Biff,
The Firth Carpet Company (originally American Axminster) was on Columbus Street here in Auburn, NY. It was bought by Mohawk Carpet (Moshasco) and closed. My cousin said they smashed all the machines to make sure they couldn't be used again.
The Lehigh Valley station was nearby only the LV roundhouse is left) , across the street from the ALCO factory (sold to Bombardier and closed this year; was originally McIntosh and Seymour), which made many diesel engines for locomotives and submarines. The NY Central freight line used to run behind our house; occasionally a passenger train would get routed off the main line which followed the Erie Canal route north of here.
I have read your posts about WWII and railroads, esp in regards to the coal mining. Turns out a friend's family (Vivenzio) were miners in Hazle Town before they moved here, and my Uncle Al Impaglia's family is related to them, lived there too. The Black Diamond train went past Auburn to Geneva, but the freight line, called Southern Central, went straight through to the coal dock and pier at North Fair Haven on Lake Ontario. Most of this went to Canada.
I took out Robert Archer's book
The History of the Lehigh Valley Railroad today to confirm the routes and photos.
Found this site though not much on the Auburn section:
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Cayuga Museum put out several books of photographs of Auburn and Cayuga County with scenes of the interior of McIntosh & Seymour - the stationary steam engines were huge - and of the LV and NY Central stations. We have some postcards of these too.
A surveyor I worked with said he took the Black Diamond on his honeymoon.
Dave