New York & Lake Erie Railroad (NY&LE) Discussion

[thebigham]

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New York & Lake Erie Railroad receives $732,000 grant

Posted: Monday, June 13, 2016 3:00 pm
By Rick Miller, County Reporter

GOWANDA — The New York & Lake Erie Railroad just received $732,768 for rail line rehabilitation between South Dayton and Cherry Creek.

Owned by the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency, the line is operated by the Gowanda-based New York & Lake Erie Railroad.

Robert O. Dingman Jr., NY&LE president, who made the application for track and cross tie replacement to the state Department of Transportation, said for the first time it included a tourism component. Dingman said Thursday he will invest about $88,000, bringing the rehabilitation project to more than $400,000.

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Like Pablo said, $732k for a line with no customers? The A&A could have used that money to fix their line from Curriers to North Java. 500+ freight cars a year...

A man at the lumber company in Cherry Creek told me in March that they would like to use rail service, but the tracks have been OOS for years.

[pablo]

I'll be honest here: I know people have tried and will continue to try to get the line working. They have spoken to the IDA and god knows whom else trying to get things rolling. They might have even begged. I'm not sure.

Personally, I have tried to get involved, though not north of Jamestown, where others have worked or are working. I attempted to get involved with the city of Jamestown, where they have no plan, and no focus. I asked to help, offered to help, and wasn't so much given the cold shoulder, but essentially told that they don't need any help.

Some of you may remember that Jamestown is the same city that believed that when former leadership of the WNYRHS offered to move the Pennsy K4 and put it on display, that something like 500k people would come to Jamestown to see it. Twice I threw cold water on that, and I'm sure I was correct.

I'm even willing to step away from a tenured teaching position to get this rolling, because it's important. This will have a huge impact for decades.

I can't say if no one cares, its incompetence, or if there's so much to do, that everyone frozen like a deer in headlights. However, these people are wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Dave Becker

[lvrr325]

Yeah, I don't think Steamtown sees a tenth of that number in an average year with operating steam locomotives.

[pablo]

It seems like the previous issues with the WNYRHS have long been resolved, and it is amazing and wonderful that we have seen so much progress in such a short time. It's important for me to state that this deal with the K4 was around a decade ago.

Dave Becker

[thebigham]

October 14, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NY&LE RR to offer Halloween Train Ride

GOWANDA, NY - The New York & Lake Erie Railroad and Love, Inc. will do a “Halloween Express” train ride out of Gowanda on Saturday October 29th.

The train will depart from the Gowanda Depot, 50 Commercial Street, Gowanda, at 11 AM and make a 20-mile, approximately 2.5 -hour round trip to South Dayton, NY and back. There will be a short layover at South Dayton. Passengers are invited to dress in costume!

Train ticket prices are $15 per person for adults, $10 per person for children age 3 – 11 years (toddlers 2 and under may ride free on the lap of a ticket holder). Train tickets can be purchased in advance on-line until October 27th at: gowandaloveinc.org. If there are any unsold seats, they will go on sale starting at 10 AM at the Gowanda Depot. Questions may be directed to Love Inc at 716 532-3541 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays 9 AM to 1 PM.

Contact: Barb Wilkins
Love Inc.
15 West Main Street
Gowanda, NY 14070
​ (716) 532-3541

[rhallock]

I had an interesting conversation with a Buffalo Southern employee about the NY&LE situation. He said that there was currently no freight traffic to it. There had been up to 400 freight cars stored on the line beyond South Dayton, but that they were being removed and were either all gone or nearly so. If you look on google earth you can see the freight cars. This seems to be why the NY&LE wanted that grant money in the earlier post. At least now there is a possibility of an excursion over that section. He also said that the two freight cars at Cattaragus had been written off by NS and the company wanted to take them off their trucks to use for storage. Amazingly he also said that the same company still wanted rail service and wanted the line rebuilt. I have seen firsthand the immense washouts and find it hard to believe that anyone would spend the money needed to restore the line. However my source said that back in Erie and EL days such washouts were normal and routinely repaired. We shall see.

[pablo]

There is active interest in the line, and powers that be are uninterested in this for reasons unknown. Sad situation.

[RMB357]

My first real job when I was still 17 was the NY&LE Railroad. Growing up next to this line in Eden is what got me fascinated with the rail industry. In 1987 we were still interchanging with CSX and Conrail in Salamanca. We brought up some monster trains ( at least for a shortlisted they were ) of boxcars destined to Carnation in South Dayton.

Plus the filming of Planes Trains and Automobiles was amazing to see that. There were many stories, some good, some bad ( like a runaway passenger car into the engine house)... I remember working on the track gang in the summer of 1988 it was like 100 degrees almost everyday for a whole week, replacing ties on the hill by Jolls road was the hardest work I ever did. We had only a spot tamper, the rest was by hand. When we got near a stream with any water that summer we were usually in it to stay cool. I met many nice people and some unforgettable experiences .