Lowville and Beaver River Railroad summary
The Lowville and Beaver River Railroad (LBR) is a short line railroad that’s located in the Adirondack Region of New York. It’s owned by the Genesee Valley Transportation Company, a holding firm that manages four other shortline railroads in both New York and Pennsylvania. The railroad uses 11 miles of standard-gauge track from Lowville to Croghan and is currently out of service, pending future use in tourist service.
History
The Lowville and Beaver River Railroad served as a branch line off the former New York Central’s network at Lowville. Since the mid-19th century, the Empire State was home to more than 100 paper mills with much of the manufacturing centered around the heavily forested Adirondacks. By the early 1990s, the paper industry dwindled in the state thus severely affecting the LBR. The success and sustainable business development towards the 3-mile Depew, Lancaster and Western Railroad since 1989 led to the potential in growth for the Genesee Valley Transportation Company. With its sights set east to the Adirondacks, the company purchased the Lowville and Beaver River in 1991.
Operations
While the Genesee Valley Transportation Company continues to own the Lowville and Beaver River, the line itself is currently out of service. When acquired in 1991, the railroad’s customers were nine paper mills with a primary set up in Beaver Falls at the halfway point of the line. All the facilities closed shortly afterwards, resulting in the shutdown of the LBR in 1999. Genesee Valley is currently working with the Railway Historical Society of Northern New York and a local tourist operator to reopen the Lowville and Beaver River as a tourist railroad. The potential operator recently purchased the shop and yard out of Lowville.
The railroad rosters Genesee Valley’s growing fleet of diesel locomotives from Alco and the Montreal Locomotive Works. Most are painted in the company’s “Corporate White” color scheme. A new locomotive shop was constructed in the Green Ridge section of Scranton to repair and maintain the company’s diverse roster.
The LBR is still connected with the ex-NYC main line at Lowville. It’s now operating as the Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern Railroad to Newton Falls under Genesee Valley.
Read more about the Lowville and Beaver River Railroad in Trains’ December 2021 issue.
