LA&L utilization of former LV Rochester Branch

[TB Diamond]

How often does the LA&L utilize the former Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Branch down to Lehigh Station Road? Last I knew (over 20 years ago) there was but one customer on this segment, a building supply company on Lehigh Station Road.

[apratt]

I would imagine it's only on an as-needed basis. A couple of weeks ago there were two cars, a boxcar and a center-beam flatcar, in Matthews & Fields Lumber. There is another customer across the street, High Point Mills, which mixes Turf Line brand fertilizer products. There was a covered hopper spotted there earlier this spring.

[Luther Brefo]

Back before the LA&L got the line ( when Conrail was still around) there were several other customers on the line including Rochester Telephone Co. (Frontier) and Golden Foods (McDonalds distributor). Both are no longer active rail users. The siding for Golden Foods appears to run back into the building. The switch is no longer in however.

[Matt Langworthy]

How often does the LA&L utilize the former Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Branch down to Lehigh Station Road? Last I knew (over 20 years ago) there was but one customer on this segment, a building supply company on Lehigh Station Road.

I worked at a company near the Jefferson Road crossing in 2003 and early 2004, so I observed LA&L movements on a regular basis. At that time, it seemed that the LA&L would go down the Mortimer Secondary(?) once or twice a week. There were some weeks when the LA&L did not travel down the branch at all. I don't know if that patter has changed... but I did observe movements on the ex-LV in both 2005 and last month. Here is the LA&L coming down the line to drop off a car at Matthews & Fields:



Photo taken by me Friday 10/16/2009 in Henrietta, NY.

[Matt Langworthy]

When switching Matthews & Fields, the LA&L uses a truck to help protect the spur where it crosses Lehigh Station Road:



Photo taken by me Friday 10/16/2009 in Henrietta, NY.

[Matt Langworthy]

The LA&L drops the car off at Matthews & Fields:



Photo taken by me Friday 10/16/2009 in Henrietta, NY. It should be noted that Matthews & Fields is a longtime rail customer, going back to at least the later days of the Lehigh Valley RR.

[Matt Langworthy]

On the return trip, the LA&L crossed West Henrietta Road:



Photo taken by me Friday 10/16/2009 in Henrietta, NY. This crossing is unusual because it has traffic lights to govern both road and rail traffic- not a common occurence!