Finger Lakes Railway
Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Geneva, New York |
Reporting mark | FGLK |
Locale | New York |
Dates of operation | 1995–present |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Length | 167 mi (269 km) |
Other | |
Website | http://www.fingerlakesrail.com |
The Finger Lakes Railway (
Routes
Main line
FGLK main route runs from
At Syracuse, New York the FGLK interchanges with
's Corning Secondary.Continuing west, the line passes through
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 Waverly, New York to Buffalo, New York. This line saw much action during World War II and the Cold War, with many military movements in and out of the Seneca Army Depot, until it closed in the summer of 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. The local industrial development agency works to attract new industries to locate at the abandoned depot because of the rail infrastructure.
Branch line from Penn Yan to Watkins Glen
The
Ontario Central
FGLK acquired the Ontario Central Railroad in October, 2007.[3] Previously, the line had been owned by the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad. It consists of 13.3 miles (21.4 km) of ex-Lehigh Valley trackage that was part of the Sayre-Buffalo mainline that also makes up the Kendaia branch. The two railroads connect near Shortsville, New York.
Midcoast Railservice
Starting August 1, 2022, Finger Lakes Railway subsidiary Midcoast Railservice operates the state-owned line between Brunswick, Maine and Rockland, Maine for three years.[4]
History of Freight service
The Finger Lakes Railway is predominantly a freight company. It was founded by three shortline railroad entrepreneurs, former Boston & Maine Railroad managers, Cynthia O’Connor and Michael Smith, and George Betke, Chairman of Farmrail with funding from Genesee & Wyoming.
FGLR handles about 18,000 cars of freight each year.
Heritage railroad passenger excursion trains
The FGLK once operated a passenger excursion service, The Finger Lakes Scenic Railway, as a heritage railroad. Operations began in October, 2001 with four coaches having been purchased second-hand from Via Rail in late 1999. The cars arrived in the winter of 1999 after the seats were replaced. Operation of the excursions ended in mid-2013.
When the excursions were being run, they included both general scenic and also seasonally-themed trips.[2]
At present (2023), FGLK is again operating passenger excursions. [1]
References
- ^ My Finger Lakes NY Blog, Train Spotting
- ^ a b FingerLakes.com
- ^ STB Decision 10/05/2007 - FD_35062_0
- ^ Franz, Justin (2022-08-18). "Finger Lakes Takes Maine's Rockland Branch". railfan.com. Railfan & Railroad. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ^ "About | Finger Lakes Railway". Archived from the original on 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2009-06-03.