It's too bad tomorrow's excursion on the Falls Road Railroad is running on the east (Medina-Brockport) segment of the line and not the west end, because there is a very impressive upside-down bridge over the Erie Canal at Lockport, NY.
It's too bad tomorrow's excursion on the Falls Road Railroad is running on the east (Medina-Brockport) segment of the line and not the west end, because there is a very impressive upside-down bridge over the Erie Canal at Lockport, NY.
The Falls Road Railroad takes it's name from the name of that section of rail under New York Central ownership, being referred to as the Falls Road Branch. The line can trace its origins to the Lockport & Niagara Falls Railroad, which was chartered on April 24, 1834. The roughly 20 mile long railroad was completed in 1838. The Rochester & Lockport Railroad was chartered on May 15, 1837, but little was done except for some grading and bridge construction. A reorganized company, the Rochester, Lockport & Niagara Falls Railroad was granted a state charter in 1850 and the nearly 76 mile long railroad between Niagara Falls and Rochester, by way of Lockport, was opened to traffic in 1852. In 1853 the line became part of the New York Central. The area served by the RL&NF, better known as the Falls Branch, was mainly rural and agricultural in nature along with various industries located in the towns along the right-of-way. During the railroad's heyday, as many as six passenger trains a day traveled the route in both directions with commuter service pairing Lockport with Niagara Falls and Rochester with Albion. Passenger service ended around 1957.
The Falls Road served as a pretty important shortcut for the NYC (albeit a rarely photographed one), because traffic could hop on at Rochester, continue to Niagara Falls and bypass Buffalo, then jump the border and get on the NYC's Canada Southern subsidiary and go right to Detroit, versus having to head down across Pennsylvania and Ohio and then come up the western shore of Lake Erie. In the '50s and '60s, there were lots of auto-rack trains headed east from Detroit to Rochester and they all came across the Canada Southern and Falls Road.
The line was conveyed from the Penn Central to Conrail in 1976, and the line from Brockport to Rochester was abandoned and salvaged in 1994 by Conrail. Eventually, Conrail was no longer interested in operating this line, was ready to file for abandonment until GVT stepped up to purchase the property from Brockport to Lockport, while the easternmost Niagara Falls-Lockport end was abandoned The transaction was consummated in October 1996 and the Falls Road Railroad subsidiary of GVT was formed.
The FRRR #2035, an ex-NYC RS-32, passing the remains of the old union station at Lockport, NY
I woke up Saturday, and it was beautiful weather. I had waffled between taking my MR2 Spyder or my 2012 Impala, but ultimately decided to take the Impala because it had cruise control, and because I decided to swap the race wheels and tires onto my MR2 for Sunday's autocross. I drove out to Brockport, which is about 2 hours west, and went to where they were going to be starting the excursion (since FRRR doesn't regularly operate excursions, they don't have platforms or stations). There were a couple other railfans and there was a little confusion over the fact that the equipment wasn't already there, which seemed a little odd. Were we in the wrong spot, was the excursion canceled were they having equipment troubles, did we have the wrong date or time? Well, about 15 minutes before departure, the consist came into Brockport from the west. Due to their runaround track at Brockport being tied up with refrigerated cars for Tropicana, they were running push-pull, and on the east end of the train was RS-11 #1804, lettered for sister GVT road Depew, Lancaster & Western. This is an ex-Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific RS-11 that was bought from Central Vermont by David Monte Verde when he started up Genesee Valley Transportation in 1989. This is one of the first two Alcos ever bought by GVT, making it an Alco empire builder. Kind of an interesting machine, since it was built by Alco for DW&P and used the RS-11 carbody with notched hood ends, but had MLW-specific features, like the MLW lightweight trucks and the dynamic brakes located in the short hood.
In between were three NYC-painted passenger cars, and then on the west end of the train is RS-32 #2035, lettered for Genesee Valley Transportation. The #2035 is on home rails, since she was originally built for the New York Central. The 2000hp, 251 V12-powered RS-32 is a pretty rare beast, with Alco only selling 35 of them to two roads; ten for Southern Pacific and twenty-five for New York Central. This was really the era where Alco was struggling to sell much of anything; the 2400hp RS-27 only sold 27 units between 1956 and 1961, and then Alco retreated to 2000hp with the RS-32, which sold 35 units between 1961 and 1962, followed by the 1600hp RS-36, which moved just 40 locomotives between 1961 and 1962, when Alco rebooted their model line with the Century series, with the RS-32 being replaced by the C420. Alco also cataloged an RSD-33, which would have been a 6-axle counterpart, but they never sold any, nor did the replacement Alco C620 ever generate any sales.
And after herding everyone aboard, they went rolling back west out of Brockport. One issue with this route and the schedule is that it is a straight east-west line, and they were heading west in the morning and returning in the afternoon, making the lighting work against you both ways.
Passing through the hamlet of Fancher. I'm not certain, but the building on the left looks like it was either a freight house or depot at some point in it's life, or at the very least it was a customer of the railroad.
Passing by the abandoned, and crumbling, old NYC freight house at Albion. Very large and impressive building, but in dire need of some attention. The passenger depot would have been a couple hundred feet farther down, on the same side of the tracks, but has been gone for a long time.
The excursion stopped at these grain elevators in Knowlesville for a photo runby, and you can see the brakeman and conductor getting ready to drop down.
I got some static shots of the #2035, with the elevators looming in the background, while the excursion unloaded riders for the runby. The RS-32 looks a lot like a C420, with a very long short hood, but the major identifying characteristic is that the C420 had the rounded short hood, while the RS-32 has the notched corners. The RS-32 wasn't a bad locomotive, with NYC and SP getting plenty of use out of theirs (SP's would even pinch hit in commuter service) but it was a weird step backwards in terms of horsepower after the 2400hp RS-27, especially when GE introduced the 2500hp U25B in '59, and EMD introduced the 2250hp GP30 in '59 as well.
Behind where I was standing in the last photo, the tracks passed under Route 31, and so when they were still unloading and then backing down for the runby, I climbed up onto the bridge and got some neat overhead shots.
And then, that was where my chase ended. I jogged back to my car, got in and pulled out onto the road, hit the throttle and it stumbled and died. Coasted to the side of the road, and it would crank and start and then almost immediately stall. Cue somewhat panicked calls to U-Haul to try and find one that was A) open and B) would rent me a truck and dolly. Both were unsuccessful and I attempted to start the car again and it ran, went down the road about two or three miles and stalled. Waited, tried again, and had the same result. I now had turned around and started limping my way back east, hoping to maybe find an open U-haul with a truck and dolly as I went east. After a third stall, it then started and seemed to run fine, doing 55mph for five, then ten, then fifteen miles. I almost decided to set up and wait for the train to come west but decided against it. I set my GPS to avoid highways and toll roads, turning my 2 hour drive into a 3 and a half eastward slog. I drove along for almost two hours without incident, and was just getting ready to write it off as some water in the fuel (I had fueled it right before the chase began) and get on a highway when it stalled again. It would conk out at least once more before I got to Rome, and again just one mile from home, which has me thinking the fuel pump is dying and has me quite irritated with the car. Like most other GVT operations (I think D-L has a regular schedule), Falls Road is a "runs-as-needed" operation and this excursion was really my chance to get photos of it, and it was sabotaged by things outside my control.
Some little tidbits I heard while BSing with the couple other guys before the train arrived:
The 470 Railroad Club has teased that they have their GP9, B&M #1741, fully painted into the striking, and rather rare, "Bluebird" livery designed by Herbert Matter at the request of Patrick McGinnis. If it bears a bit of a resemblance in design to the New Haven's later livery, that's because that was also designed by Matter when Patrick McGinnis was in charge of the New Haven. It was later drastically simplified to save time and money, by removing the white paint on the cab faces and the black on the hood ends, and then was further simplified by a solid blue dip with white block lettering.
The #1741 will be used on the 470 Railroad Club trip at Conway on the first weekend of November, which I'm attending, so I'll get to see it then. Although I'm admittedly a little disappointed that they won't be using those gorgeous F7As. I'd really like to get more photos of those, now that I have an actual camera.
What the "bluebird" scheme looked like in full. It's pretty elaborate and very sharp.
You can see the similarities in the design between the B&M Bluebird and what's often just referred to as the "McGinnis livery" by New Haven fans. Herbert Matter was the graphic designer who did both the New Haven and B&M corporate redesigns. Matter worked for Knoll Associates (Florence Knoll: graphic design, furniture, architecture) and Patrick B McGinnis' wife, Lucille McGinnis, was friends with Florence Knoll. So McGinnis hired him for the redesign at New Haven, then was ousted at the New Haven due to his disastrous management and was almost immediately hired at Boston & Maine. He rang up Matter and had him also due a corporate redesign at the B&M. While McGinnis was a terrible president, he did have pretty good taste.
I believe the only other new B&M power delivered in the Bluebird livery were the GP18s. Those were also the last new power outright purchased by B&M. While they had brand-new GP38s and GP40s later on, those were long-term leases by B&M, they weren't technically owned by the B&M.
B&M also shared a near-identical livery with the Maine Central for a while. There was a lot of cooperation between the B&M and MEC, including shared ownership of Portland Terminal Railraod, and starting in 1933, B&M and MEC shared their headquarters at Billerica. This resulted in joint operations of services, and when the two railroads started buying diesels, the decision was made to use the same black, maroon and gold livery on road power and black, red and white livery on switchers. The only way to tell B&M and MEC power apart at a glance was to look at the herald: if it had a Minuteman herald it was B&M power, if it had a pine tree herald it was MEC power.
Things did diverge a little after '53. The MEC moved their headquarters back to Portland, ME and ended joint operations, although there was still a lot of corporate overlap. To symbolize their slightly more independent status, MEC rolled out a new paint scheme that had the same gold color and layout as the B&M/MEC livery, but they swapped the maroon for a dark metallic green.
That lasted until 1966, at which point they unveiled the new Harvest Gold with green on their GP38s, although there were still units running around in both the green and gold, and the classic maroon and gold at that point.
Boston & Maine stuck with the maroon and gold for three years afterwards, then introduced the new "Bluebird" paint with the arrival of the GP9s in '56-'57. They stuck with the blue up until the '80s, although it was simplified twice, eventually becoming a solid blue dip with white block lettering.
Of course, both would end up back under the same corporate control when Timothy Mellon bought them both up in 1981 and 1982 and rolled them into Guilford Rail System, and they would again operate joint services, wear the same paint scheme, and MEC would even move it's headquarters back into the same building as the B&M once again.
National Capital Trolley Museum has acquired Arlington & Fairfax #109, the last known Evans Auto-Railer. The vehicle ran from 1937-1939 on the former electric streetcar trackage of the Arlington and Fairfax Railway. The Auto-Railer was designed by Edwin R. Evans in 1936 and was first used on the A&F in 1937. Highway tires permitted A&F #109 to travel off the rails, while railroad guide wheels next to the tires were used on the railroad tracks, and the whole ensemble used a Chevrolet gasoline powertrain, making it basically a predecessor to the hi-rail truck. The idea was that they could be used by short lines and trolley/interurban system to offer passenger service in place of regular equipment and allow abandonment of some portions of systems, or offer new destinations not reached by rail, without forcing passengers to transfer to a bus. Simply, the AutoRailer could get to the end of the line, get on the roads and head off to some city not connected to the system. Sticking with the A&F, two former streetcar lines ran from Rosslyn, one to Fairfax City and another to Fort Myer and the Auto-Railers provided service on A&F tracks and then in Rosslyn, the driver would raise the railroad wheels and and the Auto-Railer, as a bus, would cross the Key Bridge into Georgetown and Washington DC.
A&F ended up owning thirteen of the things, but went out of business in 1939, and they were scattered about. Two (A&F #102 & #109) ultimately went to the Arcade & Attica Railroad, one went to the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad, where the car was converted to a line car to work on overhead wires, and in the late 1950s, the A&F #109 went to Clark’s Trading Post (now Clark’s Bears Amusement Park) in New Hampshire, and where, since the early 1960’s, was been stored outside by a series of private owners. Evans never sold a ton of the Auto-Railers, and they were pretty short-lived in a lot of operations because, quite frankly, they weren't very good. What little documentation there is on them mentions extremely poor ride quality, and they were also underpowered and slow to accelerate when compared to the trolleys and interurban cars they attempted to replace.
The #109 operating at Arcade & Attica in it's bus mode.
An early promotional video showing an Auto-Railer in service. The poor ride quality is evident in some of the shots.
And a photo of the one that Chicago, South Shore & South Bend converted into a vehicle for MoW service. It could be driven on roads to a grade crossing near where the catenary needed work, then hop on the rails and get to the exact location, and then the platform on the roof was raised to allow workers to perform maintenance on the overhead wire. Note that the destination board still carries the locations from the Arlington & Fairfax. There's also some confusion on exactly what this unit's A&F number was. Some sources say it was #109, which is the one that was just saved, but that unit supposedly went from the Arcade & Attica to NH and there's no evidence of the rooftop modifications.
The Short Line Doodlebug, by Edmund Keilty has a roster stating that three A&F cars went to the A&A. This is probably the source of the thought that the A&A purchased 3 cars although most are sure that they did not purchase all three and they served more like a broker to move the cars to prospective buyers.
#102 - some sources say "sold to Coudersport & Port Allegany". This one is photographed in front of A&A shops and was on the property at some point. Unknown ownership
#107 - may have been Coudersport & Port Allegany. Pictures in Paul Pietrak's C&PA book shows the #107 with a back baggage door added. Caption says outside of round house on C&PA. The building is brick and seems a pretty significant structure and it's unlikely that railroad had such a structure. No idea if it went through Arcade, but side baggage door mentioned later in post. C&PA reported their car cut up in 1953
#108 - Car listed as being in Arcade. There are no pictures of it there, and this one was sold to the Narragansett Pier route in Rhode Island. (The Narragansett Pier had two different Evans cars. One suffered a fire in 1945 and was scrapped)
#109 - Was owned and used by A&A until 1955 and was reported as sold off to CSS&SB #50.
One possibility may exist for a renumber at the A&A. When the Evans Car was purchased by the A&A in early 1941 there was also a fleet of wooden refrigerator cars online. There was already a #108 and possibly a #109 box car. The #108 was purchased in 1933. In 1941 there were cars #102 through #108 for sure on the A&A. The last two of these wood refers were sold off in 1955. If there was an existing roster #108 on the A&A and the Evans car arrived, it is possible that it was renumbered to #109 to avoid duplicate numbers. This may also stand to reason why the first diesel purchased later in 1941 from GE became the #110.
The roster from the Keilty Book probably is the source of confusion for the Evans cars that went to Arcade. It shows A&F #102, #108 and #109. Perhaps the 102 Evans car that was originally photographed on the A&A became the #A&A 109 when it was placed in full service at Arcade. There is no good disposition on that car (#102) from the A&A rosters and there is only documentation of board approval to purchase one car. The actual A&F #108 may have gone through Arcade for upgrading before going to Rhode Island, but most likely wasn't purchased by the A&A. Then the A&A 109 (if renumbered) went to the CSS&SB as indicated and the actual A&F #109 may have ended up on the Grasse River directly and never really was in Arcade at all.
Evans also built some sort of large truck, called a Dual-Purpose Truck Train, that could tow multiple trailers (And note that the trailers also have railroad wheels as well), but details on those seem even more scarce, and I have to imagine they didn't sell many.
There was also an odd double-ended machine that could be used as a switcher, an industrial tractor-looking thing, and a dump truck based on the Auto-Railer platform. Again, no real details and all seemed to be pretty rare and unsuccessful.
I love seeing the Interurban/bus/hi-railer designs that proliferated in the '30s; they're always so quirky...
Definitely some interesting stuff, born of desperation to try and keep the legacy trolley and interurban lines in business. The Evans Auto-Railer is honestly not a bad idea, just limited by the tech of the time, might be worth revisiting. Hmm, maybe make it electric, so that it can run on overhead catenary and charge it's batteries, and then run on battery once it departs from the rails.
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