But, Look! There's a Train. No, Two of Them!!!

The front of this post card is advertising that the Kennedy Valve Manufacturing Company is a part of Elmira, New York. The company's buildings and grounds take up a good percent of the picture. But, there are two trains in the bottom left-hand side of the picture. That is what caught my eye and made me decide to add this to my collection. The Kennedy Valve Company still exists there today: https://www.kennedyvalve.com/ Now... about the trains. Here is a year by year history of the railroad in Elmira. It is taken from this website: https://www.chemunghistory.com/railroads-in-chemung-county A few facts about railroad service in Elmira, New York. ​ 1835 - Construction for the New York and Erie Railroad began in Deposit, NY. It would be 16 more years until the line was completed (all the way to Dunkirk, NY.) October 2, 1849 - the first NY&E train arrived in Elmira. Regular passenger service began 6 days later with two trains each way per day. Also, the Elmira Depot was built. 1850 - Canandaigua & Corning Railroad changed its name to Elmira, Canandaigua & Niagara Falls Railroad. 1854 - Elmira & Williamsport Railroad opened - moving lumber, coal, and iron between Pennsylvania and the Feeder Canal, the Junction Canal, and the railroad in Elmira. 1861 - NY&E changed its name to New York & Erie Railway, then in 1875 it became the New York, Lake Erie, and Western. In 1895 it became the Erie Railroad. 1863 - The Northern Central took over the Elmira & Williamsport line - later became the property of the Pennsylvania Railroad. 1867 - Fire damaged the original Elmira Depot and a new one was built (opened 1868). 1870 - Lehigh Valley Railroad opened an office in Elmira. 1872 - Utica, Horseheads, & Elmira (later the Utica, Ithaca, & Elmira.) Construction between Erin and Van Ettenville necessitated building two curved trestles - the Deep Gorge trestle and the Blockhouse Ravine trestle. 1882 - The New York, Lackawanna & Western was completed to Elmira, soon became the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. 1884 - Elmira, Cortland & Northern service to Syracuse 1913 - New Lackawanna station just west of the original. 1932 - Raising of the Lackawanna tracks through Elmira completed. 1934 - Raising of the Erie tracks through Elmira completed. 1956 - Pennsylvania Railroad ended passenger service. 1957 - Last steam locomotive through Elmira (Pennsylvania Railroad). 1960 - Erie and DL & W merged into the Erie-Lackawanna. 1961 - Last passenger train for the Lehigh Valley. 1970 - Erie-Lackawanna discontinued passenger service. 1976 - Erie-Lackawanna absorbed into Conrail. 1998 - Norfolk-Southern takes over Conrail.

The post card was published by the Baker Brothers, also out of Elmira, New York from 1915 to 1927. The Baker Brothers had been local news dealers since the 1890’s and began publishing postcards of regional views under their name in the early 20th century. Around 1915 they started up the Owen Card Publishing Company that specifically dealt with greeting and holiday cards. These cards were printed on a linen embossed paper and often contained large empty areas, a typical American design. The company later became involved with designing boxes for cards as well.