Home > BasicsTrains & Depots in the Finger LakesTrains have played a vital role in the transportation of goods and people in the Finger Lakes since the early 1800s. Some lines were only a few miles long, transporting people from one small town to another. Some lines connected with New York City, bringing wealthy tourists up for a rest in some of the regions curative waters. Other lines connected with lines in Pennsylvania and the South, bringing hundreds of slaves to freedom. Coal was brought up from Pennsylvannia to ports on Lake Ontario where it was shipped across the lake to Canada. Feeder tracks to the Erie Canal began to appear in the 1830s. Concern that railroads would divert business from the canal was so prevalent that a law was passed requiring any railroad that diverted business from the canal system to share with it its profits.
Currently Amtrak is the only commuter train line that operates regularly in the Finger Lakes though other lines operate transporting goods. Chapters of the National Railway Historical SocietyThe Central New York ChapterP.O. Box 229 Marcellus, NY 13108 Monthly meetings. Operates 2 museums and maintains a display at the New York State Fairgrounds. Cornell Railroad Historical SocietyP.O. Box 3886 Ithaca, NY 14852 Active group with monthly meetings and trips. Holds an annual Railfair in Ithaca at the end of April. Rochester ChapterP.O. Box 585-533-1431 Monthly meetings, trips, chapter store, museum (see below). MuseumsCentral Square Station MuseumRailroad St. Central Square, NY 13036 Local railroad memorabilia, circus car, locomotives, passenger car. Operated by the Central New York Chapter of NRHS. Martisco Station Railway Museum5085 Martisco Rd. Camillus, NY 13031 Renovated railway station that now serves as a railway museum. Operated by the Central New York Chapter of NRHS. The Homerville Museum49 Clinton St. Homer, NY 13077 607-749-3105 A private collection filling much of an 18-room Federal-style home, the second floor is mostly military artifacts, memorabilia, and souvenirs from the Civil War through Desert Storm while the first floor is a massive collection of model trains running through several rooms along with a substantial collection of railroad memorabilia. New York Museum of Transportation6393 East River Rd. Rush, NY 14543 585-533-1113 Rides and model trains, research library, gift shop. Rochester & Genesee Valley MuseumMuseum is accessible by rail from the New York Museum of Transportation (see above). Depot with exhibits and displays, passenger and freight cars, cabooses, locomotives. Operated by the Rochester Chapter of NRHS. FairsCentral New York Model Train FairWhen: 2 days, the first week of November Where: New York Sate Fairgrounds, 581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse, NY 13209 Contact: 315-488-8208 More than 50 operating layouts, vendors. Finger Lakes RailFairWhen: 2 days in late April Where: "The Field", 1767 East Shore Dr., Ithaca, NY 14850 Vendors and model railroad displays, including operating layouts in all scales. ExcursionsFinger Lakes Scenic Railway68 Border City Rd. Geneva, NY14456 315-781-1234 Tioga Scenic Railroad25 Delphine St. Owego, NY 13827 607-687-6786 DepotsThere are currently more than 170 existing railroad stations in the Finger Lakes, many in great condition, others waiting to be saved. You can learn more about these stations at Charles P. Woolever's information-packed Web site Existing Railroad Stations in New York State.
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