Watkins Waterfront, circa 1876

Watkins Waterfront, circa 1876

Period etching depicting Northern Central Railroad station (1876), facing Watkins (now Watkins Glen) harbor.The Northern Central Railroad was a regional line that extended from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to Canandaigua. It is not to be confused with the Northern Central Railway, a better-known regional line that connected Baltimore, Maryland, with Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Near the turn of the twentieth century each rail company was separately absorbed into the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The old Northern Central tracks between Watkins Glen and Geneva remain today and are operated by the Finger Lakes Railroad. They run north-south just to the east of State Highway Route 14, often sometimes paralleling the Lake Seneca shoreline.

Image courtesy of John Socha. Research assistance by Glenda Gephardt.

Watkins Glen Waterfront Today

Watkins Glen Waterfront Today

Much has changed since the 1870s, but the railroad tracks remain in their original location (note crossbuck at left center; the two people are walking across the tracks). The rail station is now a restaurant, but its original roofline is visible to the right of the peaked dormer section. Waters of the harbor can be seen (just barely) at lower left.

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