Finger Lakes Railway
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| Finger Lakes Railway | |
|---|---|
 2008 Map showing component rail lines. |
|
| Reporting marks | FGLK |
| Locale | New York |
| Dates of operation | 1995–present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Geneva, New York |
The Finger Lakes Railway (AAR reporting marks FGLK) is a class III railroad in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
The Finger Lakes Railway began operation on July 23, 1995 and operates in Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Schuyler and Yates counties.
Since 2001, the railroad has been operating a heritage railroad offering passenger train excursions[1].
The FGLK operates 11 diesel locomotives on 118 miles of ex Conrail trackage, formerly owned by the New York Central Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
Contents |
[edit] Route description
- Main line
The main line is 76 miles long, running from Syracuse to Canandaigua, New York. Once part of the New York Central Railroad and known as the Auburn Road, it dates all the way back to the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad.
At Syracuse, NY the FGLK interchanges with CSX Transportation and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW). Travelling west, the line passes through Solvay, Camillus, Skaneateles Junction (also known as Hartlot or Skaneateles Falls), Sennett, Auburn, Aurelius (Station name Relius), Cayuga, Seneca Falls, and Waterloo. At Geneva, New York, there is a connection with Norfolk Southern Railway's Corning Secondary, which Canadian Pacific Railway has trackage rights over.
Continuing west, the line passes through Phelps Junction and Clifton Springs. In Shortsville, the railroad comes to the terminus of the Ontario Central Railway. Finally, the line arrives at Canandaigua, New York.
- Branch line to Kendaia/Romulus
The FGLK operates a portion of the ex-Lehigh Valley Railroad mainline from Geneva to Kendaia running south on the east side of Seneca Lake. This was the Lehigh Valley's mainline from Sayre, PA to Buffalo, NY. This line once saw much action during WWII right on through the Cold War with many military movements in and out of the Seneca Army Depot which closed in the summer 1998. The now closed base has a very large yard which at current time is used for rail car storage by the Finger Lakes Railway. It is hoped that much of the abandoned Depot will attract new industries to the area.
- Branch line from Penn Yan to Watkins Glen
The Penn Yan, New York branch was once part of the Pennsylvania Railroad only a small section of this line extends from Watkins Glen to Bellona To get to this line, the Finger Lakes Railway uses trackage rights over Norfolk Southern's Corning Secondary from Geneva to Himrod Junction, which is in the middle of the branch, Penn Yan being to the north and Watkins Glen, New York being to the south.
- Ontario Central
In October 2007, the Surface Transportation Board approved the sale of the Ontario Central Railway to the FGLK. Previously the line had been owned by the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad. It consists of 13.3 miles of ex-Lehigh Valley trackage and is part of the same former Sayre-Buffalo mainline that makes up the Kendaia branch. The two railroads connect near Shortsville, New York. As of January 2008, the Ontario Central continues to operate with a leased EMD SW-9 from Golden Spike Rail Service (AAR reporting marks GSRX).
[edit] Freight service
The railway handles 16,000 cars of freight each year and growing, including plastic, canned food, clay, grain, lumber and paper products, scrap Steel, chemical substances, finished steel, salt, sand, soda ash, Paper, Potash, fertilizer, beer, phosphorus fertilizer, telephone poles, and Aluminum ingots
[edit] Heritage railroad passenger excursion trains
The FGLK operates an excursion service as a heritage railroad. Operations began in October 2001 with four coaches having been purchased second-hand from Via Rail in late 1998. The cars were delayed in delivery due to customs inspections and feathers that were used as stuffing in the seats having come from a bird that was listed on the endangered spices list in the U.S. but not in Canada. The cars arrived in the winter of 1999 after the seats were replaced. Two cars were upgraded by Via Rail and were set up with electric heating while the other 2 use steam heating. At current date the two updated cars have been repainted into the old New York Central two tone Gray colors and have been named the Canandaigua, and Seneca. The other two ex Via Rail coaches are in storage awaiting upgrades to electric heating and a much-needed paint job. A recently acquired full baggage car joined the fleet in late 2005 and will be rebuilt into an open-air observation car.
[edit] Locomotive roster
- 3 EMD GP9s: 1701, 1703, 1751
- 1 GE U23B: 2201 (Ex Providence & Worcester Railroad #2211)
- 6 GE B23-7s: 1989, 2301 (Ex CR 1979), 2303 (Ex CR 2004), 2305 Ex Norfolk Southern). 2306 & 2307 (Ex Providence & Worcester Railroad)
B23-7 #1989 is painted in Conrail Blue with its original CR number no repaint or renumber has been set as of this time. U23B #2201 is painted in a Lehigh Valley Railroad-inspired scheme of Cornell Red with Black pin stripes. All the other units are painted in the FGLK lightning stripe scheme, based on an old New York Central scheme. As of April 2008, the 2306 and 2307 still wear the livery of their previous owner the P&W.
As of 2007, locomotive 2304 is out of service and due to mechanical problems this unit will be used as a parts supply for the rest of the B23-7 Fleet.
[edit] Scale modelling
In the hobby of rail transport modelling, there are decals available from Micro-Scale in both N Scale and HO Scale for those who wish to model the Finger Lakes Railway. Locomotives are Flat Black in color.
Atlas is currently selling a HO and N scale model of a B23-7 locomotive in the Finger Lake Railway "Lighting Stripe" paint scheme the cab numbers are 2301 and 2303.[1]
