Medina RR Museum Santa Trains

The Medina Railroad Museum will have Santa Train excursions over the former New York Central “Falls Road” railroad line between Medina and Lockport on Fri., Nov. 26, Sat., Nov. 27, and Sun., Nov. 28,2004as well as Sat. Dec 4, Sun. Dec. 5, Sat. Dec. 11, and Sun. Dec. 12. The 2hr excursion train rides will depart Medina at 11:00am and 2:00pm as well as Lockport at 12:00 noon with Santa on board.

Each train ride will last two hours and is a 34-mile round trip. Free parking is available at the Museum in Medina or at the GVT rail yard on Michigan St at Park Ave. in Lockport.

Fares are $17.00 per person for adults, $13.00 for ages 15 through 3, while children under 3 are free. The ticket price includes the train ride and admission to the museum. The Museum is at 530 West Ave., Medina, NY. It is home to the world’s largest known collection of railroad artifacts, memorabilia, models and toys. All of the major railroads that served Buffalo NY are represented. See one of the longest HO scale trains in the USA, a 100+ car freight train runs over our 400 ft long mainline.

Gift items will be sold at the Museum while snacks and beverages will be sold onboard the trains. Coffee and cocoa are available at the Museum where donations are accepted. No smoking or alcohol is allowed. There are restrooms at the Museum and in each of the five passenger coaches. All coaches are heated.

I have taken a few trips from Medina to Lockport, and may I add, "What a nice ride." Unfortunately I will not be able to make this run. Does anyone know when excursions extend beyond Medina to Brockport? I have checked on the website and was unable to find this information.

We do not consider a trip from Lockport to Brockport very practical at this juncture. It is a six hour venture meaning only one trip per day. That pushes the price up to around $29. It was run several times by WNYRHS in 1997, '98 & '99. Most fans have been served.

We will be going to Brockport on Dec. 18 & 19 for Santa Train rides. These will be one hour rides out and back, push-pull. Trains will depart from Park Ave at 12:00, 1:30 and 3:00pm. Reservations will not be required. All tickets will be sold at the train on the day of the ride.

med-train wrote:We do not consider a trip from Lockport very practical at this juncture. It is a six hour venture meaning only one trip per day. That pushes the price up to around $29. It was run several times by WNYRHS in 1997, '98 & '99. Most fans have been served.

I took one of those trips (in 98 I believe). While it was enjoyable - my ex wasn't too happy (she thought it would be an hour excursion... ooops forgot to tell her it would be a 6 hour ordeal!! heh heh!). The big complaint was the lack of provisions for the trip - the meager snack food that was available on board for a 6-hour excursion didn't quite cut it... and towards the end of the trip, you just want to get off the damn train and get a real bite to eat.

But at the very least, they should offer the full excursion once a year. If you skip the museum stop and stay at track speed (the line has improved greatly over the years with resurfacing and grade crossing rebuilds), it can be done in under 4 hours assuming 25 MPH and a run-around in Brockport. As far as I know, for passenger trains, they can take it up to 40 MPH in places so the trip time can be closer to 3 hours.

Falls Road RR Co. rules are "maximum speed for passenger train is 25mph". Freight is allowed upto 30mph. Most gated crossing sensors are set for the 30mph limit. Villages also have ordinances for a maximum speed of 30mph. The line also has many ungated crossings on the rural roads. It will take another major upgrade to get speeds up to 40mph.

I forgot prices for the Brockport Santa Train rides. They are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $10 for kids 15yrs through 3yrs, under 3 are free.

med-train wrote:Falls Road RR Co. rules are "maximum speed for passenger train is 25mph". Freight is allowed upto 30mph. Most gated crossing sensors are set for the 30mph limit. Villages also have ordinances for a maximum speed of 30mph. The line also has many ungated crossings on the rural roads. It will take another major upgrade to get speeds up to 40mph.

Villages, cities, towns, counties and states cannot set speed limits for railroads. They think they can and they've tried before elsewhere in the country - only for the fed's to tell them otherwise.

My understanding is that FRA sets that particular track class for Freight at 25 MPH and Passenger at 40 MPH. Of course, the railroad can say otherwise as long as the federal limits aren't exceeded.