The Southern Central Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of New York in the nineteenth century. The company's line ran from Fair Haven, New York, on the south shore of Lake Ontario, to Athens, Pennsylvania, in the Southern Tier and just over the border into Pennsylvania. The company was incorporated in 1865 and became part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad system in 1895. Most of its line was abandoned by the Lehigh Valley Railroad between 1937–1979; the portion between Harford Mills, New York, and Owego, New York, is owned by the Tioga County Industrial Development Agency and operated by the Owego and Harford Railway. History The Lake Ontario, Auburn and New York Railroad, chartered in 1852, had graded a line between Fair Haven and Auburn, New York, but ran out of money without ever laying track. The new Southern Central Railroad was chartered on September 6, 1865, to complete this work and build a line from Fair Haven due south to Owego, New York, where it could interchange traffic with the Erie Railroad. The railroad opened between Owego and Auburn on March 8, 1870. The Erie was at that time still a broad-gauge railroad, which made interchange with the standard gauge Southern Central difficult. With financial assistance from the Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Southern Central built south from Owego toward the state line at Athens, Pennsylvania (later Sayre), and an interchange with the Pennsylvania and New York Railroad, a Lehigh Valley Railroad company. This extension opened on January 3, 1871. The northern part of the line to Fair Haven finally opened on December 1, 1871. Financial problems led to the Lehigh Valley leasing the company in 1887. The debts were such that, in 1895, the Lehigh Valley formed a subsidiary, the Lehigh and New York Railroad, to buy the Southern Central in a foreclosure sale, after which the Lehigh Valley leased the Lehigh and New York. The latter company was merged into the Lehigh Valley at the end of 1949. Under the Lehigh Valley, the line was known first as the Lehigh and New York Branch; then later as the Auburn Branch. Route Auburn Branch The line from North Fair Haven to Sayre measured . It interchanged with several other railroads, including the New York Central Railroad, New York, Ontario and Western Railway, Erie Railroad and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The Lehigh Valley abandoned the