Exploring the West Shore in Wayne County

Hello,

I plan on exploring the West Shore in Wayne County this Thursday, 12/8. I've already explored the section between Macedon west to MP 359 on the CSX main. Any info regarding accessability to the West Shore ROW, or anything of interest would be appreciated. I don't mind bushwacking. Also, any ideas of a good place to grab lunch(I like diners). Thanks in advance!

Bob

Theres not much to see along the old west shore in Wayne county with it being on the South side of the NYC there are no roads or access along the way. If you go to the old fraght house in Lyons yard there is a bridge and an old fraght house there. The Brown Road crossing still has rails in place crossing it just 50 feet south of the current CSX Line. In the village of Savannah its self there is a gas station on the corners near the blinking light that has a pizza shop, makes subs, hot dogs, and burgers. After you leave going east turn left befor you cross the current railroad tracks and make a fast right and come along the railroad tracks and the 31 over pass. Walk east down to the gray building (old home stead meats plant) this is where the west shore crossed the main line here and followed along the North Side of the NYC. Now when you come into Cayuga County give me a shout and I'll show you where the West Shore went and crossed back and forth over the NYC and where the interchange yards were with the NYC and LVRR.

Theres not much to see along the old west shore in Wayne county with it being on the South side of the NYC there are no roads or access along the way. If you go to the old fraght house in Lyons yard there is a bridge and an old fraght house there. The Brown Road crossing still has rails in place crossing it just 50 feet south of the current CSX Line. In the village of Savannah its self there is a gas station on the corners near the blinking light that has a pizza shop, makes subs, hot dogs, and burgers. After you leave going east turn left befor you cross the current railroad tracks and make a fast right and come along the railroad tracks and the 31 over pass. Walk east down to the gray building (old home stead meats plant) this is where the west shore crossed the main line here and followed along the North Side of the NYC.

Now when you come into Cayuga County give me a shout and I'll show you and anyone else how is intrested in seeing where the West Shore went and crossed back and forth over the NYC and where the interchange yards were with the NYC and LVRR. The West Shore line gets confused with the Rotchestor and Syracuse High Speed Trolly line in the area so I'm wiling to set the recored straght as to where the line rilly is and went.

Thanks, SRS125. If anything, it looks like I'll be able to watch the action on the CSX main while hiking along the West Shore.

the West Shore did not cross to the north of the NYC at savannah. SRS you have it backwards the Rochester+Syracuse crossed to the north of the NYC near savannah.
going west from syracuse the West Shore crossed to the south side of the NYC betweeen Jordon and Weedsport and stayed there until the west side of rochester.

charles

Rochester+Syracuse being of course the Rochester,Syracuse and Eastern
interurban line. The WS fly over (abutments) can still be seen from the
T-way between said Jordan and Weedsport and jumped back over west
of Roch at Churchville.


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RSD15 wrote:the West Shore did not cross to the north of the NYC at savannah. SRS you have it backwards the Rochester+Syracuse crossed to the north of the NYC near savannah.
going west from syracuse the West Shore crossed to the south side of the NYC betweeen Jordon and Weedsport and stayed there until the west side of rochester.

charles

The Train Station in port Byron is a Tolly Station not a West Shore station. The West Shore was North of the RT 90 near the pole line 30 yards to the north of the pole line across from the potato farm. The West Shore crossed RT90 and swinged into the South of Weedsport and entered a small yard that was shared by the Trolly and also served as an interchange point with the Lehigh Valley where the Blue apartment houses are on Weedsport-Senett Road. The Lehigh Valley passed next to the Weesdport High School while the West Shore paralled RT31 then crossed over next to the Truck stop. The WS crossed over the NYC near Bonta Bridge Road and had a switch back located there where it could interchange cars with the NYC the Switch back can be seen from RT 90 from the east bound lane in the late fall-early spring while the leaves are gone.

In Jordon under the RT31 over Pass by the old Stone Bridge there are remains on a speeder car shed and the rails are still in place. The Grain Elevador uses a section of the West Shore main line as well and had a small interchange with the NYC there as well as an iceing plant for reefers. I know this becouse I had a teacher in 5th grade whos great grand parents were both Fraght Agent and Yard Master at the Jordon Yard Office.

The Shore would carry on to Syracuse just to the North of the NYC all the way into Syracuse. Where it his Belle Isle Yard behind the NYS Fair Grounds. Go to Willis Ave and go to the Glen Falls Lehigh Portland Cement Plant and the 3 tracks that are used by the cement plant are whats left of the West Shore just 30 years west of the loaction a plate gurder Bridge still stands marking where the DL&W once crossed under the NYS and West Shore to go to Fulton, NY befor the current new lead was connected and the tunnal was filled in.

SRS 125 , RSD 15 is correct, the West Shore was on the south side at Browns Crossing east of clyde and continued along the south side of the NYC through Savannah. It turned towards the south just east of the RT 31 overpass and headed towards Port Byron. If you go to CP 320 and look south you can see the ROW crossing the muck land about 1/2 mile south of the current CSX mains. The Trolley line continued south and crossed the muck land and Seneca River along the current RT 31 row, entering the hamlet of Montezuma and then on into Port Byron. A West Shore bridge abutments crossing the creek in Port Byron are visible just north of the T-way bridge at this same location. West of Weedsport, the Trolley ran on what is now RT 31 the Bridge abutment just west of the village is the West Shore which travels through the Village also by the blue appartments and also interchanged with the LV here. The West Shore continues east and crossed the CSX mains just west of Bona Bridge Rd crossing , (bridge abutments still inplace) and continues east between the T-way and CSX mains all the way to the Fair grounds. (Belle Isle)

All disputes aside, rls 62, how was your hike? I live in Newark and always wanted to hike the Shore through this area myself. Tell me how it went and any questions you thought of.

Thanks for asking, Roadster.
I postponed my hike along the West Shore to a later date. I invited a friend of mine who's visiting from Florida. Since he's not into trains and does not have proper hiking boots(I don't know what condition the West Shore roadbed is in; I'd planned on hiking the section a few miles east of Lyons and know how rough ballast can be on the feet). I decided to hike a section of the former Pennsy Sodus Point branch south of RT. 96 near Phelps now know as Ontario Pathways see link http://www.ontariopathways.org/map.htm
It was a bright, sunny day and we hiked south about 2 miles from Route 96. I've been along here before, but some of the points of interest included several small bridges which cross Flint Creek which has a few small waterfalls(2-3 feet in height), an old signal tower slowly being overtaken by trees, several piers left from the former LV mainline which crossed overhead, many old telegraph poles, and a very well preserved MP which has been painted light gray. The MP is unique to me because it indicates 8 for southbound and 26 for northbound. I assume it means 8 miles to Stanley and 26 miles to Sodus Point, but I've never seen two different values on a milepost.
Took a lunchbreak for ribs at the Blue Ribbon in Phelps, which I highly recommend. We were sitting by the window waiting for our order when I hear a loud train horn and a WB freight consisting of about 20 cars rolled along at about 15-20 mph along the FGLK(x-NYC), crossing Rt. 96! That was a pleasant surprise!
After lunch we drove down to Orleans, a quaint hamlet time has passed by which includes an old water tower once used by steam engines but I understand is still used by the local fire department. We hiked north for about 10 minutes along the ROW but had to turn around due to private property. This is a very tiny segment which is private property and includes a house and gazebo. We retreated south and continued on for about 45 minutes along a bluff above the west side of Flint Creek, which at this point becomes a deepening chasm.
Overall, we had a great time and I plan on hiking further south towards Flint. I'll also check out the West Shore sometime later on my own.

A little off the topic, but Orleans was the site of a head-on collision on the PRR on May 14, 1964. Point of collision was about 6/10ths of a mile south of the hamlet. 3 killed, 5 injured. Cause was the northbound train not stopping at Bellona to let the southbound pass.

You must have walked right by the site.

Have heard that there are still car parts in Flint Creek down the embankment at the Orleans wreck site. Reference the West Shore: walked a short piece of it just east of Newark in the late 1960s. It was midwinter so the foliage wasn't a problem. Was surprised to find a searchlight signal head laying in the ballast and glass insulators still on the C&S pole arms.

Sounded like a nice day. I would recommend waiting till early spring for the West Shore walks at this time. The winter snow will have pressed alot of the weeds and foliage down and the new growth hasn't begun yet. West Shore row west of Lyons follows right along the south side of the CSX mains till just west of the Blue Cut,Rt 31 overpass west of Lyons where the "Shore" turns sharper to the left and heads for Newark, crossing a large swamp ending at the NYS Canal behind NYS DOT in Newark. At Swifts Landing Park, in East Palmyra, THe Canal trail authority is constructing a footbridge across the creek using the "Shore" bridge abutments, most of the row is heavily overgrown beyond here west to Palmyra. East of Lyons, Your best bet would be to go to the row where it crosses Cole Rd, Lyons and hike west to the canal crossing. (no bridge) and then to the east, the row here is passable and utilized by locals for 4 wheelers and dirt bikes. All the way to the south west side of Clyde. The row passes along the canal bank at Clyde then heads east next to the boat ramp about a 1 1/2 to another canal crossing. Bridge is still in place but deck ties and planks have been removed. no walking surface at all. The row from here can be found at Browns Rd. Crossing east of Clyde along Rt 31, and paralells the CSX Mains from here into Savannah mostly overgrown. A number of segments are post private so use caution. Between here and Port Byron the row runs about 1/2 mile or more south of the CSX mains through very rural areas with little highway access. Let me know if I can help you plan any of your excursions in this area I'll help with as much info as I can.

Roadster, thanks for the info regarding the condition of the West Shore ROW in central Wayne County. I'll be checking it out over the next few weeks and I'll report back.
I've explored the Shore in eastern Monroe/western Wayne over the past 5 years. It's a great place for fanning the main line plus I'd rather be getting exercise while hiking rather than slouching in my truck. An interesting item I found about 5 years ago was a gym bag at the foundation of a former RR building near MP 358 on the CSX. Someone had strewn its contents about which included a few personal items like cologne and a few clothes plus the owners prison release papers from New Jersey. I assume the owner of the bag hopped a WB freight and got off at MP 358. I don't know what became of him after this but it seemed sad and chilling.
JoeS- thanks for the info about the May '64 collision on the Pennsy. Next time I'm in Orleans I'll check out the Flint creekbed.

hay sents you are exploreing the west shore I have an idea why not check out this site http://www.abandonedrailroads.homestead.com/ and ask him to post your pics along with a small paragragh telling of your exploreing the West Shore county by county. set it up so that he dose the listing county by county that way outher readers can view your adventures. I submitted the Skaneatlas Short Line and the Owasco River Railroad and a small batch of pics to this site and had a good review so far.