Wellsboro & Corning Railroad (WCOR)
The Wellsboro and Corning Railroad (WCOR) is a 35-mile Shortline operating between Wellsboro, Pa. and Corning, NY while passing through Tioga and Lawrenceville along the way. It parallels Pa. Route 287 and U.S. Route 15, following the valleys of Marsh Creek, Crooked Creek, and the Tioga River and connects with Norfolk Southern‘s Southern Tier Line at Corning. The railroad’s geographic location covers one of the largest and most active portions of the Marcellus Shale formation which is why many refer to it as the “Main Line to the Marcellus.”
The line was originally a part of the New York Central‘s Water Lever Route at Lyons south to Williamsport until 1976 when it became a part of Conrail who retained the line but eventually abandoned it south of Wellsboro Junction, through Pine Creek Gorge (also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania), turning the line into a minor branch. It was bought by Growth Resources of Wellsboro in 1992 and the railroad began operating it in 1993 as controlled by Richard Robey, the owner of the North Shore Railroad System. In January 2008 the Myles Group of Exton, Pa. bought the company.
Working with sister company IWG Logistics, the family-owned and operated companies provide complete railroad, transloading, logistics and railcar repair services. The Tioga Central Railroad, which had operated freight in Tioga County, NY until May 1992 (when the Owego & Harford Railway took it over), began operating tourist trains in May 1994 between Wellsboro and Tioga.