Railroad Forums 

For discussion of the various Class III Lines of WATCO Companies. Class II holdings should be discussed in the relevant separate forums above.

Their website is here: http://www.watcocompanies.com/
A list of their holdings is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watco_Companies
 #1494904  by charlie6017
 
A few weeks ago I was out near Geneva and drove 14 from the thruway. They have some cars still stored south of
Packwood Rd. Have to wonder how good the ties are are north of there. All kinds of funky things growing in there
at Lyons, too. Hasn't been a train over those tracks since God was a baby.

Charlie
 #1494928  by charlie6017
 
BR&P wrote:Charlie, it depends on what your definition of "a long time" is. I don't have the date that line went dormant but believe it was about 10 years ago.
That sounds about right. In the FGLK thread, there's a link to an article that says NY route 174 near Syracuse is closed account
of damage to the liner of the tunnel/culvert that carries FGLK over the highway. I'm sure NYDOT will keep the railroad's feet to
the fire to get it repaired ASAP.

If for some reason the repair of said tunnel were to require no rail traffic moving above, the connection at Lyons could be
necessary wouldn't it?

Charlie
 #1494939  by BR&P
 
charlie6017 wrote:
That sounds about right. In the FGLK thread, there's a link to an article that says NY route 174 near Syracuse is closed account
of damage to the liner of the tunnel/culvert that carries FGLK over the highway. I'm sure NYDOT will keep the railroad's feet to
the fire to get it repaired ASAP.

If for some reason the repair of said tunnel were to require no rail traffic moving above, the connection at Lyons could be
necessary wouldn't it?

Charlie
This is my speculation, not anything official. I still am not convinced the repair is FGLK's responsibility altho you'd expect that would have been brought up by their president in the news article if it was incorrect.

But keep in mind the Geneva-Lyons segment belongs to NS, not FGLK. They have no obligation nor benefit to reactivate it. In fact, it would help their competition. There would be additional costs involved - a complete inspection first, signal issues, possibly drainage....who knows? Who will pay for that? Also, in today's focus on being a "wholesale" transportation provider which keeps trains moving, I can't see CSX wanting to re-open Lyons as an interchange point. My admittedly uninformed guess is they much prefer having everything move through Dewitt. Whether enough political pressure could be exerted to get everybody on the same page or not, I don't know.

COULD it happen? Yes. WILL it happen? My guess is no. But again, there may be other factors here which I'm not aware of so we'll just have to wait and see.
 #1495021  by Matt Langworthy
 
nessman wrote:Wonder if NS will lease the entire Corning Secondary to the FGLK then?
Foamers have been wanting the lease or sale of the line for years, but it's unlikely to happen. Ownership of the Corning Secondary gives NS greater control of their interchange with FGLK.
 #1495025  by Matt Langworthy
 
Getting back to ITHR, the crew goes on duty in Ithaca at 8 AM. The train usually arrives in Sayre around mid-day. I've heard rumors that a 3rd locomotive will be sent there soon, but nothing to substantiate them yet. WATCO has painted some of their locomotives (on other shortlines) in the colors of a local high school or university, so there is a possibility that Cornell red could return to the former LV.
 #1495798  by nessman
 
BR&P wrote:
nessman wrote:Wonder if NS will lease the entire Corning Secondary to the FGLK then?
Why would they want it?
I guess the question is why would NS want to keep it when they can let someone else operate/maintain it. Other than the FLGK interchange in Geneva, there isn't much else on the line as far as NS traffic is concerned.
 #1495799  by nessman
 
Matt Langworthy wrote:
nessman wrote:Wonder if NS will lease the entire Corning Secondary to the FGLK then?
Foamers have been wanting the lease or sale of the line for years, but it's unlikely to happen. Ownership of the Corning Secondary gives NS greater control of their interchange with FGLK.
Whether they interchange in Corning or Geneva - NS would still have that control.

Never say never I suppose... but with CSX and NS spinning off more branchlines - this would fit into that model. I guess we'll have to wait and see when/if that ever happens.