Utica and Schenectady Railroad

The Utica and Schenectady Railroad was incorporated on April 29, 1833.^[1] As its planned route ran parallel to the Erie Canal, the state barred it from carrying freight. This restriction was relaxed in 1844: the railroad was permitted to carry freight during the seasonal closings of the canal. This traffic was still subject to a toll.^[2] The line opened between Utica and Schenectady on August 1, 1836. It connected in Schenectady with the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad.^[3] The company gained a westbound connection on August 3, 1839, with the opening of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad.^[4]

Albany businessman Erastus Corning served as president of the company for the entirety of its existence. The Utica and Schenectady was consolidated with nine other railroads to form the first New York Central Railroad on May 1, 1853. Corning became president of the new company.^[5][2]

• Interstate Commerce Commission (1930). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 27. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Klein, Aaron E. (1985). New York Central (1st ed.). New York: Bonanza Books. ISBN 978-0-517-46085-6.
• Stevens, Frank Walker (1926). The Beginnings of the New York Central Railroad: A History. New York: G. P. Putnam.