Abandoned Railroad Lines That Might Look Good Today

[Bob Gabbey]

On a very local basis here in Western New York, two abandoned and ripped-up rail lines might offer future potential if the rails were intact today.

1.  Rochester & Southern/Buffalo & Pittsburgh (Genesee & Wyoming Industries) - Because primarily of no online customers, G & W opted several years ago to abandon and rip-up the rails from Silver Springs Jct to Machias Jct, NY.  Therefore, salt and other outbound commodities travel on the R&S to Silver Springs Jct and turned over to NS.  Currently, in cooperation with CSX, R&S delivers a unit salt train to Rochester, NY for transit to a customer in the Pittsburgh area.  If the rails were intact, R&S/B&P could deliver the unit salt loads directly to the Pittsburgh area.

2.  CSX Falls Road - In its exuberance to inhibit competition, Conrail ripped-up the rails from Rochester to Brockport, NY thereby severing a direct link from the CSX Chicago Line to Niagara Falls, and Canada.  Any prolonged incident on the CSX Chicago Line from Rochester to Buffalo would require expensive detours on neighboring railroads (NS, CP, CN).  Moreover, as traffic increases on the CSX Chicago Line, the Falls Road would have provided a convenient, cost-effective altenative.

 

[tree68]

The old Utica & Black River (RW&O/NYC) line between Lyons Falls and Lowville was lifted around 1964.

There was virtually no business on it, so one has to figure it was a good call by NYC.  In fact, there is talk of lifting the section between Carthage and Lowville, which is essentially out of service anyhow - the only business it's seen lately is car storage.

There has been discussion, though, of it's possible value as a redundant route for Fort Drum military traffic.  It's not going to happen, but it has been discussed.  

Never mind the cost of bringing the entire line up to decent standards, restoring the ~14 miles that were lifted back in '65 would be nearly impossible today.

[beaulieu]

Bob Gabbey

2.  CSX Falls Road - In its exuberance to inhibit competition, Conrail ripped-up the rails from Rochester to Brockport, NY thereby severing a direct link from the CSX Chicago Line to Niagara Falls, and Canada.  Any prolonged incident on the CSX Chicago Line from Rochester to Buffalo would require expensive detours on neighboring railroads (NS, CP, CN).  Moreover, as traffic increases on the CSX Chicago Line, the Falls Road would have provided a convenient, cost-effective altenative.

CN has effectively abandoned their bridge at Niagara Falls for lack of traffic, Amtrak for a single train each way has now assumed costs for the rail deck of the bridge, how long that will last is anybody's guess. CP has said it is uneconomic to route Crude Oil and Ethanol trains via Buffalo, and that they will in the future be interchanged at Chicago. A few more moves like that and the bridge at Buffalo may go.