The NY fall excursion thread

[Matt L]

The colors of fall are really driving a bit of excursion traffic here in NY this year. In fact, I've already gotten 2 excursion under my belt this month. The 1st was hosted by the Buffalo, Cattaraugus & Jamestown, which ran behind a small 0-40 porter on the Buffalo Southern RR.

Loading passenger for the 1st trip at Zittel's farm market:



Trip #1 heading west on the former Erie RR/EL branch:



Trip #2 crossing US Route 62:



The train operated pull-pull, with a BSOR S2 handling the return leg of each trip and is seen at the Church Street crossing:



In addition to the coaches, there was a fully restored PC transfer caboose!



Trip #3 passing over ROute 75:



For the complete slideshow pf BC&J on BSOR, please visit:

http://s857.photobucket.com/user/Erielackawanna/slideshow/2016/Oct%202016/1001%20BCandJ

All photos in this post and the link were taken by me Saturday 10/1/2016 in Hamburg, NY. A special thanks goes out to the BC&J, BSOR and Zittel's for marking this event happen.

[Matt L]

A week later, I was spending time with an other former Erie RR/EL branchline, which is now owned by the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville RR. This well-known Alco bastion teamed up with the Rochester & Genesee Valley RR Museum for an excursion.

After fetching the coaches from the RGVRRM, the LA&L brings the consist thru their yard in Lakeville:



Alco C425 #428 leads trip #1 up the grade at Conesus Lake Jct in the Town of Livonia:



LA&L C425 #425 and C420 #420 (yes, you read them right) return with trip #1 to the loading site:



A couple of friends and I rode trip #2. This is the interior of the restored NYC Budd coach we baorded:



Trip #3 crosses over Polebridge Road in Avon:



Trip #3 is about to pass under the former Lehigh Valley RR bridge in Rush, as the train heads north:



Trip #3 heading south at Conesus Jct:



Trip #4 passing the RGVRRM depot and semaphore at Industry, which is part of Rush:



A complete slide show of this excursion:

http://s857.photobucket.com/user/Erielackawanna/slideshow/2016/Oct%202016/1008%20LAL

All photos in this post and the link were taken by me Saturday 10/8/2016 in Livingston and Monroe Counties of upstate NY. A big thanks goes to the LA&L, RGVRRM and the Conesus Sportsmen's Club (who provided the loading site) for putting together a classy event.

[Matt L]

My final outing for last month included a chase of the New York & Lake Erie RR, which ran their excursions with a pair of ex-VIA MLW units.

FPA4 #6764 and FPA2u #6758 at the yard in Gowanda:



Inside the cab of #6758 at GOwanda:








Boarding at the former Erie RR/EL depot in Gowanda:



Outbound at US Route 62 in Dayton:



All photos in this post were taken by me Saturday 10/29/2016 in western NY.


 

[Matt L]

The train ran to South Dayton, The crossing is Maple Street. This is where Planes Trains & Automobiles was filemd 30 years ago:



At Dole Street in Makrham on the return trip:



Kids and adults alike got a Halloween treat from this farmer at Makekham Cottage Road in Makham!



Returning to the depot in Gowanda:









A complete slide show of my adventure with the NY&LE RR, including an ex-Erie mile marker and the rare FPA units being serviced:

http://s857.photobucket.com/user/Erielackawanna/slideshow/2016/Oct%202016/1029%20NYLE

All photos in this post and the link were taken by me Saturday 10/29/2016 in western NY. A special thanks goes out to the staff and volunteers who made this event run smoothly. This includes NY&LE President Bob Dingman, who directly granted me access to the cab of #6758. 

[Matt L]

I notched another rare mileage trip 8 days ago with the Buffalo, Cattaraugus & Jamestown RR.

My ride was on the platform of this PC transfer caboose, shown shortly before boarding in Hamburg:



Power for the train will be familiar to some of you- Buffalo RS18u #1847. Here we see her backing up the consist in hamburg:



Some of you may also recall the US Route 62 crossing in Hamburg. where I've photographed the Buffalo Soputhern numerous times. This was definitely a new perspective for your struly:



The only sad part of the trip was passing the former Bethelehem Steel plant in Lackawanna, which had usffered a serious ifre just a few days earlier.



All photos in this post were taken by me Sunday 11/11/2016 in Erie County, NY.

[Matt L]

The eastern end of the trip was the BSOR yard at TIfft Street in Buffalo. I never thought I'd see a train at ground level here, but NS obliged us with westbound mixed freight 309, which had the same pwer I'd seen on NS 310 two days earlier:



Our brakeman checks the train after#1847 ran around it in Buffalo:



Tifft Street bridge in Buffalo, where I've taken many, many shots of the buffalo SOuthern, NS, CSX, B&P and Amtrak:



The train has cleared GB Diamond in Blasdell. We are on a former Erie RR/El branchline. The other track is the former NKP mainline, now owned by NS:



Passing an old wedge snow plow at the State Route 75 corssing in Hamburg:



The trip also went as far west as the bridge over the south branch of Eighteen Mile Creek in Eden Valley:



For a complete look at this very enjoyable and amazing trip, please visit my slide show:

http://s857.photobucket.com/user/Erielackawanna/slideshow/2016/Nov%202016/1113%20BCJ

All photos in this post and the link were taken by me Sunday 11/13/2016 in Erie County, NY. A huge thanks goes out to the volunteers of BC&J and the employees of BSOR who made this special day happen, including Pat Connors Jr (whom I met in person for the 1st time).

[Matt L]

Fall isn't over yet! I squeezed in my 4th and final train ride of the year last weekend. After missing the trip last year, I rode the joint Finger Lakes Railway/Friends Of The RR (local non-profit group) at 10 AM.

The train arrives at the loading site in Victor:



The interior of the coach I rode:



The train operated pull-pull with a B23-7 at each end. here we see FGLk #2309 leading the eastbound leg of the 12 Noon trip at the State Route 96 overpass in Victor:



The same trip crossing State Route 96 in Farmington:



Number 2301 leads the westbound leg of the trip at County Road 28 in Farmington:



The train idles at the loading site in Victor between trips:



The 2 PM trip heading east at Hook Road in Farmington







A complete look at all 3 trips is in this slide show:

http://s857.photobucket.com/user/Erielackawanna/slideshow/2016/Dec%202016/1210%20FGLK

All photos in this post and the link were taken by me Saturday 12/102016 in Ontario County, NY. A special thanks goes out to the Finger Lakes Railway and Friends Of The RR for making this special event happen.

[dschlegel]

I really like the FGLK painted GE's, looks like it was a nice day!

[Matt L]

Oh yes, it was nice! Under the leadership of president Mike Smith, the Finger Lakes Railway has been sporting heritage colors since for over 20 years. Most of EMDs and GEs in the fleet are in NYC colors, but two of the B23-7s are in Coniial's dress blue and the sole operating U-boat wears LV colors. It is rather fitting, since FGLK operates a cluster of ex-NYC and LV tracks. One line is ex-PRR, but FGLk doesn't have a Pennsy heritage unit. 

BTW, all 3 trips on FGLk sol out, so there are plans to repeat them next year... possibly with a couple more trips added on.