Trackside bars in NY state?

Not sure if it's still there, but the Attica Hotel is right next to the ex-EL (now Southern Tier) main in Attica. They had good fish fries on Friday.

When a westbound came through town off the hill it sounded like it was coming right through the place.

For years you had Murphy's Trackside in Liverpool right next to what I'm probably always going to think of as the Montreal Secondary. It got torn down finally, in the 1990s, I think the one nearby business bought it for parking space (they've done the same with some other structures there).

But, you can now go to Heid's instead and get a beer with your hotdog.

In Kingston, N.Y., perhaps 200 ft. south of the Wallkill Valley and River Sub. junction (i.e., at the bridge over Broadway, now MP 88), there used to be a bar/restaurant, the Greenkill Tavern. Sometimes the Wallkill Valley crew would outlaw there and have some refreshment while waiting for a taxi to take them to Kingston Yard (North Yard to locals). Btw, this is almost at the same spot that infamous the Dunkin Donuts incident occurred several years ago.

Curleys on State Street in Auburn has a nice bar and Resterant the FGLK passes next to the building and the Parking lot borders the tracks. This was also the loaction of the derailment on the Bridge in 2004 or 2005? don't rember the date.

Dockside in North Tonawanda overlooks the Niagara Branch crossing the Erie Canal.
Riley Street Station in East Aurora is on the Buffalo Line, but I don't think you can see anything. http://www.rileystreetstation.com/about-history.asp

Don

In Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood, I recall often grabbing seafood or prime rib dinner at a small place with a bright & friendly atmosphere called Meisters Pub & Grill. Used to be quite the Hollywood hotties working the bar and serving the tables. When there wasn't a train creeping along the wye at Black Rock, you at least had some real cute & friendly people to converse with or watch.
(716) 447-0152
426 Hertel Ave, Buffalo, NY

Otto Vondrak wrote:You really have to visit Marge's to understand this... a whole row of lakefront houses were hemmed in by the Hojack in their front yard... trying to imagine long freight trains parked at Sea Breeze while the crew grabs a bite at Don's Original or Vic and Irv's...

Marge's is a very unique bar to say the least. I don't have to imagine the parked train, I was with them on many occasions. It was common to pull up and let the guys off from the caboose, by the restaurants, and then back up so the engineer had the same convenience. It didn't matter whether they were going east or west; many of the homeowners shared the view of the parked train for an hour or so back then. When they were moving through that populated stretch, it was at 5 mph with the bell ringing.

A few you guys seem to have missed along the Southern Tier.

1. West of Sparrows near Mill Rift there was a nice bar restaurant right at the crossing near the detector. Name unknown.

2. Madam oars/ Tzers in Binghamton, backs right up to the Delaware Div (now CNYK/NYSW) no view of the trains, but many other nice views [wink, wink].

3. Erie Station in Owego (which was mentioned)

4. Several spots on Main Street in Waverly, the names of which escape me (one was Uncle Sams a few years back.

5.The Italian Veterans Club in Elmira is right next to the yard.

6. The [Lehigh] Valley House in Ithaca a block from the Lehigh Secondary and across the street from the old LV station (now a Chemung Canal Trust branch bank and formerly the Station Restaurant for years)

7. Farmers & Shippers Hotel in Ithaca across the street from the tracks is now a "Supper Club" but I believe is still open to the public on certain temporary membership terms...

8. There are also a couple of bar/restaurants near the old depot in Hornell, can't remember their names.

LE

On the Ithaca Secondary, there's a couple in Sayre too, although they're just across the border from Waverly so they technically are off topic.

northjerseybuff wrote: Riverline
Kelly's pub-tappan ny. outdoor patio directly next to the tracks!

It's now "Murphy's"

I told Steve (owner) about this thread

His response, "Railfans Welcome!"

Sounds like another Murphy's Idle Hour Cafe. That is the usual name for such an enterprise. Many a commuter has retired or left his job, to open such an enterprise, and it usually is near a RR station, or often, near a hospital.

OOPS my bad

It's "Morgans"

Steve Morgan bought, then sold the place 17 years ago, now has bought it back. In the 80's it was the Hogpenny

6. The [Lehigh] Valley House in Ithaca a block from the Lehigh Secondary and across the street from the old LV station (now a Chemung Canal Trust branch bank and formerly the Station Restaurant for years)

The Station Restaurant you show above, is this the same place as the website provided here? I"ve stayed at this places years ago. I thought it was the greatest place. Is it still in business or is the website just not taken down yet?

http://www.ithacastation.com/

Can 100% guarantee the former LV station in Ithaca is a bank and has been for over a year. I drove by it about 13 months ago. I don't recall that you could "stay" there, it was a restaurant, you may be thinking of something else.

While my dad and I came down to Ithaca by boat from the Seneca Canal launched at Waterloo, we overnighted in one of the cars. No plastic cups in the bathroom. Glass! The car was extreme perfection. The gold plated faucets for the sink and bathtub/shower were polished to perfection. No sloppy care here.

It's been a while but I seem to remember the restaurant served the food on RR dinnerware. That was 2003. Boy does time fly! Very sad to see this gone. If you've never been in it, you've missed something special.

I'm really bummed out about this because my friend and I are working on a Columbus Day road trip to Jim Thorpe, Pa and I was going to try and stop here for the night on our way back after passing Sayre. I'll have to file for an alternate.

Thanks for the confimation.