River Line vs. Main Line

During the 1970's, what was the preferred routing for freight trains west of Hornell, the River Line or the Main Line and why?

Was the mainline entirely double track west of Hornell, or were there stretches of single track?

Why did Conrail dismantle the River Line?

What was the approximate per day number of trains for each line?

Thank you

You need to get a copy of the ELHS publication 'The Diamond', vol. 6, No. 1. W. D. Burt did a comprehensive 3 part series on the River Line, but only part 3 in the above issue is still available. You needn't read parts 1&2 to enjoy part 3, it stands alone quite well.

I make no claims to be an authority on the EL, but I'll answer your inquiries as I understand things. The River Line was the preferred route due to gentler grades (which was the reason for it's construction), but some trains were still assigned the old main. Here in NY, the 'Old Main' from Hornell to Cuba was single track (although the River Line routing could be construed as being double tracking through this section), as was west of Salamanca to Waterboro. Conrail abandoned the River Line early on as the cuts and fills on the line were built on/with a sandy loam that was very unstable. Costly and constant maintenance were primarily responsible for it's demise, but the downgrading of the now redundant EL contributed. WDB has a chart in part 3 that shows approximately 14 trains a day using the River Line and 2 assigned to the Old Main.

I thought the old main existed primarily for use by Erie passenger trains and, post-passenger era, was used by high horsepower intermodal trains. IIRC correctly, the River line was not to be included in the Conrail acqusition but then there was a derailment just before C-day that made its inclusion mandatory.