Railroad Forums 

  • On this date in Rochester rail history...

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #1368339  by BR&P
 
NEW YORK CENTRAL & HUDSON RIVER RR CO
Western Division
Telegraphic Train Order
Superintendent's office Roch - Jany 27th, 1888
To Conductor and Engineman of 552 & 558 at Otis

Feel your way against coal trains to Charlotte & back

12 GHB
(time received partly illegible, "2:xxPM")
Weston, Conductor Pawelson (sp?) and Thaney Enginemen

Got to love the wording on that order. I can just imagine running into something and saying "Oh, FEELS like a coal train!" :P
 #1368804  by BR&P
 
January 29, 1881

Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad was incorporated, eventually functioning as a successor to the Rochester & State Line. It later became part of the BR&P.
 #1375335  by BR&P
 
A couple B&O train orders:

Order No. 113 Punxy March 15 1963
TO C&E Eng 4212 At Ashford
Eng 4212 run extra Ashford to Lincoln Park
LWF
Com 3:15 PM Conner Operator



-----------------------

Order no. 114 Punxy March 15, 1963
To C&E Eastward trains to Roch Sub Div At Ashford
Eng 9406 works extra 501 five one Pm until 201 two onw Am between Leroy and Brookdale not protecting against extra trains except protects against Extra 4212 East after 720 seven twenty Pm and protects against Extra 4512 West after 845 eight forty five Pm.
LWF
Com 410 Pm Conner Operator

------------------------

The 4212 was a Baldwin Sharknose, the 4512 was an EMD F7, and the 9406 was an EMD SW900 switcher. The 9406 would have been the Leroy switcher. And while none are mentioned in these orders, at this time one could still find B&O FA units working on this line as well.

How times have changed, and not for the better railroad-wise! :(
 #1377753  by Matt Langworthy
 
3/30/1976: LV assembled all of the remaining freight cars at Manchester and sent them to Sayre in a single train. This was in preparation for Conrail, which took over operations two days later. Several photographers took their final shots of both LV and EL on this date, as the following day was rather rainy.
 #1377816  by TB Diamond
 
Correct.

The train that made the final pickup at Manchester on 30 March 1976 was the Extra 412 East which originated at Tifft Terminal and went east with just one box car and a caboose. All cars that were ready for movement were picked up and this included several cars of scrap, a crane and some cars of m/o/w equipment.

I took several photos plus some motion picture film of this activity, the only person to do so to my knowledge and observation. Just as the train was preparing to depart east another person did come up and conversed with me. He then left for home in order to grab his camera. Believe he caught the train between Manchester and Geneva.
 #1377857  by BR&P
 
Matt Langworthy wrote: Several photographers took their final shots of both LV and EL on this date, as the following day was rather rainy.
March 31, 1976 While the wusses stayed in out of the rain, the real fans were busy trying to get ONE more shot of the LV in action. :wink:
 #1377911  by TB Diamond
 
Must make me a "real fan", at least back in those days.

Arose way before dark that damp and overcast Wednesday morning 31 March 1976 and headed east then south to Gilbert Cut. From there on it was a blur. Found out that NE-1 was out ahead of AP-1. Spent many a quarter at various pay phones calling the Buffalo Division dispatcher office at Niagara Jct. (no cell phones back in those days, guys) attempting to ascertain where AP-1 would run around NE-1. "P&L Jct." came the voice of authority, finally. Caught the action right at the B&O crossing. Then off to Niagara Junction. The tower and dispatcher office contained several rail enthusiasts so after garnering some info it was off to Batavia where the last AP-2 was photographed. Darkness had about descended so took a break. Knew that the last COJ-32 was coming as well as the last ME-1. Set up at Blacksmith Int.to at least see one of the trains but there was to be no action. The w/b absolute at Blacksmith was set at high green but by 10:00 P.M. my fatigue and patience ran out. Took a few photos of the signal and left for home.

The next day it was on the road again in order to catch the first ex-LVRR ConRail trains but that is another story.
 #1377915  by CPSmith
 
BR&P wrote:
Matt Langworthy wrote: Several photographers took their final shots of both LV and EL on this date, as the following day was rather rainy.
March 31, 1976 While the wusses stayed in out of the rain, the real fans were busy trying to get ONE more shot of the LV in action. :wink:
"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;" ... Sorry - apparently I'm channeling my inner Linus ...

The last day, with rain, at Rochester Junction:
..
 #1377919  by Old & Weary
 
Ten days before March 30th, on the 20th, 324-325- and 318 with Caboose 95019 arrived at Manchester after Running light from Sayre. They cleaned out three full tracks of beat up junk and departed East with 4 cars of wreckage from the Jan. 1976 wreck in Manchester Yard, 19 box cars, 106 gondolas and 1 flat. This pretty well emptied the yard as of that date. Going through Clifton Springs, they passed the burro crane and some gondolas heading slowly west bound. The crane was rigged with a magnet and picking up any loose tie plates, spikes or anything else metal along the right of way. I got the impression talking to some crew members of the pick up train that the Lehigh Valley could dispose of any scrap which was removed and sold prior to Conrail day and this somehow benefited them, hence the push to grab anything disposable.
 #1377921  by BR&P
 
The LV infrastructure there was not conveyed to Conrail, but remained the property of the LV Estate. Some parts of it were not sold off until several years after the formation of Conrail. So a given tie plate lying on the LV ballast was LV property both before and after the CR start-up.

However, the employees became Conrail employees on Day One, and CR obviously was not going to pay Conrail money to pick up Lehigh Valley's scrap metal for them.

I don't think the last-minute scrap collection was a function of the material, but more likely the available manpower.
 #1377925  by Matt Langworthy
 
BR&P wrote:
Matt Langworthy wrote: Several photographers took their final shots of both LV and EL on this date, as the following day was rather rainy.
March 31, 1976 While the wusses stayed in out of the rain, the real fans were busy trying to get ONE more shot of the LV in action. :wink:
No doubt the photographers like TB Diamond, CPSmith, Devan Lawton, Don Jilson, etc. were/are hearty souls. With that being said, I wouldn't be too hard on the folks who stayed home. The visibility on the 30th was clearly better than the 31st due to the weather conditions. If a fan could only choose just ONE of those 2 days, I could see why some might have chosen the 30th over the 31st. Also, rain does pose a risk to cameras. I've managed to ruin a couple of Sony W370s by being bullheaded and staying out in the rain to catch some more shots. Mind you, W370s are relatively cheap cameras. My expensive Nikon stays in the car or at home when rain falls. I'd be willing to bet the folks who stayed home on the 31st may have thought the same thing, especially if they had expensive cameras. I can't really fault them for making a pragmatic decision. They may have been looking forward to the beginning of Conrail, as well. A damaged camera wouldn't have caught that action.

Getting back to the subject at hand, it seems that most of the photos from the 31st captured the end of the LV mainline... which is understandable because alot of PC and EL in upstate NY was initially intact after C-Day. Did anyone reading this capture final runs on former EL or LV branchlines?
 #1377944  by TB Diamond
 
Forty years ago I was utilizing a Topcon Super D and a Nikon F2 for still photos. Always kept the cameras under cover until a shot was to be taken. Never suffered a camera malfunction account dampness. A spare cloth took care of any accumulated moisture.

Do believe we who ventured forth on a damp 31 March 1976 did so in order to record history with any possible damage to camera equipment a distant thought.
 #1377954  by BR&P
 
TB Diamond wrote:Do believe we who ventured forth on a damp 31 March 1976 did so in order to record history with any possible damage to camera equipment a distant thought.
Exactly! What's the point of even owning a camera you are afraid to use, especially on such an occasion? Some of the most adverse conditions can yield the most unusual and desirable shots.

It was a strange and almost unreal feeling - after chasing east from Caledonia, Fishell Road was going to be the last chance for a shot. I snapped the caboose and then just watched the Lehigh Valley disappear for good. The photo quality may not be the best but the subject matter is irreplaceable.
 #1377973  by sd80mac
 
Wish I knew about March 31 and April 1st... I was young at that time and wasn't aware of what's going on.

First time I found out that EL was no longer was when I visited my grandparents in Syracuse. And I asked grandpa to take me to his old workplace - EL Fayette yard- for the ride. As he drove up the ramp and I saw the new CR sign replacing EL sign. I was shocked and torn... That's the first business of any kind that I knew of that other company can take over other... lets see... 1976.. I was 8...

Born a bit too late....
  • 1
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16