(Oneida, NY – Nov. 2013) Railroad historian John Taibi returns to Oneida Public Library to present his new book on CD, “The Oneida Railway Company: From Horsecars to Interurbans,” this coming Saturday, Nov, 2 at 1 p.m.
The Oneida Railway Co. began service in Oneida in 1885 with horse drawn coaches that shuttled between Madison Square near Oneida’s New York Central Station up Main St. to the West Shore Station in Oneida Castle, now the site of the Rite Aid on Rt. 5. In 1906, the company took on the electrification of the West Shore Railway from Utica to Syracuse in 1906.
With the electrified third rail, the West Shore shortened the traveling time between Utica and Syracuse and could boast of a more comfortable ride for passengers.
Taibi’s new Oneida Railway book is 284 pages of definitive history, complete system color maps and high-definition photographs in an electronic PDF format. At Saturday’s presentation, Taibi will retell the railway’s story with the book’s illustrations projected on the library’s big screen.
For more information, stop by the Oneida Library, 220 Broad St., or call 363-3050.