Finger Lakes Railway (FGLK) Discussion

ALCO Flower wrote:Has anyone heard about the Y in Geneva yard? Here is a shot of the FGLK GC-2 on the 18th, they dropped off two tank cars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU0nFnrShvM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Huh? What does the local switching Phelps Junction have to do with the wye at Geneva?

Nothing more than is previously posted here.

Be nice to know even where they were putting it - on the old ROW of the original wye, or tucked in using the connector to the old LV for one leg. The latter would depend on what the property boundaries are back there.

According to a trusted source, there is no immediate plan to redevelop the wye in Geneva. FGLK and NS disagree on the layout of the missing leg. FGLK wants to relay the track where it was originally, while NS prefers a longer leg with a gentler curve.

BTW, the ties on the missing leg of the wye were placed there by the church on the adjoining property. This was apparently a "sour grapes" move after the church lost a legal fight for ownership of the leg.

Matt Langworthy wrote:BTW, the ties on the missing leg of the wye were placed there by the church on the adjoining property. This was apparently a "sour grapes" move after the church lost a legal fight for ownership of the leg.

At one time some years ago, there were some bundles of ties there as if preparing to lay them out. I doubt very much that was the work of a church. Altho on a few occasions FGLK may have been praying for a wye when they needed to turn something!

The church did place the bundles of ties on the wye, according to my source. The church was rather steamed about losing the lawsuit. I do not know if they owned the ties or if they merely moved ties owned by FGLK.

This does raise a question, did either Conrail or FGLK plan to replace the wye back in the 1990s? IIRC, the church was trying to say the leg of the wye was abandoned, when in fact no paperwork had been filed with the STB (or the ICC before it).

"Before I start this week's service, let me clear up a misunderstanding. I said we need the congregation to bring us TITHES, not TIES!!!"

Matt Langworthy wrote:The church did place the bundles of ties on the wye, according to my source. The church was rather steamed about losing the lawsuit. I do not know if they owned the ties or if they merely moved ties owned by FGLK.

Let's see...a 7x9 tie weighs about 200 lbs. So a bundle of 16 would weigh about 3200 lbs. Relayers used to go about $15-20 so a bundle would be between $200 - $300.

So this church loses a lawsuit, then goes out and obtains several bundles of ties weighing over a ton and a half each, at a cost of hundreds of dollars, and puts them onto the railroad right of way out of spite.

Why am I having a hard time with this scenario?

More likely - to me at least - was the church lost the lawsuit and the RAILROAD then put the ties there.

I'm lost about the lawsuit by church that they lost? for what? why? can anyone explain more about that?

is this the same ties we are talking about?

If so, how long has it been sitting there?

Sorry for the confusion about the wye . I was asking about the wye in Geneva. Just thought I'd share the picture and video in the same comment. Also it seems that the new GC-2 power is 2001 and 2309, filmed today and that was the power.

ALCO Flower wrote: Also it seems that the new GC-2 power is 2001 and 2309, filmed today and that was the power.

Unless their policy has changed, the power is pretty much what is available at a given time. Locos come due for 92-day tests, some repair item may be noted requiring a unit to be kept at Geneva for the day, a given train may be heavier or lighter than usual thus requiring more or fewer units. While Himrod and Auburn power tended to stay the same for longer times, the GC-2 gets - or used to get - whatever happened to be available that morning. More often than not it was different each trip.

Then again, as of Thursday I'm 6 years out of touch with what they are doing.

BR&P wrote:

Matt Langworthy wrote:The church did place the bundles of ties on the wye, according to my source. The church was rather steamed about losing the lawsuit. I do not know if they owned the ties or if they merely moved ties owned by FGLK.

Let's see...a 7x9 tie weighs about 200 lbs. So a bundle of 16 would weigh about 3200 lbs. Relayers used to go about $15-20 so a bundle would be between $200 - $300.

So this church loses a lawsuit, then goes out and obtains several bundles of ties weighing over a ton and a half each, at a cost of hundreds of dollars, and puts them onto the railroad right of way out of spite.

Why am I having a hard time with this scenario?

More likely - to me at least - was the church lost the lawsuit and the RAILROAD then put the ties there.

RR ties can be purchased for landscaping. I have idea what they cost so I'll trust your judgement there. As to who originally owned the ties, you might be very well be correct about that aspect, too... although the church may have gotten them for a landscaping project. I've seen it done by other churches.

Regardless of the ownership of the ties, I'll trust the veracity of my source when he said the church put them there. Forklifts can be rented fairly cheaply, according to another friend who worked in that industry. It is also possible that a parishioner in the church already had access to a forklift, and used it to move the ties.

sd80mac wrote:I'm lost about the lawsuit by church that they lost? for what? why? can anyone explain more about that?

They wanted ownership of the land for an expansion project -my source wasn't sure what the details were. They took FGLK to court to get possession of leg of the wye (since the track is gone) and lost.

BR&P wrote:

ALCO Flower wrote: Also it seems that the new GC-2 power is 2001 and 2309, filmed today and that was the power.

Unless their policy has changed, the power is pretty much what is available at a given time. Locos come due for 92-day tests, some repair item may be noted requiring a unit to be kept at Geneva for the day, a given train may be heavier or lighter than usual thus requiring more or fewer units. While Himrod and Auburn power tended to stay the same for longer times, the GC-2 gets - or used to get - whatever happened to be available that morning. More often than not it was different each trip.

Then again, as of Thursday I'm 6 years out of touch with what they are doing.

Power for GC2 has usually been B23-7s #2310 and 2309 in recent years. As you say, 92 day inspections do happen so one or both units are taken off the train occasion. Ditto for maintenance. This particular pair gets the assignment because A. neither #2309 nor #2310 are set-up for 1 man operation and B. the six axle units typically handled the sweep (aka GS2) when they were active. This has still been the case for the most part even after the GP38-2s arrived, based on my direct observations and photos taken by other railfans.

Even though we argue quite a bit, I still wish you congratulations on your retirement.

Thanks for the good wishes Matt, between normal good-natured harassment and being a cranky old fart I'll keep you on your toes! While I enjoy keeping up with what's going on, 6 years has flown by and I'm still amazed at how little I miss it. Occasionally, yes for sure. But overall retirement is great and when I hear of all the new regs, red tape, BS and headaches in railroading today, it's not the same world I started in. I WILL say if the Railroad Retirement Board allowed part-time railroad work I would still be out there a few days a month but the way the regs are, the financial hit would be devastating.

As for the ties, hey maybe the church DID put them there. I know over the years ONCT probably pizzed off a few people, sure wish they had retaliated by putting bundles of ties on our property!