Where is Mortimer Jct. on the LAL?

[Otto Vondrak]

Question: does the juntion of the ex-LV and ex-EL lines behind Firestone in Henrietta have a name? Would that technically be Mortimer Jct. after Conrail re-aligned it in the 1970s?

-otto-

[scottychaos]

I always thought Mortimer Junction refered to where both the LV and the Erie crossed the West Shore.
If that is correct, then technically Mortimer Junction no longer exists.

I have never heard of any junction name given to the *current* junction of the old LV and Erie..
since it was all Conrail when it was realigned, it probably wouldnt be worthy of any specific junction name.
the LV was then just a short branch, not a whole different railroad.
"Junction names" were usually given to where two or more railroads crossed and interchanged..or two major divisions of the same railroad.
the tiny stub of former LV is now just a short branchline.

so...My intrepretation is.. Mortimer junction was up at the Westshore, no longer exists, and I believe the current "junction" is (and should be) nameless..

but I could be wrong!

Scot

[clearblock]

In the CR employee TTs, Mortimer was the name of the surviving interlocking on the West Shore. The TT page for the Mortimer Secondary Track did not have any desigation for that switch for the former LV.

As Scot said, it is now only a switch to an industrial track, not a "junction".

I don't know if the LA&L has any formal designation for it now.

[Otto Vondrak]

"Just a switch in the woods."

-otto-

[boblenon]

according to mapquest .. its right where the LAL diverges from the shore.

Didnt the erie or lv have a station there at one time?

[nessman]

Didnt the erie or lv have a station there at one time?

At one time there may have been a tower there... but also remember these were branchlines into the city.

As for the Junction itself, that's where the LAL joins up with CSX, so technically it's still a junction even though the actual "connection" is at Genesee Jct a few miles away.

I'm not up to the task to look, but I'm sure it's in the Plat maps over at the Rundell Library.

[nydepot]

Mortimer Jct was at the West Shore crossing and with the advent of CSX and the LA&L, I have not heard radio chatter refering to Mortimer anymore. With the track aligned to head from the former LV track right into Genesee Jct on the former double-track WS, there is no need to radio anyone or align any switches.

There were stations and towers there back during Erie/LV/WS.

Charles

[TB Diamond]

At one time the West Shore, Erie and Lehigh Valley all had stations at Mortimer. The tower (call letters RQ), stood on the north side of the West Shore, between the Lehigh Valley and Erie.

[Otto Vondrak]

Mortimer was indeed where the LV and the Erie crossed the NYC West Shore on diamonds. I just wondered if when Conrail rebuilt the area and removed the West Shore diamonds, maybe they named the switch where they joined the Erie to the LV.

-otto-

[Mike Stellpflug]

There was a MORT Block Limit sign at the switch.
If my memory is correct, there is a photo in a 1996 Railpace,
not sure which month, that shows one of the 1st LA&L trains
passing the sign.

Mike Stellpflug

[TB Diamond]

Lehigh Valley ETTs listed the location as Mortimer (Junction). LV dispatcher sheets listed it simply as Mortimer. ConRail C&S Department N.E. Region Buffalo Div. track diagram of 1-1-84 gave the location as Mortimer Interlocking Mortimer, NY. This diagram shows the former LV crossing still intact. The same diagram revised 1-1-87 shows the ex-LV crossing removed and the Rochester Industrial Trk. curving west to a switch on the passing siding. This alignment is shown on the 1984 diagram as well. In 1990 the passing siding switch was removed at Mortimer and the signal for movement Rochester Ind. Trk-passing siding was removed. Would suspect that the location today is simply known as Mortimer, NY.

[clearblock]

Would suspect that the location today is simply known as Mortimer, NY.

The CSX Employee TT for the West Shore Sub lists it as simply a "station" - Mortimer MP QW360.0. As you said, the interlocking and signal was removed due to removal of the switch for the siding.

[Otto Vondrak]

Interesting to note that CSX still acknowledges Mortimer as a station on the West Shore Branch...

I'm going to label my photos of LAL at the switch behind Firestone as "Mortimer" and not lose any sleep over it! ;-) Mortimer is just that much more descriptive than Henrietta.

-otto-

[TB Diamond]

clearblock: Great clarification on the present name of what was formerly Mortimer Int. Otto: Am I correct in understanding that the switch connecting the former LV Rochester Branch and the former E-L line to Avon is compass south of Jefferson Road? Been a long time since I have been in the area and lack current track diagrams.

[clearblock]

Yes it is south of Jefferson Rd, behind the Firestone store in Southtown Plaza as Otto said in the post that started this thread.

This realignment resulted in a single track crossing of Jefferson Rd for the LA&L.

Here is a link to an aerial photo:

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image. ... 34&W=1&qs=%