JoeS wrote:I don't see any hills in the background so I have a hard time believing this is in western NY. I looked at the double track segment through Alden but the poles are on the wrong side (assuming the picture is looking westbound) and the Buffalo line had been single-tracked by then.
I would guess Ohio or Indiana, maybe PA? It doesn't "feel" WNY to me.
Having photographed NS at Ashland just about a month ago, I can tell you a shot like the one shown above is entirely possible if the photographer doesn't pan out too far. The valley floor is fairly wide there. It is been longer since I've shot in Big Flats, but I'm pretty sure similar conditions would exist there. There also seems to be a bit of haze in the background, which might obscure low hills in the distance.
As an Elmira native, I can tell you that area is
not western NY. Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Twin Tiers all describe the region well but neither Chemung County (which includes both Big Flats and Ashland) nor Steuben County were referred to as western NY when I lived there. There has been a push in recent years to include everything west of Rt 14 as western NY, but I don't agree with it. I agree with the map makers who generally use the Genesee River as the dividing line.