Syracuse-Rome-Utica area

I am up in the Syracuse-Rome-Utica area for a while. I am not very familiar with the area. What are some safe and legal locations to photograph CSX and Amtrak trains on the old New York Central mainline? I am primarily interested in scenic and action pictures. Thanks.--John

Good morning WestShoreMan, my personal favorite would be the pedestrian bridge at the east end of Dewitt yard. Especially when standing over the top of an am track train as it passes underneath you.

Utica Union Station offers trackside access, and the bridge over the main may again be open (haven't been down there in a while), which offers an overhead view and protection from the weather. The station side of the platform is open to the public. You can also occasionally catch ALCOs in action on the MA&N from the bridge, and the Adirondack Scenic is right there, too.

If you have a scanner, the Whitesboro defect detector can help warn of eastbounds, and CP 235 and 239 also provide a heads up when crews call the signals.

There are not a lot of crossings in the Utica/Rome area, but there are a few that can give you a spot to set up.

The mall in Syracuse provides a street level view of the tracks.

Sand Hill Road in Oneida was never too bad and now it's a dead end with the crossing removed. It used to cross in the middle of CP-263. For variety you can move to the bridge for I forget what road that's also right there.

Really there's no shortage of decent spots, from Willis Ave. in Solvay, to the Destiny USA mall parking lot, Bridge Street in East Syracuse, the footbridge, numerous grade and bridge crossings, it kind of depends what you want to see, including Finger Lakes, NYS&W and the MA&N.

Try the Beebe Bridge Rd grade crossing just east of Cananstota. It has an excellent view to the east (can see the CP 270 signals a mile or so distant atop the "Canastota flyover"), and decent view to the west. Also the spot is about midway between the Onieida and Kirkville detectors. Both come in clearly on a handheld scanner so you have ample notification of oncoming traffic.

There's plenty of parking just a few feet away in the canal trail parking lot - it's literally on top of the abandoned Westshore ROW. Aside from trains and an occasional jogger the area is nice and quiet. And if there's a lull in the train traffic there's several good eateries and bars just a couple miles away in Canastota.

...FB

Here are most of the places that I've railfanned between Utica & Syracuse. There are a number of West Shore, NYC, Lehigh Valley, & O& W remains between the two cities if you're interested. The Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern operates on part of the old NYC mainline, and R.W. & O mainline in downtown Rome usually between 11 am and 1 pm during weekdays. Also some switching at Griffis Park.


From East to West-
Union Station- Utica, NY
Saquoit Creek Bridge, Take road along creek off of Main St./Whitesboro St.- Yorkville/Whitesboro, NY
Linwood Place off of Main St., NYC Freights Station, former site of Passenger station on south side of tracks-Whitesboro, NY
291 Bridge over Mohawk River & CSX Main, off of Rt. 69- Whitesboro, NY
River St. Bridge off of Rt. 69, view of two NYC era bridges, one over Oriskany Creek & NYC freight house-Oriskany, NY
Thomas Rd., Dead End, Cool old NYC & H.R. Milepost, off of Rt. 69-Oriskany, NY
Reber Rd. off of Rt. 69, dead end, grade crossing, Old ROW of the Utica & Mohawk Valley Railway before canal-Stanwix, NY
Mills St. Tunnel Bridge off of Martin St.- Rome, NY
2nd NYC now Amtrak Passenger Station, Martin St.- Rome, NY
O&W underpass just west of the train station after going under Erie Blvd. Bridge on Martin st.-Rome, NY
Lawrence St. Tunnel Bridge along Martin St.-Rome, NY
South James St. Tunnel Bridge at the end of Martin St.-Rome, NY
Hoag Rd. off of Rt. 365 Dead end, bridge recently removed-Greenway, NY
Greenway-New London Rd. Crossing off of Rt. 365
Blackmans Crns. Rd. off of Rt. 365-Verona, NY
Rock Rd., take Spring Rd off of Rt. 365, grade crossing- Verona, NY
Dead end Rd. on north side of Rt. 31 bridge off of Rt. 365-Verona, NY
Conley Rd. Crossing (East End of the 1965 Oneida Track relocation), Take Hill Rd. off of Hill Rd. just past the Casino-Verona, NY
Fox Rd. off of Hill Rd.-Verona, NY
Stickney Rd. Dead end, grade crossing closed
Sand hill Rd., Take Hill Rd. To Ranel Rd. Grade crossing removed late last year-Oneida, NY
Randel Rd. Bridge-Oneida, NY
N. Lake St. Bridge-Oneida, NY
Williams St. dead end-Oneida, NY
Main st. Bridge-Oneida, NY
End of Grand St. Oneida, NY
Sturm Rd. Dead end off of Cobb St.-Oneida, NY
Old Elm St. Connection, Unfortunately now posted after recent suicide-Oneida, NY
North court St Bridge & spur rd. near Erie Canal Parking lot. Right on Court St off of Rt. 5-Wampsville, NY
Donald Hicks Dew Rd. off of N. Court St. accross from Court St. This used to be the old mainline. Where the road curves around there is a trail back to the CSX tracks (end of Oneida bypass)
Canastota, NY you can walk the old NYC ROW on the west and east side of Railroad St. This used to be the old mainline until the tracks were elevated in 1959. West side of the Main St. overpass, south side of tracks across from the car wash is a paved rail trail on the old West shore.
Beebe Bridge Rd. off of Rt. 5, west of Canastota grade crossing
Take Yorton Rd. left off of Beebe Bridge Rd. just after crossing the Erie canal. Near the end of Yorton Rd. is another bridge over the canal, take trail to the right. A short hike will take you to CSX tracks, Milepost 272 I think, and to the right are the old NYC bridge abutments over the Erie Canal.
Canasarega Rd. Crossing, take Harsh Rd. off of Rt. 5-Sullivan, NY
Lakeport Rd. Bridge, and Wheeler Rd./Sandy Hatch Rd (old West Shore/Oneida Railway Depot On Wheeler) Dead End, Take right off of Rt. 5 in Chittenango-N. Chittenango, NY
Bolivar Rd. Crossing, Take McGraw Rd. off of Lakeport Rd.-Chittenango, NY
Saintsville Rd.-Kirkville/Manlius, NY
Pedestrian Bridge at Dewitt Yard-Minoa, NY
William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center (Amtrak Station), Syracuse, NY

I believe you will find now that the Oneidas have purchased and torn down all the structures on Conley Rd., that a concrete barrier has been put up blocking the road off, although the grade crossing remains. I know for a fact in the winter it's not plowed.

Bridge St. in East Syracuse has sidewalks plus access roads below where one can generally park and watch trains; Burnet Ave. off West Manlius St. may offer some views, as will the bridge carrying the intersection of James St. and Thompson Rd. but there due to traffic you're generally stuck on one side or the other.

The former GM Circle (now called Military Circle) on Rt. 298 offers a panoramic view from the north side of the tracks, you will want to shoot from the former GM parking lot which is largely unused.

As mentioned before, the next easy access point working east besides the station is the mall parking lot.

Past that while visible it's not largely accessable until Willis Ave where there are a number of ways to work the scene, although the best bet is to use the overpass. The limits of CP293 are below.

Further east into Solvay, also Bridge Street has wide sidewalks, although fenced.

Airport Road crosses over CP296, a tight shot for westbounds but open for eastbounds, again fenced.

Crossings at Pottery, Herman, and Bennets' Corners Road allow shots, plus the 173 overpass in Warners has wide shoulders and sidewalks, although it too is fenced.

Generally, with exception of a stretch between Port Byron and Savannah you can follow the main line with NY-31 all the way into Rochester if you want, with all kinds of photo opportunities at crossings and from other overpasses. If you're really adveturous, NY-33 will take you along the route from Rochester almost into Buffalo.

If you should opt to follow the Finger Lakes Railway, route 5 into Auburn and 5/20 combined past there will parallel it and cross it a couple of times. Northbound trains can be followed with a combination of I-81 and US-11. The same for southbound trains on the NYS&W, with exception of the stretch where it jogs east one would take I-481 to the first exit, Rock Cut Road, follow this to it's end, turn right and continue south into Jamesville, where a short jog west across the tracks to South Ave will let you run parallell to Apulia Station, then use NY-80 back to US-11.

Thank you to everyone for your detailed answers!--John

One more question: what are the scanner frequencies for the area? I am especially interested in the CSX route (New York Central mainline). Thanks again.

160.800 for CSX Train to dispatcher...161.400 NF dispatcher to train, not sure about the ND to train frequency