B&H interchange with NS at Painted Post

Does anyone know why they interchange at Painted Post via single track street running instead of going into Gang Mills yard?

I have witnessed this once and it took a bit of time to complete. Because of the single track and no siding long enough, their train is preventing exit. LA&L had to wait for NS to show up without blocking the residential street. Next, they had to deal with the locked gate at the plant there. ... They go out near the Y and take the siding. NS comes in and had to go a distance ( ¾ mile?) because of the street running to hook up. NS comes back out and heads for the yard to clear so LA&L can get out of the siding.

It was an hour to an hour and a half process including wait time. The locals did not seem to mind this big train coming down the middle of their bucolic little place. In-fact, people were out watching the action! LA&L had some pretty well maintained Alcos there, they looked fresh.

But, why not just pull into Gang Mills Yard which is right there anyway?

Almost guaranteed it's a Union thing. Awhile back when Dresser Rand went on strike, B&H ran into the yard because NS couldn't cross the picket line to deliver the inbounds.

There are always union concerns, but there have been times when the B&H, or at least their engines, have made it into the yard at Gang Mills. I can't tell you all details, because I don't know any, but there is not some sort of union embargo.

Dave Becker

This a the video of the event near Dresser Rand. --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKJdrm1LAWM

Some observations about the LA&L as seen;

-All the equipment on LA&L was in great condition, the 424 looked spotless.
-I really liked the high contrast paint on the engines, and good detail. Notice they painted the door frames to match the railing, it makes them stand out.
-All the brakemen on LA&L wear a uniform neon yellow shirt and looked, well, professional.
-I never like any close up’s of the crew but notice brakeman hustle back to his engine after throwing the switch.

Dedicated to the working man, enjoy…

Two questions; This is the ex Erie track, correct? And is the Y there operational, does anyone know?

sean3f wrote:
Two questions; This is the ex Erie track, correct? And is the Y there operational, does anyone know?

yes, Erie through Painted Post..west of PP it reverts to DL&W..

I have some Corning maps here:
http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/maps/
that show the predecessor roads..

and I believe the wye is still intact..
there has been a lot of construction in the area the last few years..looks like one of the NS bridges was rebuilt or replaced..
but as far as I know the wye is still complete..can anyone confirm?
next time I drive through there, (probably in a few weeks) I will take a look in person..

Bing map photo a few years old:
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=r0s9fp ... 88&lvl=1&s

Scot

The wye is intact...referred to as the "A spur" and the "B spur", which I take to mean the west leg and the east leg of the wye, respectively. If you look at Painted Post on Google maps they have a satellite picture of the area while still under construction...the two legs of the wye are shown connected into what I believe is a temporary main track while the new bridge is being constructed. Currently the main runs on the new bridge, but making the connection to the two legs of the wye would have been relatively simple.

Saw the LAL #424 in Painted Post with a new emblem stating 1965-2010 45 years of the LAL underneath the lettering. Nice touch and good marketing. Are other engines to be with that large emblem? #423 didn't have it. Plus, anoher MARC passenger car went up the branch for rehab.

Rats -- I wish I'd checked this thread a week ago. I was visiting the Corning area this past weekend, and lucked into a pair of NS GP40-2's pulling a cut of cars through the street trackage of Painted Post. If I'd read this thread before my trip, I'd have known to hang around in hopes of seeing some LA&L engines...

Is this a daily operation in Painted Post, or "catch as catch can"?

Sidebar #1: the Corning Museum of Glass was rather impressive.
Sidebar #2: this former New Englander discovered that the Rockwell Museum of Western Art has nothing to do with Norman Rockwell...

Yes, the Rockwell doesn't have anything to do with Norman Rockwell. The family behind the collection is named Rockwell. They changed the name to the current format in the last decade to try and reduce the confusion but it still happens from time to time.

sjl wrote:Rats -- I wish I'd checked this thread a week ago. I was visiting the Corning area this past weekend, and lucked into a pair of NS GP40-2's pulling a cut of cars through the street trackage of Painted Post. If I'd read this thread before my trip, I'd have known to hang around in hopes of seeing some LA&L engines...

Is this a daily operation in Painted Post, or "catch as catch can"?

It's often M-W-F but the schedule is not set in stone. The B&H will run on other days if customer demand warrants it.

I just returned from the Bath & Hammondsport today and can tell you they run up to five days-M-F. The best place to catch them first is at the Mill Street crossing at Coopers Plains. Be there between 8-9 am everyday. The gas business is booming. They keep their locomotive there outside in good weather. Friday, they go to Cohocton in the late PM to close out the week and put the engines away in the shop. They do not run weekends. They go to Painted Post almost everyday depending on what NS has waiting for them and what they need to deliver to NS.
Most of the traffic is gas tank cars and often they run with 3 locomotives. 50 to 75 cars per train sometimes.
The sun is best in early morning going east and best in mid afternoon westbound.

Side note; On Weds, the WNY&P sometimes runs a train to Hornell which is 20 miles away. Good place to go if nothing else is active.
Alcoman

Most times, I've caught the eastbound B&H train at Coopers around 11:00 AM.
Here's a video I shot a few weeks ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_vN_BFUr0Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Enjoy,
Lee Carlson