The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad that grew, in stages, from Rome, New York to Watertown and then to Ogdensburg, New York and Massena, New York. The original Rome and Watertown Railroad terminated in Cape Vincent, NY on the St. Lawrence River. A branch of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, commonly known as "The Hojack Line", operated along the south shore of Lake Ontario, from Oswego, New York to Niagara Falls, New York. After it was merged into the New York Central in 1913, the RW&O line was known as the St. Lawrence Division. History The Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad (RW&O) began in 1842 as the Watertown & Rome Railroad (W&R) to link Watertown with Rome, New York on the Syracuse & Utica Railroad, later consolidated as part of the New York Central Railroad (NYC). The Potsdam & Watertown Railroad was formed at this time to link Watertown with Potsdam, New York in St. Lawrence County. In 1861, these two railroads merged as the RW&O. A branch line from DeKalb Junction (near Canton, New York) to Ogdensburg was later built. In 1864, the RW&O constructed a line from Pulaski to Oswego and merged with the Syracuse & Northern Railroad. In 1858, the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad (LOS) was chartered from Oswego to Suspension Bridge, New York (now Niagara Falls, New York). RW&O merged with the LOS in 1875; by that time the LOS was bankrupt. Branch lines reached what became resort towns along the St. Lawrence River at the end of the 19th century: Cape Vincent, Clayton and Ogdensburg. At the first two towns, ferries were available to Ontario towns on the opposite side of the river, as well as the Thousand Islands. The RW&O was nicknamed "Rotten Wood & Old Rusty Rails" due to its crumbling infrastructure. By 1878, the RW&O had been merged into the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). DL&W built the Ontario Secondary in 1882 (Beebee line) from Charlotte, New York (where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario) to Rochester, New York. By 1891, RW&O became a subsidiary of NYC. On April 12, 1913, the RW&O was formally merged into the NYC. In 20th century timetables for the New York Central Railroad (NYC), the line was referred to as the St. Lawrence Division. Revenue passenger service was operated from the NYC's "Water Level Route" mainline. Coach passengers for the