Hornell Traction Company

Hornell Traction Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Public transport
Predecessor	Hornellsville Electric Railway Company, Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company, Canisteo Valley Traction Company, Canisteo, Jasper & Woodhull Railway Company
Founded	1892
Defunct	1926
Fate	Liquidated
Headquarters	Hornell , United States
Area served	Hornell and Canisteo, New York
Key people	Charles Adsit (President, founder), Demerville Page (Secretary, President), George T. Rehn (Treasurer)
Products	Electric streetcar services

The Hornell Traction Company operated electric streetcar services connecting Hornell and Canisteo, New York from 1892 until 1926.

Origins

The Hornellsville Electric Railway Company was founded on December 16, 1891, with Charles Adsit serving as President, Demerville Page as Secretary, and George T. Rehn as Treasurer. Shortly thereafter, on December 28, 1891, the Canisteo Valley Railway Company was formed with intentions to expand service to neighboring communities; however, it never initiated operations. Subsequently, the Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company was incorporated on May 12, 1892, under the leadership of Page (President), Adsit (Secretary), and Rehn (Treasurer), assuming control over the assets and liabilities of the previous entity.

Both organizations operated out of shared facilities located at Adsit and Thacher Streets in Hornell. Their administrative offices were first situated at 119 Main Street before relocating to 126 Main Street.

Operations commenced on August 4, 1892, celebrated locally with a parade and formal addresses. The franchise agreement included a provision requiring a payment of 1% of gross receipts to the town of Hornellsville.

Service along the Canisteo route began on December 28, 1892, following a test run conducted on December 22. Initially, one streetcar ran every two hours. Fare rates were established at 5¢ for travel within Hornell, 10¢ for trips between Hornell and Canisteo, and 5¢ for journeys to Glenwood from either location—rates that remained consistent through at least 1909. The Canisteo line maintained a minimum frequency of one car every two hours but increased service to as many as twenty daily trips during peak periods. This marked a significant improvement over the prior horse-drawn operation, which offered only two daily trips at higher prices.

Track construction concluded in 1893. In 1894, a branch line was added to serve Babcock's Track horse racing venue; however, the precise location of this spur is not documented. Collectively, the companies owned roughly of track.

Rolling Stock

The initial inventory comprised five motorized cars measuring eighteen feet in length. These vehicles featured cherry wood finishes, double-thick French plate glass windows, and electric heating systems. Each was equipped with two twenty-horsepower motors and cost $3,580 each upon delivery. Additionally, five unpowered trailer cars were utilized during periods of high demand; these trailers cost $965 apiece and were designed with removable windows and sides to accommodate summer conditions.

Hornell

The principal route originated at Shawmut station near the car barn situated at Adsit and Thacher Streets. It proceeded southward along Seneca Street to Main Street, then eastward onto Center Street before heading south on Loder Street to the Erie Depot. From there, it continued east along Main Street to terminate at East Main and East Avenue. The return journey followed Main Street back toward the starting point. Double tracks were installed between Center and Broad Streets to facilitate traffic flow. Subsequent expansions extended service southward along East Avenue reaching Hart Street. The network was organized into Green and White Lines—the White Line being the sole route extending to Hart Street—alongside additional North Hornell and Canisteo Lines. Coordinated schedules and conductors issuing transfers ensured smooth connections among routes; all lines intersected at Main and Broad Streets where double tracks provided storage space for streetcars between runs.

Canisteo

The most significant extension was the Canisteo Line, which originally reached only as far as St. James Mercy Hospital on Canisteo Street. This line experienced delays caused by opposition from the Erie Railroad, which perceived the trolley as a rival and imposed a 30¢ fare for travel between Hornellsville and Canisteo. The Erie Railroad was uncooperative, even obtaining an injunction against the trolley company, resulting in legal confrontations. Eventually settled, a major operational hurdle involved crossing Erie’s tracks at Broad Street; initially, trolleys were drawn by horses across the crossing before an underpass—commonly referred to locally as a subway—was constructed.

The route’s placement along the south bank of the Canisteo River was strategically chosen. It linked the Erie Railroad depot in Canisteo with the village’s central area known as Four Corners. Depot Street was renamed Railroad Street due to trolley tracks running along its middle. A secondary track on Walnut Street served as temporary storage for cars. The line proceeded through Four Corners, then southward on Greenwood Street, ending just beyond Pine Street close to the Canisteo Silk Mill, which was a major employer at that time. Contrary to some accounts, the route never utilized Pine Street nor the planned but never built Rochester, Hornellsville, and Pine Creek Railroad right-of-way.

In later years, trolley service terminated at Four Corners, where it connected with the nearby New York & Pennsylvania Railroad station. After trolley operations ended, Railroad Street reverted to its original name of Depot Street.

The Glenwood Inn

To increase passenger numbers, in 1893 the Hornellsville & Canisteo Electric Railway acquired land in South Hornell to create Glenwood Park, featuring the Glenwood Inn. The company ran regular Sunday excursion trains to this site located about 2 miles south of Hornellsville and 3 miles north of Canisteo. The park rapidly became a favored spot for outings, highlighted by a well-attended Fourth of July event that fully utilized the railway’s capacity and generated substantial revenue through amenities such as the inn and boat house.

Expansion plans

In 1906, the Steuben Traction Company was established through a merger involving the Hornellsville Electric Railway Company, Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company, Canisteo Valley Traction Company, and Canisteo, Jasper & Woodhull Railway Company. This unified organization issued stock and aimed to extend service from Canisteo to Jasper. By 1909, these entities merged once more into the Hornell Traction Company, which also issued stock and enhanced service frequency—for instance, beginning operations earlier at 8:30 AM.

Local extensions were completed by 1913; however, broader ambitions to expand towards Keuka Lake via Bath and Hammondsport and through Arkport to Dansville with connections to Rochester did not come to fruition. By 1920, fares were set at 8 cents as part of the company’s pricing adjustments amid changing market dynamics.

Deterioration and closure

During the 1910s and 1920s, ridership declined due to competition from automobiles and a newly completed hard-surfaced state highway between Hornell and Canisteo (later designated New York State Route 36) finished in 1912. In 1914, numerous injury claims forced the company into temporary receivership. The Glenwood complex was destroyed by fire in 1923 while equipment deteriorated rapidly. By 1924, receivership resumed; fares were reduced to 7¢ (20 rides for $1), and service on the Canisteo line was cut from every thirty minutes to hourly intervals.

At liquidation, shareholders received no returns while bondholders recovered only ten cents per dollar invested. All operations ceased on July 15, 1926. Assets excluding street rails sold for $14,600; wooden ties were repurposed as firewood and some streetcars sold for $50 each were converted into chicken coops or residences. Notably, Car 34—the snowplow car—survives in poor condition at the New York Museum of Transportation in Rush, New York.

Related Topics

• Glenwood Inn (Hornellsville, New York)
• New York and Pennsylvania Railroad