page_title: Elmira and Seneca Lake Railway
section_title: Route
hierarchical_section_title: Elmira and Seneca Lake Railway / Route
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Elmira and Seneca Lake Railway - Eingang zur Watkins-Klam
context_page_description: The line of the Elmira & Seneca Lake Railway Co. from
  Horseheads, New York to Seneca Lake was
  opened for operation on June 19, 1900.
context_section_description: Horseheads was the terminus of the Elmira & Horseheads Railway, over which the cars of the Elmira & Seneca Falls company later entered and left Elmira. The route was on Main Street, in Horseheads, until the Chemung Canal was reached; this canal had been abandoned as a waterway some years before the railway was built, and the towpath was subsequently owned by the railway company as its right of way. The line passed through a well-settled country and the villages of Pine Valley and Millport, and left the private right of way on reaching the town of Montour Falls. Then it proceeded through the main streets of Montour Falls, and along New York State Route 14 to Watkins Glen, and through Watkins Glen to the northern terminus at the lake. The road passed through two counties, Chemung and Schuyler, and directly to the entrances of Watkins Glen State Park at Watkins Glen and Havana Glen Park at Montour Falls. The terminus at Watkins Glen was on the shore of Seneca Lake adjacent to the depot of the Northern Central Railroad Co., and connected with the steam boat lines of the Seneca Lake Transportation Co.
  Seneca Lake is a fine body of water about 40 miles (64 km) long, and there are a number of summer resorts and cottages along its shores reached by the steamboats.
  When this route was projected, it was with many doubts as to the ultimate completion of the road, but the officials of the railway company after thoroughly examining the field decided to award the contract for designing, constructing and equipping the road to the American Engineering Co., of Philadelphia, which immediately prepared plans and specifications and commenced grading for the roadbed. The cuts were 10 feet (3.0 m) wide at grade line with side slopes of 1½ lo 1 and ditches for drainage at the base of the slope; the fills were made 10 feet (3.0 m) at the grade line after being allowed to settle along the private right of way. It was necessary to change the course of the Catharine River at four different points and wherever the river was adjacent to the fills they were protected from washing by oak piles driven 5 feet (1.5 m) apart parallel with the river, with willow mattresses placed between and behind the piling and backed by stone rip rap work.
  Wherever the line of road crossed the stream there were erected plate girder or through span steel bridges, which were furnished by the Berlin Bridge Co. and the Havana Bridge Co. The bridges were set on foundations of cut stone laid in Portland cement, none but dimension stones being placed in the faces of the walls. The track over all bridges had inside guard rails of the same section as the running rails, laid parallel to and 4 inches (100 mm) from them. The bridges had fender pieces with notches on the underside to receive the ties; the fender pieces were held in place by bolts with washers on each end. Exposed parts of ties and also the notches were treated with two coats of red lead to prevent absorption of moisture.
caption: Watkins Glen
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