What ROW is this in Pittsford ( Rochester)

NYCRRson wrote:
Worked the Buffalo to Corning NY run for a while,

BH-2? I likely talked to him when they worked Rochester Yard. Probably would not recognize his name as the conductors were the ones we more often knew by name. Recognize the names of Franny Emerling? Jerry Vromann? Probably others if I stop and think.

One of his early stories was when he arrived at Buffalo Central Terminal as a fireman for a passenger train (powered by a steam locomotive). The engineer told him to go back to the baggage car and ask them if they "had enough steam for their fish", Dad thought it was a prank (hazing the new guy) but he went along with it and walked back to the baggage car. He banged on the door and asked them if they "had enough steam for their fish", the door slid open to reveal big tanks filled with live fish that were warmed by the live steam in the train line. The folks inside said; "yeah we have plenty of steam for our fish...."

Turns out the NYCRR actually had a couple of baggage cars equipped with steam heated tanks that were used to transport live fish to New York City for the winter holidays...

Kachler's book "THE SNOWFLAKER" also mentions these cars. "The fish were carp, kept fresh in cold water and areated from pipes in the bottom of the tanks. They were from Lake Erie and were transported regularly to New York City for the fish markets." He states the tanks had cakes of ice in them so I would guess he saw the fish in summer, and your Dad saw them in winter when heat was needed.

BR&P wrote: Kachler's book "THE SNOWFLAKER" also mentions these cars. "The fish were carp, kept fresh in cold water and areated from pipes in the bottom of the tanks. They were from Lake Erie and were transported regularly to New York City for the fish markets." He states the tanks had cakes of ice in them so I would guess he saw the fish in summer, and your Dad saw them in winter when heat was needed.

GAHHH carp! I know some people ate and still eat them, but........

Charlie

charlie6017 wrote:

BR&P wrote: Kachler's book "THE SNOWFLAKER" also mentions these cars. "The fish were carp, kept fresh in cold water and areated from pipes in the bottom of the tanks. They were from Lake Erie and were transported regularly to New York City for the fish markets." He states the tanks had cakes of ice in them so I would guess he saw the fish in summer, and your Dad saw them in winter when heat was needed.

GAHHH carp! I know some people ate and still eat them, but........

Charlie

There is a large need for carp in NYC, especially, it is used to make gefilte fish.

BR&P wrote;

"BH-2? I likely talked to him when they worked Rochester Yard. Probably would not recognize his name as the conductors were the ones we more often knew by name. Recognize the names of Franny Emerling? Jerry Vromann? Probably others if I stop and think."

Sorry, but I do not recognize those names. Dad did work with Tommy Mulanif, Paul Sutton and a couple of other names you might know.

He worked the Buffalo to Corning job from about 71 to 73 ? I do not remember the train symbol for that. Ran Buffalo to Lyons, down through Watkins Glen and tied up at Corning (not Painted Post). Then returned the next day. This was an "inter-divisional" run so the Buffalo Guys ran it for a month, then the Corning Guys ran it for a month, it alternated back and forth. If you went to Corning at the end of the month and the return trip belonged to the other division you rode home in the cab and got paid for deadheading.

According to Dad there were lots of rattlesnakes around the engine house at Corning, the snakes like to lay up against the rail in the afternoon when the sun had warmed up the steel. Then they slowly move away as night falls. He always had a good lantern with fresh batteries to scan the rails as he went to the train.

He was on that line when somebody left a mainline switch open and a southbound train (not Dad's) turned East (unexpectedly) and ran into the power plant at Dresden.

Don't recognize those guys but a couple mainline engineers I do recall are Floyd Bush and Jimmy May. Bush was on TV45 and May often had BM-7.

Can't recall whether there was a BH-2 in NYC time. Back then SH-8 came out of the Bridge and worked Rochester, went to Corning. Flip side was HS-3. There may have been a BH-2 then but I don't recall him working at Roch. I did not get to the 4th floor until about '74 or '75 but if he worked anything freight that worked at the yard 75-79 I no doubt talked to him on the radio. And speaking of Pittsford, back then the Auburn Road still went as far as Pittsford as well, if somebody had been super lucky they might have gotten an over/under pic.

"And speaking of Pittsford, back then the Auburn Road still went as far as Pittsford as well,"

Dad got called as engineer for a passenger train over the "Auburn Road" for a passenger train that was rerouted around a wreck on the main line. Probably the early/mid 1960's. Ran Buffalo to Rochester, then down the Auburn Road to end up in Syracuse. Dad said the "Auburn Road" was so covered in foliage that all he could see was "Green Everywhere". At that time the Auburn Road was single track and did not have very many trains running, it was like a branch line.

I would bet that the "regular man" heard there was a wreck and the usual 2 hour run would take 6-12 hours and decided to "mark off".... Thus my Dad got the run via the extra list.

Not sure exactly when the last "through train" from Rochester to Syracuse via the Auburn road was possible (mid to late 1960's) but Dad did run a train over that road to bypass a wreck on the mainline while it was still possible to do so.

Victor to Pittsford was abandoned 1960.

BR&P wrote:Victor to Pittsford was abandoned 1960.

Abandoned and fully ripped out by 1960!