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  • Railroads near or in sight of the NYS Thruway

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #1417157  by RussNelson
 
glenfieldwestern wrote:Russ,
Thank you for answering the question and providing the info that recent flooding in the area had caused the abutment to fail. Your photo really underscores the extent of the damage. It looked like welders were cutting the bridge apart when I passed by on the Thruway on Saturday but at highway speed it was hard to know for sure.

GW
FYI, they were able to save half the railroad bridge, so the other half is now a relatively lightweight road vehicle bridge.
 #1465913  by RussNelson
 
Mike Noble of Syracuse found a WWII-era spur crossing the Thruway before it was built. It's barely visible on the northern side. Right here: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0934535 ... 312!8i6656" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAT,LONG,ORIGINAL,CROSSING,LOCATION,T-WAY MP,STATUS,CURRENT USE,NOTES
43.0934434,-76.1277767,NYC spur going to a military facility,,West of Townline Rd.,280.9,abandoned,built for WWII
 #1466114  by sd80mac
 
RussNelson wrote:Mike Noble of Syracuse found a WWII-era spur crossing the Thruway before it was built. It's barely visible on the northern side. Right here: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0934535 ... 312!8i6656" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAT,LONG,ORIGINAL,CROSSING,LOCATION,T-WAY MP,STATUS,CURRENT USE,NOTES
43.0934434,-76.1277767,NYC spur going to a military facility,,West of Townline Rd.,280.9,abandoned,built for WWII
Serving to AFB?
 #1470615  by ctclark1
 
Appears to be very short lived. Looking at Historic Aerials, it does not show up on any topo maps before or after the Thruway was built (1947 & 1960) and while it is more easily visible in the 1956 aerial photo, it looks to have already been severed from the mainline by the Thruway.

Also, the area it leads into is labeled as the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center on the topos, even in the aerial available from '56 it doesn't appear to extend as far north as the the air base
 #1472329  by trainsinmaine
 
RussNelson wrote:
trainsinmaine wrote: It is difficult, though, to find traces east of East Chatham, where the Berkshire extension of the New York Thruway has leveled most of the roadbed.
A little bit of snow helps a lot. I saw the railbed a month ago when there was light snow on the ground between the place where the railbed crosses the Thruway, and Columbia County CR-5. Went back on Thursday and went looking where the snow was. The traces continue north of CR-5, first on a fill, which has a "B 165" milepost lying down on it, then through a cut, about 20' deep. I went to the next road intersection, New Concord Road, and saw nothing. My guess is that it's underneath I-90 at that point.
Russ, I went to that spot this past Monday. The leaves hadn't yet emerged from the trees, so I could see quite a bit just from the eastbound lane of the Thruway. The roadbed was plainly evident near the aforementioned CR-5; indeed, I could even see the cut. I eventually got onto CR-5 and crossed the Thruway, with the hope that I might be able to access the roadbed on foot.

On the north side, it didn't appear possible (a gap had been created in the process of road construction), and on the south side I surmised that I might have to enter through private property. As I had an appointment pending, I didn't have the time to pursue it. I did, however, travel down the Pleasant Valley Road to the point where it abuts the Thruway, and I found the spot where the roadbed crosses the bog on the north side of the road before it begins the arc toward the current B&A. It's barely discernible, but there is a tree line along it.

If you go to the Google Maps site for that area and click onto the satellite image, you'll find that there is a secondary road that heads south off CR-5 just west of the aforesaid crossing with the old roadbed. It heads toward, then roughly parallels, the Thruway for a short distance. I'm wondering if it joins the roadbed at one point before the roadbed crosses the Thruway. It looks like it might. One wouldn't be able to tell without traveling it.

Lots of interesting history around there!
 #1506794  by D Alex
 
I know that the LV comes close to the NYSTwy right by the Victor exit, but doesn't cross it there. I assume it does somewhere closer to Buffalo, but I'm not certain where. Does anybody know where?
 #1506825  by TrainDetainer
 
Main line crossed in Cheektowaga. https://www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2 ... 78.7665583" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Freight main (Lehigh and Lake Erie) to Tifft Yard crossed here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2 ... 78.7909116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Closest it got to the Twy east of Cheektowaga was about a half mile east of Exit 44 (about 2000' SW).
Last edited by TrainDetainer on Thu Apr 25, 2019 4:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #1506863  by lvrr325
 
For a short time it crossed just east of the Weedsport exit, the bridge remained much longer than it was used. Today you can spot it by small green advertising signs on the ROW on each side. Some of the fill is absent on the south side and just north of the CSX main it's totally removed.

Niagara branch went under just east of the Buffalo toll barrier; mainline crossed under just south of Bison Yard (a trail there now). As noted see the sticky thread for more details.
 #1506942  by TB Diamond
 
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Branch passed under the NYS Thruway via a tunnel-like concrete underpass. Probably still there.
 #1506964  by nydepot
 
It is. Part of the Monroe County Lehigh Valley Trail, Rochester Branch.
TB Diamond wrote:The Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Branch passed under the NYS Thruway via a tunnel-like concrete underpass. Probably still there.
 #1507127  by lvrr325
 
Trail actually leaves the ROW just north of here to connect to a public street; does LA&L own the ROW that far south? End of track is well above that point.
 #1507180  by TB Diamond
 
End-of-track (LV MP 385.13) is .26 miles compass south of Henrietta (MP 385.39).
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