The Canandaigua Line consists of 25
miles of the former New York Central Auburn Branch. The Victor Branch is the former Ontario Central Railroad (itself a portion of the former Lehigh Valley main line) starting at Short- sville and running to the end of track at Victor. Speeds vary from ten to 25 m.p.h for both routes. This network is served by one local, generally on Tues- day and Friday of each week. Numer- ous customers scattered along the line get regular service, so it is an excellent operation to capture action shots mixed with customer switching. The Canandaigua Line starts west
from the Geneva Yard and crosses Route 14, then immediately turns north parallel to Route 14 on the west side. Once you reach the north side of Geneva, turn left on Skuse Road until reaching Carter Road. Take Carter Road north to Cross Road and turn left into Oaks Corners. After crossing the
tracks, take the right onto Pre-Emption Road (County Route 6) and take that north to Route 96. If there are mainte- nance hoppers or side dump cars on the rear of the train, they are cut at Oaks Corners on the main line for loading by the Hanson facility. Once you turn left onto Route 96, it
will take you into Phelps, which has a multitude of photo options. When you get through Phelps, turn right onto Junction Road, go a short distance and see if the train stops to switch Phelps Supply, a regular customer. If the local stops there it provides some easy views; if they go straight through, there is quite a gap to the next spot and no time is lost.
Following Route 96 west, before reaching a sharp bend to the north, turn left onto Route 13 which keeps you on the south side of the tracks and takes you into Clifton Springs. Here again, there are many locations in town
to photograph the train by choosing any of the streets that connect to Route 13. Once the tracks veer north away from the road, you are getting close to Shortsville. There are two routes to choose from: Cross the river, turn right onto Water Street, and take that to Route 21. Turning right brings you up to the east end of the old LV Manches- ter Yard. For option two, turn right on- to East Street which crosses both the Canandaigua Line and the Victor Branch, then continue straight to Route 21. Turn left to access Manches- ter Yard. I’ll never forget the first time I followed the local, I was quite para- noid with the question, “Which way will they go first?” Well, each time I’ve followed the train, they have always gone west onto the Victor Branch first. When you’re on Route 21 in Man- chester, look west at the crossing and you’ll see the former site of the LV Manchester Yard. At the west end of
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