I grew up in Brooklyn and on Long Island fascinated by trains -- the Long Island Railroad, the New York City subway system, and when we visited my aunt in New Jersey, I was fascinated by the "Hudson Tubes" and whatever railroads I saw in NJ.
I went to college in Buffalo in 1973. I took Amtrak from NYC to Buffalo. Seemed like a mile walk from the platforms at Buffalo Central Terminal to the taxicabs. I was fascinated by the railroads in Buffalo and by BCT. But in those pre-internet days, I really had no way of learning much about the railroads nor was there any way I could figure out where all those tracks went. One summer I lived on Flower Street in Buffalo, a couple of houses down from what used to be Erie and DLW trackage, and probably 1/2 mile south of International Junction, and we saw large volumes of trains going by, often carryng new cars.
I probably had never heard of Erie, DLW or Lehigh Valley back then. And yet just the other day, not realizing we were approaching the LV demise's 30th anniversary, I drove along the thruway where the LV Rochester branch passed under and I thought how I had ridden over this LV trackage in 1973 thru 1976, and other I thought of other places where the LV crossed roads I had travelled.
How sad that my first knowledge of the LV was nearly 25 years later, living in Rochester, and only when I finally started reading about the history or Rochester railroads.
I am very pleased that the LV main through Monroe Country has been turned into a useful and generally pleasing trail. Today, I find one of my favorite things to do is to hop on my bicycle and ride the LV Main over to Wadsworth Junction. A calm and pleasant place to be.
By the way, you folks should also open up the book Trackside around Buffalo 1953-1976, and re-live the events on pages 65 through 68. "Without a doubt the most somber doy on the Lehigh Valley was its last day..." The book then goes on to describe the last train movements in a very touching manner.
Paige
"If you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance" -- Lee Ann Womack
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