, David F. (1983). Rails Along the Battenkill: A History of the Greenwich & Johnsonville Railway. Greenwich, NY: Privately printed. OCLC 12188387.