THE GREATER ROCHESTER RAILFAN PAGE
ROCHESTER AREA CLASS 1 RAILROADS
SEE THE CSX PAGE FOR UPDATES... THIS IS ONLY FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY!!
THE NORFOLK SOUTHERN PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!
Hits since 3/1/00
UPDATED: 02/20/05
E-mail: nessman@rochester.rr.com
Copyright 1999 by Les Wilson - all rights reserved
HASTA LA VISTA, CONRAIL! As of August 22, 1998, Conrail (at least on paper) is no more. The planned "Day 1" of CSX and NS operating on Conrail territory is June 1, 1999. Once I have some free time to kill, I'll divvy up this page in accordance to the takeover of Conrail by NS and CSX - realistically this will probably happen sometime in the summer when everything is in place as there is still much to be done before the transaction is final. As far as changes on the rails go, don't expect to see any siginificant changes - everything will remain status quo as far as the operational aspects of Conrail's former lines are concerned. CSX and NS are still readying for their theoretical "Day 1". They plan on taking their time and doing it right to prevent another abomination that was the UP/SP merger last year.
Conrail was a Class 1 railroad serving the
northeastern part of the country. Some 50-60 trains pass though this area on CSX's
mainline daily. Some cars are exchanged at the Goodman Street yard - mainly for local
delivery. The delivery of coal from northern West Virginia to Kodak and the RG&E
Russell plant is the lion's share of Conrail's local delivery. Several local work trains
serve smaller online businesses in the Rochester area, as well as interchange with area
shortline operators (RSR). Conrail employs about 100 people at the
Rochester yard off North Goodman Street. A smaller yard is also maintained in Lyons for
the classification of cars that will be interchanged with the FGLK
and LAL..
CONRAIL CONTENTS
- Conrail Lines in Branches in the Rochester Area
- Conrail Frequencies (Rochester)
- Conrail ZTS Maps
- Conrail Employee Timetables
- Conrail's Local Customers in the Rochester Area
- Conrail Freight Schedules
- The NS/CSX Purchase of Conrail
CSX LINES AND BRANCHES IN THE ROCHESTER AREA
- Mainline
As the name implies, this line is the main Conrail line running from New York City to Chicago. Several online customers have spurs off the Mainline, as well as the interchange point for the Depew, Lancaster and Western, Rochester & Southern and Ontario Midland shortline Railroads. - West Shore Branch
This single track line is used as a freight bypass when traffic around the Goodman St. Yard and Amtrak Station gets busy. It is also used as the interchange point for the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad at Genesee Junction, and by several online customers. The Rochester and Southern RR has trackage rights for about a half mile from Genesee Junction to the Mortimer Industrial Track (remnant of the former Pennsy Line) where they service Lyell Metal. The West Shore Branch was upgraded in 1986 with continuous welded rail. The speed limit on this line varies between 45 and 60 MPH. The West Shore connects with the Mainline in Fairport at MP 359 and in Chili at MP 382. - Charlotte Runner
This important running track runs north from MP 373 on the Mainline to what was the "Hojack Line" or Ontario Branch in Charlotte. What makes this track so important is Conrail's two largest Rochester customers, the Eastman Kodak Company and Rochester Gas & Electric's Russell Station rely on this track for continuous coal shipments for their power generating plants, as well as raw materials for Kodak's huge photographic and film manufacturing complex called Kodak Park (who maintains thier own interplant railroad). - Falls Road Secondary
Originally running from Rochester to Niagara Falls, the Falls Road Branch was completely abandoned and torn up between Lee Road in Rochester and Owens Road in Brockport in 1994 due to lack of business on that stretch. The remaining stub of this branch in Rochester services Genesee Scrap, Ragu Foods, the now closed Cantisano Foods plant on Lyell Avenue, the Monroe County Recycling Center on Emerson Street, and at one point, the General Motors Lee Road plant, which discontinued rail service some time ago. The Falls Road Railroad company, a subsidiary of Genesee Valley Transportation, now operates this line from Brockport to Lockport, interchanging with Conrail in Lockport. Rumor has it that CSX will reopen the line from Rochester to Spencerport, but that is nothing more than railfan speculation, according to an official at Genesee Valley Transportation (parent company of the FRRR). - Old Main
This short branch was formerly part of the Falls Road Secondary which cut into the mainline south of the Kodak office building. The branch originates at the Charlotte Runner near Hague Street. It has since been terminated at Broad Street serving the Kleen Brite facility there. Everything from Broad Street to the Mainline is long gone (Frontier Field stands on the former right of way), and the Verona Street station still stands. - Rochester Running Track / Ontario Industrial Track
In 1996, the STB granted an exception to allow this line to be abandoned. This track served the Rochester Gas & Electric BeeBee station on State St in Rochester until they stopped generating steam and power for Kodak. Access to this running track, also known as the BeeBee line, was via the Charlotte Runner in Charlotte where trains would cross the Genesee River over a swingbridge on the Ontario Industrial Track and south where it would cross the Genesee River again just north of Smith Street and into a small yard at the plant. Other online customers were Ridge Lumber and Case Hoyt. Salvage of this track is now underway, however the STB has ordered Conrail to preserve the historical integrity of the swingbridge until further notice. - Corning Secondary - Now Norfolk Southern
Running from Lyons to Corning, this line also gives trackage rights to the Finger Lakes Railway between Geneva and Himrod Junction in Yates County. This line sees light service with 5-10 trains weekly for interchange with the FGLK and coal trains/empties to/from the NYSEG plant in Dresden. There is no overhead traffic on this line at this point, which may change if the buyout of Conrail goes through. If that happens, then expect several Norfolk Southern trains per week to run over this line. - Southern Tier Line - Now Norfolk Southern
The Southern Tier Line is the Mainline's little brother. It runs from Buffalo to Oak Island, NJ, and is used as a "safety valve" to relieve congestion on the Mainline, as well as a secondary routing line in case of any major problems on the Mainline. Several scheduled trains run this line daily. Single tracked with CWR in most places, it does not have the traffic that the Mainline generates, however it is an important line nonetheless. The Canadian Pacific and the New York, Susquehanna & Western railroads have trackage rights on this line. The STL is the interchange points for the Depew, Lancaster & Western, and Rochester & Southern shortlines. The high trestle over the Genesee River in Letchworth Park is located on this line as well. Here's a good article from Railfan and Railroad magazine about the STL and the semaphores that remain. - Somerset Secondary
This line is actually owned by the Somerset Railroad, a subsidiary of NYSEG, and is used to receive coal shipments for the Kintigh power generation plant on train USN. There is also a customer in Lockport which uses this line. The plant is located on the Lake Ontario shore. - Niagara Branch
This branch runs from Buffalo to Lockport and gives Conrail access to the Falls Road Railroad, Somerset, Niagara Falls area online customers, the now-defunct Tonawanda Island Railroad, the Canadian based VIA passenger railroad and the Canadian National Railroad.
CSX / NS RADIO FREQUENCIES FOR THE ROCHESTER AREA
Trains
- Ch 1 - 160.800 - Mainline dispatcher
- Most Conrail territory going to CSX will use this channel as the primary road channel. Towers are located at Lyons (next to the MOW building), Rochester (atop Midtown Plaza - tower at the Goodman St. Yard is for PBX and yard ops) and Batavia (at the yard, I assume).
- Ch 2 - 161.070 - Road channel for territory going to Norfolk Southern, including the Southern Tier and the Corning Secondary.
- Ch 3 - 160.860 - Old MOW channel - used primarily for local switching on a customer's property.
- Ch 4 - 160.980 - Yard frequency
Maintenance of Way
- Ch 3 - 161.130 - PBX out, unit-to-unit
- Ch 4 - 160.710 - PBX in
- Ch ? - 161.055 - "Special projects" - used to keep the PBX channels clear during incidents or projects (i.e., snow removal)
Others
- 452.9375 - End of Train telemetry - locomotive to EOT
- 457.9375 - End of Train telemetry - EOT to locomotive
Conrail also has the ability to communicate with their interchange partners on their frequencies as well.
These maps were originally created in 1987. These are highly detailed maps of the Conrail system showing every line, branch, spur, siding and lead. Needless-to-say, there have been numerous changes to the lines since then, but for the most part, are pretty much accurate. The maps are in the order as originally published by Conrail. I have not highlighted the changes (abandonments and whatnot)... I saved the fun of exploring those for yourself! I'll add the rest the Buffalo Division as time permits.
Railroad reporting marks in parenthesis (DLWR) are shortline operators who have since acquired the line from Conrail. Abbreviations are as follows: IT - Industrial Track, RT - Running Track
- Map Legend 1/2
- Map Legend 2/2
- Zone 7 - Rochester
- Crittenden, Corfu, and Batavia - Mainline
- Batavia and Batavia Yard (DLWR)
- Batavia - Attica IT (DLWR)
- Batavia - Attica IT (DLWR)
- Batavia - Mainline, Batavia IT and RT (DLWR)
- South Byron and Bergen - Mainline
- Chili Center and Genesee Junction - Mainline, West Shore Branch, and Genesee Jct.
- Genesee Jct. and Mortimer - West Shore Branch, Mortimer IT #225 (RSR), Mortimer RT (LAL) and Rochester IT (LAL)
- Industry and Avon - Mortimer RT (LAL)
- Henrietta - West Shore Branch and Rochester IT (LAL)
- Henrietta, Pittsford, and Fairport - West Shore Branch
- Chili and Coldwater - Mainline
- Gates - Mainline
- Rochester - Mainline
- Rochester - Mainline and Charlotte RT
- Rochester - Falls Road Secondary
- Rochester - Main Old LIne and Otis Yard
- Rochester - Charlotte RT
- Charlotte - Charlotte RT, Charlotte IT, Ontario IT and Rochester RT
- Rochester - Rochester RT
- Charlotte - Charlotte IT and Charlotte Yard
- Rochester - Mainline
- Rochester - Mainline and Goodman Street Yard
- Rochester - Mainline
- Zone 8 - Lyons
- East Rochester - Mainline
- East Rochester - Mainline
- Fariport - Mainline and West Shore Branch
- Wayneport - Mainline and West Shore Branch
- N. Macedon, Macedon and Palmyra - Mainline and Mobil Chemical Lead
- Newark - Mainline
- Lyons - Mainline and Lyons Yard
- Lyons and Clyde - Mainline
CSX EMPLOYEE TIMETABLES
Click on a thumbnail to view the full size image
as well as the West Shore Branch!!These timetables were created in a Microsoft Excel 7.0 spreadsheet. This is a zipped file and you will need MS Office 95 to view it
SOME ROCHESTER, BUFFALO & NIAGARA FALLS AREA CUSTOMERS
| LINE | TRAIN | COMPANY | ADDRESS | CITY | CONSIST | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainline | WARO-? | Higbie Farms | South Union Street | Chili | ||
| Mainline | WARO-? | Rochester Storage | Pixley Road | Gates | ||
| Mainline | WARO-? | Statewide Refrigerated Service | Pixley Road | Gates | ||
| Mainline | WARO-16 | Genesee Brewing | St. Paul Blvd | Rochester | Hops. | Beer company also brews Samuel Adams. Company track nicknamed Genesee Falls Railroad (GFR) by local Conrail folks. |
| Mainline | WARO-? | Liquitane | 18 Champeny Terr. | Rochester | Just west of the Goodman St. yard | |
| Mainline | WARO-? | Otis Lumber | E. Main St. | Rochester | Building Materials | Just west of the Goodman St. yard |
| Mainline | WARO-? | R.H. Frankel | 274 S. Goodman St. | Rochester | Inside Goodman St. yard | |
| Mainline | YARO-? | R.H. Frankel | 274 S. Goodman St. | Rochester | Inside Goodman St. yard | |
| Mainline | YARO-? | Economy Paper | 1175 E. Main St. | Rochester | Inside Goodman St. yard | |
| Mainline | WARO-? | REM Associates | 40 Greenleaf St. | Rochester | Across Atlantic Ave from Goodman St. Yard - unverified | |
| Mainline | WARO-? | Gleason Works | University Ave. | Rochester | unverified | |
| Mainline | WARO-? | Western Bituminous Products | Rockwood St. | Rochester | Coal and coal products?? | unverified - on the "Brighton Siding" |
| Mainline | WARO-? | Rochester Lumber | East Ave / Rockwood St. | Rochester | Lumber - on the "Brighton Siding" | |
| Mainline | Allied Plywood | Despatch Rd. | E. Rochester | Wood products. | Capacity for one or two cars/ | |
| Mainline | WARO-13 | Cantisano Foods | Whitney Rd. | Fairport | Tomatoes, jars, etc. | Serviced 2-3 times weekly. |
| Mainline | WARO-16 | Mobil Chemical | Main St. | Macedon | Plastic, chemicals. | Spur runs about 2 mi. |
| Mainline | Agway | N. Creek Rd. | Palmyra | Grain, feed. | ||
| Mainline | Central NY Forwarding | Palmyra | Freight svc. | |||
| Mainline | Palmyra Building Supply | Palmyra | Building supplies | |||
| Corning Secondary | U?? | NYSEG | Dresden | Coal | ||
| West Shore | WALY-? | Suburban Propane | Chili Ave. | Chili | Propane | |
| West Shore | WALY-? | Case Hoyt | Chili Ave. | Chili | ||
| West Shore | WALY-? | Rochester Gas & Electric | Jefferson Road | Henrietta | Utility poles, transformers | |
| West Shore | WALY-? | Wright Wisner | Jefferson Road | Henrietta | Beer distributer - active | |
| West Shore | WALY-? | Universal United Liquor Warehouse | Jefferson Road | Henrietta | ||
| West Shore | WALY-? | Georgia Pacific | East Henrietta Road | Henrietta | Now closed | |
| West Shore | WALY-? | Chase Pitkins | Winton Road | Brighton | Switch is gone | |
| West Shore | WALY-? | Monroe Oil Co. (Monoco) | Monroe Ave. | Pittsford | Home Heating Oil | |
| Charlotte Runner | UEK, WARO-26 | Eastman Kodak | Ridge Rd. W. | Rochester | Coal, wood pulp, chemicals, plastic, etc. | |
| Charlotte Runner | WARO-? | Plywood Plastics | 279 Burrows St. | Rochester | ||
| Charlotte Runner | WARO-? | Marshall Boxes, Inc. | 715 Lexington Ave. | Rochester | Cardboard, boxes... | |
| Charlotte Runner | WARO-? | Comac Builders Supply | 186 Norman St. | Rochester | Building Supplies | |
| Charlotte Runner | WARO-? | Wayerhauser | Boxart St. | Rochester | Building Materials | Holds 3 box cars |
| Charlotte Runner | URN, WARO-61 | RG&E Russell Station | Ling Rd. | Greece | Coal | WARO-61 (4 GE B23's for power) haul out the empties to Goodman St. |
| Old Main | WARO-? | Kleen Brite | Broad St. | Rochester | Chemicals | |
| Falls Road Secondary | WARO-? | Monroe County Recycling Plant | 1845 Emerson St. & Lee Road | Rochester | Processed garbage... | |
| Somerset Secondary | UNS | New York State Gas & Electric | Rt. 18 | Somerset | Coal | Via Lockport Secondary |
| Somerset Secondary | VanDeMark Chemicals | Lockport | Chemicals. | |||
| Lockport Secondary | GM-Harrison Radiator | Lockport | ||||
| Niagara Branch | Hooker Chemical | Niagara Falls | Chemical products | |||
| Niagara Branch | Tonawanda Coke Co. | Coal. | ||||
| Niagara Branch | Niagara Mohawk Huntley Plant | Coal. |
Conrail also interchanges with area shortline railroads.
Area railfan, Dave Fravel, has some great information regarding local Conrail operations. Follow this link to access his web page.
These schedules were obtained from Eastern Rail News.
A proposal by up by Norfolk Southern and CSX to split up Conrail has been approved by the Surface Transportation Board. CSX share of Conrail is the Mainline from NYC to Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, and through to Chicago. CSX will also take over local deliveries in the Rochester area that are curretly being served by Conrail. CSX's share of Conrail also extends from Syracuse to Montreal, as well as the local lines to Oswego. NS's share includes the Southern Tier Line, Buffalo Line, Ebenezer and Corning Secondaries, which will meet with CSX in Buffalo and Lyons.
The scheduled Day 1 is March 1, 1999.
Updated information can be found at Conrail's, CSX's, and Norfolk Southern's web pages. A dedicated page, The Conrail Acquisition, can be found by clicking here.
See map below (56 kb):
