by bwparker1
Three trips have been posted on the following website:
http://www.lehighvalleyrr.com/
of particular interest, as the entire trip is within New York State is the following tour:
Buffalo Grain Elevator
Bus - Water Tour
On Saturday July 19, 2008, the Cornell Railroad Historical Society will be hosting a motor coach excursion from Ithaca to Buffalo, NY, featuring a two-hour, narrated boat tour of the historic waterfront, followed by visits to various railroad sights in the Queen City. The excursion will depart Ithaca at 7:15 AM and arrive in Buffalo at 11:00 AM, when a box lunch will be delivered. The tour group will have ample time to eat lunch and enjoy the pleasant surroundings of the Erie Basin Marina, before boarding the excursion vessel Miss Buffalo II for the harbor tour. The boat tour will be expertly narrated by members of the Buffalo Industrial Heritage Committee and will cover the extensive rail-served industrial structures of Buffalo’s Inner Harbor and the Buffalo River, specifically the numerous extant grain elevators. The waterside grain elevator was invented in Buffalo by Joseph Dart and more exist there than anywhere else. These massive structures once served as the eastern water-to-rail transfer point for grain from the US Midwest states and Canadian Prairie Provinces, but Buffalo’s importance as a grain port declined after the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. (The Seaway substantially changed grain traffic patterns, which mostly bypassed the Port of Buffalo.) Several of the elevators are sti,ll active though, including the huge General Mills facility where Cheerios and other cereal products are made. Lake freighters loaded with grain still call on the plant, and hopefully one will be in port at the time of our visit. After the harbor tour, we’ll visit the shops of Metro Rail, Buffalo’s light rail system (tentative). Following the shop tour, we’ll board the bus for a narrated driving tour of the area’s railroad points of interest, including the massive Art Deco Buffalo Central Terminal (built in 1929), the restored Lehigh Valley Williamsville and B&O Orchard Park depots, and the former Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant. A dinner stop (not included in the fare) will be made in suburban Buffalo before starting our return trip. Our expected arrival in Ithaca is 10:00 PM. (Minor trip details are subject to change.)
http://www.lehighvalleyrr.com/
of particular interest, as the entire trip is within New York State is the following tour:
Buffalo Grain Elevator
Bus - Water Tour
On Saturday July 19, 2008, the Cornell Railroad Historical Society will be hosting a motor coach excursion from Ithaca to Buffalo, NY, featuring a two-hour, narrated boat tour of the historic waterfront, followed by visits to various railroad sights in the Queen City. The excursion will depart Ithaca at 7:15 AM and arrive in Buffalo at 11:00 AM, when a box lunch will be delivered. The tour group will have ample time to eat lunch and enjoy the pleasant surroundings of the Erie Basin Marina, before boarding the excursion vessel Miss Buffalo II for the harbor tour. The boat tour will be expertly narrated by members of the Buffalo Industrial Heritage Committee and will cover the extensive rail-served industrial structures of Buffalo’s Inner Harbor and the Buffalo River, specifically the numerous extant grain elevators. The waterside grain elevator was invented in Buffalo by Joseph Dart and more exist there than anywhere else. These massive structures once served as the eastern water-to-rail transfer point for grain from the US Midwest states and Canadian Prairie Provinces, but Buffalo’s importance as a grain port declined after the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. (The Seaway substantially changed grain traffic patterns, which mostly bypassed the Port of Buffalo.) Several of the elevators are sti,ll active though, including the huge General Mills facility where Cheerios and other cereal products are made. Lake freighters loaded with grain still call on the plant, and hopefully one will be in port at the time of our visit. After the harbor tour, we’ll visit the shops of Metro Rail, Buffalo’s light rail system (tentative). Following the shop tour, we’ll board the bus for a narrated driving tour of the area’s railroad points of interest, including the massive Art Deco Buffalo Central Terminal (built in 1929), the restored Lehigh Valley Williamsville and B&O Orchard Park depots, and the former Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant. A dinner stop (not included in the fare) will be made in suburban Buffalo before starting our return trip. Our expected arrival in Ithaca is 10:00 PM. (Minor trip details are subject to change.)
