ABOVE: With more than 100 empty hoppers behind, train GW threads its way through the yard at Caledonia and onto the old Genesee & Wyoming connection for the trip south to the salt mine. ELLIOT COURTNEY RIGHT:
The salt
train sails through the snow-bound ex-Lacka- wanna passenger station at Leicester, N.Y., on February 1, 2015. DAVID SCHEIDERICH
incorporating the new station signs. We continued the chase through the back-
woods of Scottsville and Mumford. The scen- ery is decidedly rural, and we captured the train threading through several farms in between the village centers. The blanket of snow seemed to make the railroad stand out even more without the distractions of vibrant green foliage. Caledonia is where the Rochester & South- ern connects with the former Genesee & Wyo- ming track down to the salt mine. At one time there was an interchange with the Lehigh Valley and the “Peanut” branch of the New York Central, stubs of which are still retained for local freight customers. The BL1 local crew paused to set out a cut of cars for Caledonia. We heard the crew of GW1, the southbound salt train, call the BL1 to coordinate their next movements. We had our second train! After some time, the BL1 continued on to LeRoy, and we scouted ahead for good locations. Our first shot was at an abandoned aggre- gate loader at a quarry property outside of Le- Roy, which at first glance could be mistaken for an old locomotive coaling facility. Next we headed into the village and set to catch the train as it crossed a series of girder bridges over the Oatka Creek. We then backtracked to Caledonia in hopes of intercepting the GW1. Thanks to good tim- ing on our part, we arrived in town about the same time the salt train did. Much to our delight, the GW1 was sporting a solid set of orange G&W family power! Five units on the head end were in charge of more than 100 empties headed for the salt mine. We grabbed some pictures and headed south. The snow began to fall a little heavier as
we approached our first stop in York. After we got our photo of the long train passing the King Cole Bean Company, we headed for Retsof. This was once the location of the Akzo Nobel salt mine, as well as G&W’s main clas- sification yard and shops. We set up on the Route 63 bridge as the train approached the sweeping curve into the old yard. South of Retsof, the train swings onto a portion of the old Lackawanna main line. This portion of track connects the old G&W at Leicester with the new salt mine operation at Mount Morris, as well as the former Dans- ville & Mount Morris track down to Dansville. Once again taking advantage of the overcast conditions, we set up for a shot alongside the old Lackawanna station in Leicester. Built in 1915, it was recently purchased and restored as a coffee shop and local art gallery. Since it was getting late into the afternoon,
and weather conditions were not improving, we decided to head back towards Rochester. We were all pretty pleased with the day’s events, getting a lot more photos than any of us expected on a lazy Sunday chase.
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