Presented by John Taibi at the Canastota Public Library
(Canastota, NY – Aug. 2013) The Canastota Public Library announces on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. John Taibi will debut his new book “The Oneida Railway Company—from Horsecars to Interurbans.” This event will be held on the second floor of the library in the newly renovated Children’s Area.
This is author, John Taibi’s 12th book, the first in CD-PDF format, and is presented in the same fashion that readers have come to expect from Taibi’s works. This format provides for the addition of color photographs as well as a folder containing maps of the entire Third Rail’s route.
The book will be for sale and every purchaser and guest of the presentation at the library will receive an authentic artifact from the Third Rail’s life as a free gift.
Light refreshments will be served after the PowerPoint presentation.
Taibi has compiled all his research on this historical time in local Rail Road History in this 284 page book. The research chronicles the life of the Oneida Railway Company from its earliest days to its most vibrant years as a modern interurban railway that provided timely, efficient, fast and safe conveyance for hundreds of thousands of people per year. It also includes how the need for the railway developed, how it was built, the people who built it, how it operated, its types of equipment and the stops the railway made along the line. Taibi will explain the railway’s downward spiral towards abandonment on Dec. 31, 1930.
The Oneida Railway Company was born on the Fourth of July, 1889 as a 1.5 mile long horse drawn trolley line solely within the village of Oneida. The purpose of the line was to transport travelers from the New York Central Railroad Station to the West Shore/Ontario and Western Railroad’s Union Depot. This route was primarily via Oneida’s Main Street.
Thirteen years after it began operation, its service was suspended so that the line could be enlarged and converted to an electric operation. The track was extended along Lenox Avenue and a new portion was added to Wampsville at about the same time as the conversion to electric.
At the time of its electrification, the railway had become a property of Cleveland (Ohio) based entrepreneurs who succeeded in aligning themselves with the New York Central Railroad. Together, the new owners decided to electrify the West Shore Railroad from Utica to Syracuse, a route that ran via the towns of Clark Mills, Vernon, Sherrill, Oneida Castle, Oneida, Canastota, Chittenango, Kirkville, and Manlius Center. To do this, the Oneida Railway Company was put in charge of electrifying the line.
The conversion of the steam powered West Shore Railroad into an electric interurban corridor employed a novel means of supplying electricity to the cars, an under-running third rail. It was the use of this type of electric delivery system that gave rise to the line’s nickname of the “Third Rail.” This 44-mile section of the West Shore Railroad would be the only such third rail line in upstate New York.
Taibi is an enthusiastic railroad buff. He lives in a railroad depot built in 1881 by the O & W in Munnsville. The station was used until 1957.
In 1994, Taibi completed all restorations. He has always had a keen interest in railroad history.
The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center Street in Canastota.
For additional information, feel free to contact the library at 697-7030.