Low Clearance!

trainsinmaine wrote:The aforementioned D&H bridge on Glenridge Road in Scotia is 10' 5", as is the B&M (PAS) bridge just up the hill from it. The B&M bridge is barely wide enough to accommodate two small vehicles; the D&H is considerably tighter. The D&H bridge is so tiny and so old it can quite legitimately be called "quaint" --- a genuine historical curiosity. What's more, the abutments are white granite.

The B&M underpass on Maple Avenue, just a quarter of a mile south of there, is only 10 feet and also narrow.

There was a plan, back when the D&H and B&M were under Guilford ownership, to remove both bridges on Glenridge, use only the D&H track, and install a grade crossing. It would have required hundreds and hundreds of truckloads of fill, the removal of several homes, a mile of road reconstruction, new intersections, and enormous expense all around --- plus there was concern about a nearby wetlands wildlife sanctuary. Then Guilford sold the D&H and the whole proposal died anyway.

I remember hearing from relatives that there was another idea to instead put in another underpass that would make the road a couplet sort of on the Glenridge Road side, however, Guilford seemed very squemish about the idea like there was stability issues.

There are a small number of cut stone and random stone arch bridges that carry the Finger Lakes Railway over them that are not wide enough to take on 2 Auto's side by side and they also have some low Clearance issues which were slightly improved more than likely in the 1950's? when the road was improved by dropping the grade on both sides of the Bridge. Given that the Auburn and Syracuse RR Built the line in the mid or late 1800's? no one would have dreamed of an Automobile not for another few decades. When Auto's did come about not many people had them so there was no need to make any other improvements on top of the fact that Auto's were not as big or as wide as they are today.

scharnhorst wrote:There are a small number of cut stone and random stone arch bridges that carry the Finger Lakes Railway over them that are not wide enough to take on 2 Auto's side by side and they also have some low Clearance issues which were slightly improved more than likely in the 1950's? when the road was improved by dropping the grade on both sides of the Bridge. Given that the Auburn and Syracuse RR Built the line in the mid or late 1800's? no one would have dreamed of an Automobile not for another few decades. When Auto's did come about not many people had them so there was no need to make any other improvements on top of the fact that Auto's were not as big or as wide as they are today.

You even read the rest of the thread? I already covered this. FWIW, Syracuse-Auburn built 1839, Auburn-Rochester 1841, bypassed by current CSX mainline routing, 1851. The line was already a branch when it became part of the New York Central, and only got minor upgrades over time. In some locations what may have originally been stone arches have been replaced with steel girder bridges. Here's what I previously posted -

lvrr325 wrote:West of Auburn, just west of the mall along Finger Lakes there is what looks like an original 1840 stone overpass crossing a road. 9'6" I think - but only in the middle. Most of the rest of the overpasses have been upgraded over the years, although there are still some fairly small and narrow examples to be found (including one right behind the same mall on a road that now dead-ends without leading into the mall driveways). That's because this line was superceeded by the current CSX mainline in 1851 or so -

Would cattle pass consider the lowest and smallest clearance??? ATV and motorcycle uses it to go through... it's 6' height and 4' wide... what about pedestrian tunnel (not at the stations!!) I know of one in Hornell...height is probably around 8-9 ft.. at least 5' wide by law, but wider than 5' in that Hornell pedestrian pass There is one at Cresson.. but it seems to be either employer pass or leading to the platform what used to be station in past.

LOL...

These may not be award winners, here are 4 underpasses I know of not for the claustrophobic:

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qyf3ff ... E89E61!143

lvrr325 wrote:

scharnhorst wrote:There are a small number of cut stone and random stone arch bridges that carry the Finger Lakes Railway over them that are not wide enough to take on 2 Auto's side by side and they also have some low Clearance issues which were slightly improved more than likely in the 1950's? when the road was improved by dropping the grade on both sides of the Bridge. Given that the Auburn and Syracuse RR Built the line in the mid or late 1800's? no one would have dreamed of an Automobile not for another few decades. When Auto's did come about not many people had them so there was no need to make any other improvements on top of the fact that Auto's were not as big or as wide as they are today.

You even read the rest of the thread? I already covered this. FWIW, Syracuse-Auburn built 1839, Auburn-Rochester 1841, bypassed by current CSX mainline routing, 1851. The line was already a branch when it became part of the New York Central, and only got minor upgrades over time. In some locations what may have originally been stone arches have been replaced with steel girder bridges. Here's what I previously posted -

lvrr325 wrote:West of Auburn, just west of the mall along Finger Lakes there is what looks like an original 1840 stone overpass crossing a road. 9'6" I think - but only in the middle. Most of the rest of the overpasses have been upgraded over the years, although there are still some fairly small and narrow examples to be found (including one right behind the same mall on a road that now dead-ends without leading into the mall driveways). That's because this line was superceeded by the current CSX mainline in 1851 or so -

There are 3 stone arches in the Auburn area one on Miller Road in Sennett, 1 behind the Mall and one on the next road down from the mall. Basswood Road used to be a bridge crossing but was removed many years ago..

scharnhorst wrote:There are 3 stone arches in the Auburn area one on Miller Road in Sennett, 1 behind the Mall and one on the next road down from the mall. Basswood Road used to be a bridge crossing but was removed many years ago..

Miller Road: http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/148025647
Webster Road (behind the mall): http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/52869825
Half Acre Road (next road): http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/52869830
Basswoord Crossing: http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/node/211324465
Highbridge Road (wooden bridge seems to be closed): http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/148166505

RussNelson wrote:

scharnhorst wrote:There are 3 stone arches in the Auburn area one on Miller Road in Sennett, 1 behind the Mall and one on the next road down from the mall. Basswood Road used to be a bridge crossing but was removed many years ago..

Miller Road: http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/148025647
Webster Road (behind the mall): http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/52869825
Half Acre Road (next road): http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/52869830
Basswoord Crossing: http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/node/211324465
Highbridge Road (wooden bridge seems to be closed): http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/148166505

The old HighBridge Road in Cayuga the Bridge is there but the road is no longer there its all over grown with trees and far fields on both sides.

I almost forgot to add that there is a small stone arch in Cayuga its self along the lake it is for a private driveway.

sd80mac wrote:Would cattle pass consider the lowest and smallest clearance??? ATV and motorcycle uses it to go through... it's 6' height and 4' wide... what about pedestrian tunnel (not at the stations!!) I know of one in Hornell...height is probably around 8-9 ft.. at least 5' wide by law, but wider than 5' in that Hornell pedestrian pass There is one at Cresson.. but it seems to be either employer pass or leading to the platform what used to be station in past.

LOL...

There are still a few open pedestrian passes in Corning as well. And of course here were others where the new Erie station was built in 1950.

How about the "tunnel" beneath the Rochester & Southern in the back of Holy Angels Cemetery in Scottsville? It connects the main Cemetery with the "old" (original) cemetery on the west side of the R&S ROW.

The tunnel is formed by flat bottomed precast concrete culvert pipe sections. It's approx 7 feet high at the apex and 7 feet wide - a tight fit for even the smallest car. It is apparently used only for mowing equipment and pedestrian to access the old cemetery.

Incidentally the old cemetery predates the railroad. There are markers in the cemetery dating to the Civil War and before - the first railroad (Rochester and State Line) did not appear until the early 1870's.

Here are a couple views of the east portal of the tunnel:

Chestnut street under grade on the LIRR Hempstead Branch. At the North End of Country Life Press Station. 7' or 8' LOW clearance.

Holland road in Angola south of Buffalo. NS line to Buffalo

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=42 ... 22,,0,2.95

I don't remember the exact height, but the Butts Road underpass near Albion sure felt too low when I drove through it in a minivan last Thursday.

Scott K.

Scott, that one on Butts Rd. is 7'2" high.....I grew up about half a mile from there. Still have memories
of seeing Auto-racks rolling across that when traffic was there in early 1980s. And the next road east, which
is Keitel Rd, that one is 7'6" I believe.

Charlie

Charlie,

Thanks for the numbers. I've been through Keitel many times, although never in a minivan. That 4" on Butts plus being in the van really made a difference in how it feels to drive under vs being in our old car. I remember seeing wb through freights in Brockport in the early 80"s myself, but don't remember autoracks, just mixed manifest.

Scott K.