Three ways to Rochester - Just on the New York Central

At one time in Rochester's history, a passenger who found themselves in Syracuse, NY had at least three choices of how they could come to Rochester by rail...   Just on the New York Central!   From the Central's Water Level Route main line coming out of Grand Central Terminal in New York City to the Hojack Line or the Auburn Road, a passenger had choices on how to get to Rochester and its surrounding communities.

Here we have three New York Central cash fare receipts from the Rochester Chapter's archives for three different routes that included both Syracuse and Rochester which lets us see just how many communities one railroad served and how one could travel just between two of upstate New York's larger cities and beyond.

  New York Central - Main Line
Fare was for travel between Rochester & Buffalo

New York Central - Auburn Road
Fare was for travel between Camillus and Martisco

New York Central - Hojack Line
Fare was for travel between Rochester and Forest Lawn (one stop from Webster, NY)

 While a passenger no longer has three choices, they still can travel between Rochester and Syracuse by rail via Amtrak on the former New York Central 'Water Level Route' main line.

More to come... From the archives...

A trip from the past - October 3, 1965

The Rochester Chapter NRHS has a very long heritage of operating railroad excursions, and many of those excursions took place during the fall.    As we look into the Chapter's archives again, we find a flyer advertising one of those trips which was to take place on October 3, 1965 on the New York Central.    Like so many trips of the past, this one was co-sponsored by the Rochester and Buffalo NRHS Chapters.  

Billed as the "Annual Russell H. Shapley Memorial Trip", this all New York Central routing  including the NYC main, Fall Brook line, and Auburn Road.   And all of that for $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children!   Plus you could choose to ride in an open gondola on the freight lines only.

This is all we have in the archives from this trip.   Did you ride this trip?   Have anything you would be willing to share with us?  Recollections... Photographs... Souvenirs...    Please contact us.   We are very interested in continuing to grow our knowledge about the history of the Rochester Chapter National Railway Historical Society.

More to come... From the archives...

Latest Rochester Chapter newsletter available

Interested to learn more about what is going on with the Rochester Chapter NRHS and its Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum?   Read the October issue of our newsletter, The Semaphore, online in PDF.    And if you want to read more, please check out our online newsletter archive.

A wonderful surprise inside a small envelope...

While looking through the Chapter's archives, I came upon a small envelope. Inside was a letter, business card, and a punched New York Central passenger cash fare receipt. Not much at first until I read the letter.

Then I realized this was a really neat piece of Rochester railroad and Rochester Chapter NRHS history.   A last ride on a last New York Central train...  A souvenir saved...   A nearly by-gone form of communication in a type written letter...   An experience shared between friends (A. Whitman Crittenden & Wallace Bradley) now preserved and left to share with us...

 

 

The Rochester Chapter NRHS is always looking for new people to help us with our archives and to see what other discoveries there are to find and share.   Interested?   Please contact us or come to one of our monthly membership meetings.