History
Most of the WCOR was once part of a main line from the New York Central Railroad's (NYC) Water Level Route at Lyons south to Williamsport. The Tioga Coal, Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company opened the portion from Corning south to the state line at Lawrenceville in 1840, and in 1872 the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad completed an extension through Wellsboro to Antrim. (The main line, finished in 1883 by the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway, branched off north of Wellsboro.) NYC leased the lines in 1899, and in 1914 absorbed successor Geneva, Corning and Southern Railroad.
Conrail retained the line when it began operations in 1976, but later abandoned it south of Wellsboro Junction, through Pine Creek Gorge (also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania), turning the line into a minor branch. Growth Resources of Wellsboro bought the line in December 1992, and the WCOR began operating in January 1993. The Tioga Central Railroad, which had operated freight in Tioga County, New York until May 1992 (when the Owego & Harford Railway took over), began operating tourist trains in May 1994.
Read more about this topic: Wellsboro And Corning Railroad
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