Diamond crossings in NY

Railroaded and others

The diamond you mention just south of the River Bridge in Buffalo near CP Draw is clearly seen on photos provided by the software called Google Earth. (It's free, but you need a relatively good computer to use it well). In this software, if you "fly" to lattitude 42°51'25.43"N longitude 78°51'02.26"W you can see the diamond (or what used to be the diamond) clearly.

Is the diamond still in existence? Although the photo says copyright 2005, I am curious as to whether or not this particular diamond is still there. My own photography says it is not. This is a large (1 megabyte) picture of that area, taken from Tifft Street, looking north towards River Bridge, and although the diamond is (or should be) off in the distance, I think I should see it in this view and I don't. My picture was taken 6/6/2004. The reason I think my picture is newer than the one used by Google Earth is that you can see that the track leading off of River Bridge aligns with the middle of the three tracks mainline tracks in my photo, but it sure ain't that way at Google Earth.

Another diamond to the "gone" list - DL&W/LV(ex-EC&N) in Caroline, near Ithaca.

My father (Bill) has a photo of this diamond, we just found it recently.

Also he is sure that the DL&W always crossed over the Erie in Chemung. Otherwise there would have been a tower to protect the diamond, and there was a LOT of traffic on both main lines. There would have been plenty of delays from both roads had there been a diamond there.

Was the EC&N/Auburn branch meeting point originally a diamond or an interchange?

nydepot wrote:I thought that was still in use. I've seen tank cars down at Jones Chemical. The R&S uses that switch in the background then heads across the diamond to downtown Caledonia.

Charles

Okay, we're getting off topic here (or are we?). Are the NYC tracks at that diamond still in use? I dunno if it is or not, but those NYC tracks are pretty rusty and if you follow those NYC tracks to the east towards Caledonia, you see this (facing west) and then this (facing east) and further east you can see this (facing wast again). I can't see how they get tank cars into Caledonia using those old NYC tracks.

Interesting, I know they were getting tank cars last summer and Jones is on the NYC just passed the Rt. 36 crossing. I photographed the train from P&L Junction to Jones Chemical with a stop behind the bean plant on Rt. 5. It was a single car and single engine. I wonder if they stopped getting chlorine by rail?

Charles

As to the diamond in Sodus, last autumn (so now about a year ago) I was in Sodus NY. Then I observed that north of route 104 the PRR track is completely gone just the lower vegetation tells there has been a railway lineand also the diamond has been removed. South of the route 104 and the Ontario Midland track a few box cars are visible almost completely surounded by trees these must be there for decades.

Gijs

How far back do you want to go to find "diamonds". Last night I looked at something I have that showed Chenango and Susquehanna (later DL&W) and West Shore crossing (C&S single, WS double) outside Utica as well as C&S and high speed electric line in same area.

Well, the one from the NS "Westbound" over CSX track 2 to the CSX track 1 is still there. I have a photo that I took myself last winter. I can't tell by looking at your picture-it's too compressed and blurry so guess I'll have to go over there and look for the other one over track 3 myself.

-I'll get back to you.

-B in B

nydepot wrote:Interesting, I know they were getting tank cars last summer and Jones is on the NYC just passed the Rt. 36 crossing. I photographed the train from P&L Junction to Jones Chemical with a stop behind the bean plant on Rt. 5. It was a single car and single engine. I wonder if they stopped getting chlorine by rail?

Charles

Charles – I too last witnessed a move into Jones Chemical in early 2004.

A single locomotive and tank car (with power on the west end) backed west out of what’s left of the P&L yard onto the old Peanut “main” and stopped just a few feet west of the switch. The switch was then thrown and a slow move east over the Peanut/G&W diamond commenced.

Don’t know if Jones still receives chlorine rail. I'm past the plant on occasion but have not paid it much attention. …FB

Well, I took a ride over to CP 2 today and no doubt about it, both of those diamonds are still there and also found out that CSX is getting ready to replace the 3 Main/Beach Lead crossing since there's already a new one laying on the ground waiting to be installed.

-B in B

The NY Central Troy & Schenectady crossed the D&H Colonie Main between Cohoes and Watervliet/Green Island:

http://www.lakemirabel.com/Railroad/Tan ... sDandH.jpg

Yes, the DL&W did cross the West Shore in the Utica/New Hartford area, but can't get a good photo of it.

How could we forget Mechanicville N.Y.- ex train town. There was a dimond there for years on this major D and H, B and M hub.

I remember the diamond at Erwins where the Erie Rochester branch crossed the DL&W main line. In the 1950s it was protected by a signal which was clearly visible from old US 15.

I wonder how the Erie crew notified the DL&W to allow them to cross? By the late 50s the Erie was crossing the DL&W twice each weekday.

The Olean Electric trolley company crossed the Pittsburg Shawmut and Northern RR at grade in Ceres NY, a few feet from the PA state line for 20 years from the 1901 into the 1920s. Unfortunately, this cannot be seen on the USGS maps because the Olean SE quadrant map is from 1898.

That 1898 USGS map does show the PS&N's predecessor company, the Central New York and Western which had been reorganized from the bankrupcy of the Lackawanna and Pittsburg. The Lackawanna and Pittsburg itself had acquired this narrow gauge trackage from the Allegany Central which ran from Olean to Angelica NY. The L&P operated from Olean to Wayland NY where it connected with the DL&W.

The 1898 map shows the CNY&W when it was still a narrow gauge line. At Mill Grove NY this line appears to cross the Western NY & Penna. RR Buffalo Div at grade. My guess based on the topography and connecting switch south of the crossover. This begs the question, how did the narrow gauge CN&W connect with the standard gauge Western NY & Penna. RR?

In the SW quadrant of the Olean USGS map you can see where the Erie main line crosses the Western NY & Penna RR in a much busier time. This diamond is still active.

DL&W/Erie at Erwins (Erie was tangent, DL&W was S-curve, which remains)

DL&W/PRR at DM Tower Buffalo

Erie/Tonawanda Valley & Cuba at Cuba

NYC Fallbrook/Erie at Corning before Erie relocation

Himrod Jct (PRR/NYC)?

LV/PRR Canandaigua Branch at Stanley

NYC Auburn Road/PRR Elmira Branch at Phelps Jct

WDB

There was a diamond between the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley and the Ulster & Delaware a bit east of Oneonta. Was removed soon after the D&H took over the C&CV.