Street-Running Tracks in NYS?

TrainDetainer wrote:Painted Post.

Although street running still happens at Chemung St in Painted Post, it has become harder to catch in recent years. When the B&H began leasing the track from NS in 2001, the B&H local dropped off their consist on the west side of Painted Post near Charles Street and ran the engines light to Gang Mills to pick-up a fresh consist. In the meantime, the NS local (either H77 or H85- I've head both symbols used) would fetch the B&H consist. The B&H would then head west with their train as soon as NS cleared the wye. Painted Post became one of my favorite places to photograph trains because of the intechange process.

However, that changed in the fall of 2016. The B&H still runs to Gang Mills on rare occasions but they usually interchange with NS on a siding west of Charles St in Painted Post (aka the water track). NS will send the local out to the siding via Chemung Street as time permits, which can be day or night. The change has been beneficial to the B&H, as their crews no longer have to wait for clearance to enter Gang Mills. I'm bummed but I understand why the new interchange process is better for both RRs.

D Alex wrote:
When the 'subway' opened in , what, 1927?...........and 3 years later, the R&E and all the others were gone.

That would be the Great Depression. The NYCRR stopped hiring any new engine crews in 1929. My Father was one of the very first "Class of 41" hires for engine crews with a service date as a locomotive fireman of December 12th 1941, just after the "Day of Infamy". My Great Grandmother ran a boarding house in Buffalo and several of the boarders worked for the NYCRR since before the depression. One of those boarders made some introductions and got my Dad (at the tender age of 18) "on board" the NYCRR.

"back in the day" the NYCRR was the biggest employer in Buffalo NY, landing a job with them was like getting a job with Goggle today.

Cheers, Kevin

D Alex wrote:I know that here in Rochester, trains used to run down the middle of Lyell Ave (not sure when that stopped, though).

You're probably thinking of the streetcar system. There were trolley lines all over the city. The last city streetcar line ran in 1941. There were interurban lines that used the streetcar tracks to get downtown, but the interurban lines closed down by 1931. To my knowledge, no common-carrier railroads with significant length of track running down the streets of Rochester.

D Alex wrote:

NYCRRson wrote:....
Edit, I checked the 1910 map at that website, the RL&B did run down the middle of Lyell Ave starting at Glide St. (then called Kossuch St.) and heading east towards Lake Ave. The 1935 map does not show the RL&B any longer. It shows a turnaround loop at the Northwest corner of Glide and Lyell. Maybe the RL&B had "trackage rights" into the City itself ?

Cheers, Kevin.

When the 'subway' opened in , what, 1927?, it had all the interurbans running on it's tracks, the R&ERR, the R&S, and probably your RL&B as well. I know that the R&ERR used to run down Monroe Ave, until the subway opened....and 3 years later, the R&E and all the others were gone.

Yes, the interurbans had "trackage rights" on the Rochester Railways streetcar lines to access downtown. After 1927 they were diverted into the Subway.

-otto-