New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (reporting mark NYSW), also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Class II freight railway operating over 400 miles (640 km) of trackage in the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

The NYS&W was formed in 1881 out of a merger of six smaller railroads. After formation, the new NYS&W's primary business concern was transporting anthracite coal out of Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley coal region, a business that would last into the twentieth century. From 1898 to 1940, the NYS&W operated as a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad after JP Morgan purchased a majority stake on the Erie's behalf. The Susquehanna emerged from the Erie's control in 1940 as part of a bankruptcy reorganization begun in 1937. Around this time the railroad began winding down its coal operations (until finally discontinuing them completely in 1951, culminating with the sale of their coal dumper to the Reading Railroad). This followed years of declines in coal usage due to the rapid growth of the petroleum industry. The NYS&W then changed their primary source of income to their commuter trains. Running as far west as Butler, the railroad advertised a bus connection to New York City via Susquehanna Transfer beginning in late 1939, taking advantage of the recently opened Lincoln Tunnel.

The railroad proclaimed itself completely dieselized by 1945, though in reality it would retain steam power for yard switching duties until 1946 or 1947, as well as leasing out steam locomotives for a time. By 1955 however, passenger services were losing money for the company. All of their commuter services were discontinued in 1966, and by that time, the railroad experienced additional financial troubles from a loss of freight customers and interchange partners. The seventies spelled out even harder times for the railroad and it fell into its second bankruptcy by 1976.

In 1980, the NYS&W was purchased by the Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO), and they reorganized and expanded the railway's operations and finances. They also benefited from Conrail's monopoly in the northeastern U.S., by operating competing intermodal trains until 1999, when Conrail was split between Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX.

As of 2025, the NYS&W consists of a southern division and a northern division. The southern division runs between Jersey City, New Jersey and Binghamton, New York and contains what is left of the original NYS&W mainline. The northern division, formed by two branches north of Binghamton, serves Utica and Syracuse and was purchased in 1982. The two divisions are connected via trackage rights over a segment of the Southern Tier Line.