Griegsville and Pearl Creek Railroad.

Sounds like the Halite & Northern. It ran from the Sterling Mine in Cuylerville to Retsof mine yard in Retsof. Sterling was basically held captive by PRR rates. They built the line to Retsof as the H&N but were taken to court by the RR. Sterling/H&N won the case, which was considered ground-breaking, in that the court ruled the H&N could be considered a common-carrier. The H&N is easy to follow as the mining company used the ROW as an access road. There is a sharp bend in River Rd just north of the old mining area. This is where the H&N headed north towards Retsof. It was a wide path last I saw it but with the mine closed and the ventilation equipment gone from River Rd, it's probably starting to fill in now.

The Sterling Salt complex with the yards, sidings, crossovers, and the access lines coming in from the PRR and H&N make the Retsof Mine area look like someone's amatuer model railroad layout.

It's amazing that it's completely wiped out now.

Charles

Charles – On a somewhat related note, any information on the origin of the short (< 2 mile long) G&W interchange track that ran down the hill from Retsof to a connection with the PRR just north of Piffard?

Was this built by it’s final owner or did the G&W acquire it at some point after the line’s construction?

Note: The ROW is still plainly evident where it crosses River Rd, a short distance south of the Abbey of the Genesee.

Thanks! …Bob

I guess you could call that the original G&W. It ran from the mine at Retsof down the hill to the PRR. It was later that the G&W built the connection to the DL&W and it's line north to P&L Jct.

Charles

I think you mean this line:
http://www.rutlandtrail.org/mapview.cgi ... 4&height=2

The ICC stats have the G&PC listed as a common carrier from 1898 to 1909, when it was "practically abandoned". It allegedly opened 3m of line in April 1898 with one loco, and "ceased operations" in June 1899. I did find a map somewhere that showed it running from a junction with the DLW north of Greigsville, west to a dead -end spot called "North Greigsville".

As I've found, the ICC did list several railroads where the actual level of public service must have been dubious at best -as I've remarked in another thread, amounting to some farmer's hog in a handcart. But this one seemed to have done something.

BTW, the Google references to "North Greigsville" are to an 1872 map of the area, and concern the place now known as Greigsville. So no help there.