Eastern Railroad Discussion > Different times on the Southern Tier

The early nineties were a lot different to today on the Southern Tier in NY. Semaphores, double track, newcomer CP (D&H), SusieQ stack trains, leased power.

Enjoy...

...John Reay, Bowmanville, ON

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Very nice, John! The Attica pic was taken about 12 miles south of me. What are the locations of the other pics? Kevin

Single tracked...yes. SusieQ gone West of Bingo...yes. Semaphoreless...not completely. Not as busy as the first half of the nineties, but it is much better after stealing the Buffalo Line\'s traffic. There\'s still hope.

Here the DH 166 goes by Wellsburg, NY this past Sunday afternoon.

Tom H>

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Sunday was fairly busy during daylight hours - there were two eastbound coal trains, 12T, CP 166, 13T, 41T, and H2R all between 10AM and 5 PM, which isn\'t too bad. Hard to predict the future - perhaps the current fuel greed will spur the trucking industry to put more trailers on the rails in an effort to save fuel, and that could result in a glut of traffic that could squeeze NS\' Pennsy main to the point of needing a traffic outlet. I doubt that traffic will ever approach what was hauled during WW II. The railroads, especially the PRR, handled it all and did it well. But since we live in an era where it seems impossible for most any organization to do anything as good as they used to, despite computers and hired experts and high - horsepower everything, I am hoping they don\'t take the route CR did and turn away additional traffic. (Conrail turned down what they considered "short - haul" piggyback service on certain routes during the nineties, much of it north -south oriented Midwest traffic.)

And a couple of decades before that, when EL ran ~ 24 trains / day west of Binghamton, a high and wide train sits on the long since removed eastbound siding in Owego.

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Kevin,

The first shot is east of Cameron Mills in the Canisteo valley (ex-BN Tiger Stripe.) Second is at Attica. Third is at East Hornell (NYSW coal drag.) Last shot (semaphore) is between Addison and Gang Mills.

...John Reay

First shot actually is between Carson and Cameron. Closer to Adrian.

there were some good times on the tier back in the early and mid nineties! i remember making a trip up there one day and saw 12 trains in daylight! i dont think that it is possible anymore today! my dad and i where up there the day after thanksgiving last year and only saw 3 trrains from sunlight to sundown which where the: e/b cp frt. with 3 cp "red barn" sd40\'s on for power, the 13w{former buffalo line train} and a local headed for elmira from gang mills. this was all from gang mills west to hornell. this was always my favorite area on the tier!

since we now have 4 more trains added to the southern tier line, on an average day what can i expect to see now in daylight west of corning? i may venture up that way here this spring again! i hope im not dissapointed!

Wow John! Excellent pictures! I really like that first one, with the lush green in the background and the plethora of color! The Susie-Q pic with the yellow and black engines and the winter tan trees in the background are a natural match too! Good pics man, thanks for sharing!
DTIDave

How far West? Maybe a chance of the 206, it\'s still a pretty constant early morning train (but longer days might help). 41T, 12T and DH 166-whatever would be a good bet. 40T,and 13T,are iffy- but seem to show up at about any time anyway. 205 and DH 167-whatever would be near dark or evening runs.

So as far as the regular symbols go: probably three or four in a long day.

Also a good chance of at least one coal train, maybe two.

Can\'t vouch for any locals that far West.

Summed up- long spring day, with favorable times for you- five or more, summer would bring probably a couple more if you\'re lucky. Bad day, winter sun, maybe three. But it really is the luck of the draw.

Tom H>

Yes Tom...but with progress and more traffic - and the fact that NS isn\'t keeping that blade in service b/c of it\'s historical value - means that more trains pass thru the area, and the more likelihood that someday the blade at Endicott will fall as well....sad to think about, but it\'s coming...