Oswego, NY Abandonment dates

Hi, I have a few questions pertaining to the railroads that once operated within the city of Oswego, NY.

1) I'm looking for all of the the abandonment dates for the tracks in downtown Oswego
-Former New York Central tracks along West Utica St. and Oswego River Bridge
-Former D,L & W tracks on east side of West Utica St.to tunnel under E. Utica and W. First Streets, down the west side of the Oswego River
-Former O & W track through tunnel, then along E. Third St. and E. Schuyler Streets.

2) Where was the O & W passenger depot located?

3) When was the D, L & W passenger depot on W. Utica Street demolished?

4) Why was the tunnel between first and Bridge St. O & W right-of-way, but all trackage opposite side of E. First St., including everthing on the west side of the Oswego river and bridge NYC ROW? Was East First St. (The tunnel) the northernmost point on the O & W. To the best of my knowledge, there were no O & W customers, structures etc. on the west side of the river.

5) When did passenger service end on each of the three railroads in Oswego?

6) I stopped by the Oswego Railroad museum the other day while in Oswego. Unfortunately, the museum was not open, but they did however have some items on display outside of the building. Does anyone know if the small yellow shanty has anything to do with the railroad, and if so, for what, which one, and where? There were also two different Whistle-posts on display there. One appeared to be NYC, and the other O & W. Does anyone know what crossings these came from? Also had a RR crossbucks sign on display, and was wondering where that was harvested from?

Thanks, 81

The O&W station was on the west side of third and bridge streets.

The tunnel is NYC/RW&O. The NYO&W ended/started just before the tunnel on the east side. There was a cross over to the RW&O there just before the east portal.

Last DL&W passenger service Syracuse-Oswego operated 13 February 1949.

Last NYC passenger service Oswego-Rochester was 02 February 1935.

Last NYC passenger service Oswego-Pulaski was 25 September 1947.

Will find some additional .

The former NYC was originally a part of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg, a line running from Niagara Falls along Lake Ontario to Rome. The NYC had rights on the O&W between Fulton and Oswego and eventually took over that segment when the O&W quit. The O&W simply never was involved with anything on the west side, although I wouldn't be surprised if they had some means to interchange with the DL&W.

Most all of those abandonments are 1977-1982 era. The DL&W side to the port was made redundant by becoming part of Conrail, and the city wanted the trains out of the streets, so when the tank farm came to be it used the DL&W from Fulton for access.

The DL&W Oswego branch, Fulton-Oswego, 10.9 miles, was abandoned on 01 April 1976. This line was subsequently conveyed to Niagara-Mohawk Power Corporation in 1978.

The DL&W coal dumper was last utilized on 07 December 1963. Thereafter it is doubtful that the line through the tunnel and out to the dumper was ever again used. After that date the Oswego switch job was abolished and all Oswego business was handled by a tri-weekly local. Walked the line along the river out to the coal pier in 1973. The track was still in but showed no use whatsoever.

Thank you all very, very much for the valuable information that you have provided in response to my questions! It has certainly filled in many blanks for me. My mother grew up in the city during the 50's & 60's, and I remember visiting my grandfather on many occasions during the late 80's and 1990's before he passed away. I really wish that I had asked him more about what he remembered of the railroads from his younger days. I'm sure that he could have provided plenty of information, and probably some interesting stories. The high school he attended on W. First Street, would have at the time overlooked both the NYC and D, L & W stations and tracks. Unfortunately, my mother and her siblings, didn't pay much attention to the railroads during their youth, due to lack of interest, and the fact that their presence was just an ordinary part of everyday city life at the time. Interestingly, I had a Great Grandfather who worked for the NYC at Oswego, and was critically injured on the job. Although he was expected to die from the injuries he sustained, he managed to make a full recovery, only to die of a heart attack his first day back on the job during 1941. Here is a photograph I found online of a Conrail train crossing the Oswego River bridge during April of 1982 before its abandonment. Seems like I recall seeing a photo of a train crossing the bridge about a decade ago that was dated 1984. Something makes me think it was the last train to cross over the river.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2791093" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks again-81

Additional Oswego passenger service discontinuations:

O&W:

Trains 42-42 (motor car) Norwich-Oswego, discontinued 27 June 1929.

NYC:

Trains 336-337 Syracuse-Oswego, discontinued in 1951.

In addition, O&W milk trains 9 & 10, Oneida-Oswego, discontinued 15 December 1931.

NYCUticaSyracuse81 wrote:Thank you all very, very much for the valuable information that you have provided in response to my questions! It has certainly filled in many blanks for me. My mother grew up in the city during the 50's & 60's, and I remember visiting my grandfather on many occasions during the late 80's and 1990's before he passed away. I really wish that I had asked him more about what he remembered of the railroads from his younger days. I'm sure that he could have provided plenty of information, and probably some interesting stories. The high school he attended on W. First Street, would have at the time overlooked both the NYC and D, L & W stations and tracks. Unfortunately, my mother and her siblings, didn't pay much attention to the railroads during their youth, due to lack of interest, and the fact that their presence was just an ordinary part of everyday city life at the time. Interestingly, I had a Great Grandfather who worked for the NYC at Oswego, and was critically injured on the job. Although he was expected to die from the injuries he sustained, he managed to make a full recovery, only to die of a heart attack his first day back on the job during 1941. Here is a photograph I found online of a Conrail train crossing the Oswego River bridge during April of 1982 before its abandonment. Seems like I recall seeing a photo of a train crossing the bridge about a decade ago that was dated 1984. Something makes me think it was the last train to cross over the river.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2791093" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks again-81

Great pic! With the Hojack being severed between Oswego and Hannibal in 1978, what was generating such a big move across the bridge?

Matt Langworthy wrote: Great pic! With the Hojack being severed between Oswego and Hannibal in 1978, what was generating such a big move across the bridge?

Are you sure on that 1978 date Matt? Can't swear to it, but I thought that segment did not survive past the CR startup on April 1976.

The former "East Hojack" (Ontario Secondary), Oswego-Hannibal, 8.1 miles, abandoned 22 January 1978

OMID abandoned the Ontario Secondary Track, Red Creek-Hannibal 05 October 1980

TB Diamond wrote:The former "East Hojack" (Ontario Secondary), Oswego-Hannibal, 8.1 miles, abandoned 22 January 1978

OMID abandoned the Ontario Secondary Track, Red Creek-Hannibal 05 October 1980

Thanks TBD - Matt was correct.

The OMID segment I do recall, there was one year of operations under OMID and the final trip was an excursion using NRHS coaches.

Hannibal was not a favorite place for OMID extra crew guys. They would work their full-time jobs, then catch a Hannibal run out of Sodus. Running time alone was about 3 hours one way. If there was switching at North Rose, Wolcott and/or Red Creek in addition to Hannibal, they could find themselves dragging back into Sodus at 2AM - and then facing a 45 minute ride home and a 6AM start to their regular job in the morning. It was another example of how the fun of railfanning is sometimes quite different from the reality of railroading.

Matt Langworthy wrote:

NYCUticaSyracuse81 wrote:Thank you all very, very much for the valuable information that you have provided in response to my questions! It has certainly filled in many blanks for me. My mother grew up in the city during the 50's & 60's, and I remember visiting my grandfather on many occasions during the late 80's and 1990's before he passed away. I really wish that I had asked him more about what he remembered of the railroads from his younger days. I'm sure that he could have provided plenty of information, and probably some interesting stories. The high school he attended on W. First Street, would have at the time overlooked both the NYC and D, L & W stations and tracks. Unfortunately, my mother and her siblings, didn't pay much attention to the railroads during their youth, due to lack of interest, and the fact that their presence was just an ordinary part of everyday city life at the time. Interestingly, I had a Great Grandfather who worked for the NYC at Oswego, and was critically injured on the job. Although he was expected to die from the injuries he sustained, he managed to make a full recovery, only to die of a heart attack his first day back on the job during 1941. Here is a photograph I found online of a Conrail train crossing the Oswego River bridge during April of 1982 before its abandonment. Seems like I recall seeing a photo of a train crossing the bridge about a decade ago that was dated 1984. Something makes me think it was the last train to cross over the river.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2791093" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks again-81

Great pic! With the Hojack being severed between Oswego and Hannibal in 1978, what was generating such a big move across the bridge?

The train from Dewitt was still using/going to the NYC yard on the west side of the river at that time.

IIRC, WAG's vintage ex-B&M outside braced wood boxcars went someplace in Oswego in part because they'd fit through the tunnel. Or so it's been said in various publications over the years. I don't know what port facilities were on the DL&W side besides the dumper. But I presume there were some other customers out there.

The D&H coach at the state fairgrounds was on that last train from Red Creek to Hannibal.

Worth noting that as part of the Niagara Mohawk deal, about a mile of the East Hojack is still in place, and a siding up to the steam plant itself existed into the 1990s. It's joined to the DL&W with a near horseshoe curve on the southwest side of the city. The tank farm itself actually is on both sides of the ROW.

RSD15 wrote:The train from Dewitt was still using/going to the NYC yard on the west side of the river at that time.

Thank you, sir.

Now I am curious about the reason USRA and/or Conrail chose to use the Red Creek-Hannibal segment instead of Oswego-Hannibal, which was shorter and did not cross county lines. As I recall (maybe BR&P said it?), OMID abandonned the Red Creek-Hannibal segment because Cayuga County refused to pay for track maintenance.

BR&P wrote:

TB Diamond wrote:The former "East Hojack" (Ontario Secondary), Oswego-Hannibal, 8.1 miles, abandoned 22 January 1978

OMID abandoned the Ontario Secondary Track, Red Creek-Hannibal 05 October 1980

Thanks TBD - Matt was correct.

The OMID segment I do recall, there was one year of operations under OMID and the final trip was an excursion using NRHS coaches.

Hannibal was not a favorite place for OMID extra crew guys. They would work their full-time jobs, then catch a Hannibal run out of Sodus. Running time alone was about 3 hours one way. If there was switching at North Rose, Wolcott and/or Red Creek in addition to Hannibal, they could find themselves dragging back into Sodus at 2AM - and then facing a 45 minute ride home and a 6AM start to their regular job in the morning. It was another example of how the fun of railfanning is sometimes quite different from the reality of railroading.

They would not be rested and therefore not called for the 6 AM job.

FRA rules.