by scottychaos
(Yes, I know the Lehigh Secondary is in PA, not NY..but from a railfan perspective, this is very much a NY story, and relates directly to the Southern Tier main in NY.. which is why im deliberately putting this thread in the NY forum..please dont move it! 
I first heard this rumour via a PM a few months ago, and I promised then not to repeat it..
but now that it has been posted on another forum, I think its now safe to talk about it!
The story states that the Owego & Harford, currently a tiny shortline based in Owego, NY,
is going to take over the NS Lehigh Secondary from Sayre, PA south to Mahoopany, where NS currently hands off to the R&N..
this is the former Lehigh Valley Mainline south out of Sayre.
This should be classed in the Rumour catagory for now..but the guy who posed it over here:
http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?bo ... 1220643818
seems quite credible and seems to be well plugged into "people in the know" at NS..
so its clearly based on something real..
I dont really understand the O&H angle though..
seems the R&N would be the much more likely canidate to take over this line,
since they already run the south portion, and they are already based in PA,
and they are MUCH larger than the O&H and already have the motive power to run the line right now..
O&H does not..O&H doesnt even own any road diesels at this point..
I can easily imagne the R&N running all the way up to Sayre..but the O&H makes much less sense..
IF this happened the O&H would interchange with NS at Sayre, and with R&N at Mahoopany..
no mention of the line to Ithaca..(LV main north out of Sayre)
probably NS would keep the Sayre yard proper, north of the passenger station, and keep the line to Ithaca..
and whichever shortline takes over the Lehigh Secondary south of Sayre would run only to the area of the Sayre station..
the old LV locomotive terminal area..but not north of there into the northern part of the Sayre yard..
that would be my guess anyway..
interesting things possibly in the works for Sayre!!
Scot
(p.s. its Owego & Harford..not Owego & Hartford..no "t" in the name..)

I first heard this rumour via a PM a few months ago, and I promised then not to repeat it..
but now that it has been posted on another forum, I think its now safe to talk about it!

The story states that the Owego & Harford, currently a tiny shortline based in Owego, NY,
is going to take over the NS Lehigh Secondary from Sayre, PA south to Mahoopany, where NS currently hands off to the R&N..
this is the former Lehigh Valley Mainline south out of Sayre.
This should be classed in the Rumour catagory for now..but the guy who posed it over here:
http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?bo ... 1220643818
seems quite credible and seems to be well plugged into "people in the know" at NS..
so its clearly based on something real..
I dont really understand the O&H angle though..
seems the R&N would be the much more likely canidate to take over this line,
since they already run the south portion, and they are already based in PA,
and they are MUCH larger than the O&H and already have the motive power to run the line right now..
O&H does not..O&H doesnt even own any road diesels at this point..
I can easily imagne the R&N running all the way up to Sayre..but the O&H makes much less sense..
IF this happened the O&H would interchange with NS at Sayre, and with R&N at Mahoopany..
no mention of the line to Ithaca..(LV main north out of Sayre)
probably NS would keep the Sayre yard proper, north of the passenger station, and keep the line to Ithaca..
and whichever shortline takes over the Lehigh Secondary south of Sayre would run only to the area of the Sayre station..
the old LV locomotive terminal area..but not north of there into the northern part of the Sayre yard..
that would be my guess anyway..
interesting things possibly in the works for Sayre!!
Scot
(p.s. its Owego & Harford..not Owego & Hartford..no "t" in the name..)
Last edited by scottychaos on Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
~ Scot Lawrence
Moderator: Lehigh Valley
Co-Moderator: Anthracite Railroads
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Moderator: Lehigh Valley
Co-Moderator: Anthracite Railroads
Scot's railroad webpages