MAP: Trains on the LV, July 10, 1975

From Railfan Magazine, Winter 1975 issue... a map showing activity on the railroad as of 12:01 am, July 10, 1975. Original artwork by Tony Koester.

This map reminds me. There are tons of photos of the LV on their Auburn line to Owego alongside the EL and then on the EL to Binghamton (when the D&H used the LV power).

Why no photos of the LV on the EL from Sayre to Elmira?

Charles

nydepot:

Good question. The Horseheads job was OD at Sayre daily except Sunday at 11:30 hours.

Seems that it received little atttention from the fans, myself included.

Do know a gent that did photograph the job, however.

BTW: There were two train sets Sayre-Binghamton:

LVRR:

FO-2 Sayre-Binghamton daily ex. Monday OD 18:30
OF-1 Binghamton-Sayre.

These jobs always utilized LVRR power.

D&H

OF-3 and F0-4 Binghamton-Sayre-Binghamton

D&H power utilized on these trains.

Elmira Job I would imagine drew a single unit, probably a switcher of some sort most of the time, same as other locals.

Binghamton job would often draw units fresh out of the shop on a break-in run, cab units, just about anything on the LV over the years from RS2/3 to FAs, PAs, C628s even... and of course the D&H Sharks made appearances there. And it depended on what decade as to which one ran daylight, too.

I think it boils down to the Binghamton jobs usually having more interesting power -

In the days of steam the "D&H Job" would even draw a streamlined Pacific locomotive, right out of the Sayre Shops after overhaul and making a break-in run. Normal power in the final days of steam was a camelback locomotive, observed many times in the very early 1950s. Noted as well in that era assigned to the job on occasion was a 4-8-4 Wyoming class loco.

Early one winter morning observed on the D&H side about a mile east of Qwego, NY was one of those 2-8-0 consols heading to Sayre on the Erie. Recall is that icicles were hanging off the side of the loco. Very cold A.M.

The Elmira/Horseheads local would normally draw a single Alco RS2/3 for power.

On the D&H side in Sayre out of Binghamton observed were GE and Alco units plus, as mentioned above, the famous Baldwin RF16 "Sharks".

Where was the end of track on the little piece that heads south from Auburn?

Charles

Anyone know if the RW Whitehead in the photo is the same Whitehead who founded the BR&W back in 1965?

I'm inclined to say they are not the same individual. The R.W. Whitehead of the LV is still living if I'm not mistaken. He spoke at an ARHS convention not too long ago.

There are only a very small handful of people from the early days of the BR&W still alive. I don't believe THAT Mr. Whitehead is one of them.

Hope this helps.

Micah

nydepot:

Lehigh & New York Fleming-Mead (Moravia), 14 miles, abandoned in 1967. Auburn-Fleming, 2 miles, abandoned in 1971.

After 1971 the remnant of the L&NY (Auburn Branch) continued compass south of Ithaca Jct. as far as Columbian Rope.

I believe that now there is nothing left south of Ithaca Jct.

Conrail tore out the sidings into Columbia Rope... well, the work looked pretty fresh in August of 1992, I think is the first time I was down in there railfanning. There's just enough L&NY to get from the north side of Route 5, to Orchard Street, where the track connects westward into the remnants of the line to Geneva. If you continue south, a gas station encroaches the ROW before what would have been the next highway crossing.

I think you can actually look at this either with Terraserver Birds-Eye view or Google Maps sattelite photos, I forget which one we used to look at it as there's some old abutments for a bridge to cross the LV just west of the former Agway plant, remnants of still another long-abandoned line. (thread on that here I think in the NY State forum).

lvrr325:

Do you know when the Columbian Rope factory complex was demolished? Difficult to believe that such a huge concern is now physically gone.

The location where the Auburn and A&I branch lines connected in Auburn near the old Agway mill (gone, too!) was called Ithaca Jct. The abutments you mentioned are the remnants of the old Ithaca-Auburn Short Line bridge over the A&I.

Yes, there was a thread on these abutments in one of the forums.

You know, I was in there a few times when it was Conrail and once or twice for Finger Lakes and that's it, I go by on 5 now and then and have never been back on Orchard Street - I didn't know any of that stuff was torn down, other than the big crane and so on that was in front of the former Alco facility.

56-57 wrote:I'm inclined to say they are not the same individual. The R.W. Whitehead of the LV is still living if I'm not mistaken. He spoke at an ARHS convention not too long ago.

There are only a very small handful of people from the early days of the BR&W still alive. I don't believe THAT Mr. Whitehead is one of them.

Hope this helps.

Micah

R.W. Whitehead is the son of the founder of the BR&W. There are photos floating around of the BR&W's ex DL&W 565 operating on the former CNJ Chester Branch in the mid 1960's with a very young looking R.W. Whitehead onboard.

I know Dick fairly well, he's one of the nicest people you could ever meet. He is still working as a Consultant in the rail industry. He's a real boomer, having worked with PRR, RDG, N&W, LV, Conrail and Amtrak before becoming a consultant. His 3-hour presentation on the LV was featured at the ARHS convention a few years back and is available on DVD from ARHS. If you are interested in the road train operations on the LV between 1972 and 1976 you should get this DVD.