I recall that Conrail did run quite few trains from the Lehigh Line north to the Southern Tier mainline, where they turned west to reach Buffalo. I remember this from some visits to see my grandma in Waverly. It was also profiled in an issue of FLAGS, DIAMONDS & STATUES magazine. CR ran about 3 trains in each direction between Allentown and Buffalo until about 1983. That's when the steel mills in Bflo began to close and the coke/coal traffic dried up. CR abolished the trains until only BUOI?OIBU and CGAL/ ALCG remained.
By the '90s, BUOI ran at night. You could almost set your watch to it- it came thru Elmira at 11:02PM. ALCG usually departed Gang Mills in the later afternoon hours- usually at 5 or 6PM. I got used to seeing these trains after dark. CR sometimes ran a westbound auto-rack train during daylight hours but I don't know if that ran on the Lehigh Line or not. Does anyone know if it is was a regular trian or an extra?
