Rochester Subway - History

History

In 1918, the Erie Canal was re-routed to bypass downtown Rochester, and in 1919 the abandoned canal was bought to serve as the core of the subway. The subway was built below, and the subway's roof was turned into Broad Street. Construction was completed and operations began in 1927. Only two miles were in the tunnel, the rest of the route in open cut. The term "subway" did not refer to the tunnel, but to the route being grade-separated and operated as rapid transit. Connecting interurban lines were routed into the subway and off city streets, easing developing traffic congestion. The segment over the Genesee River utilized the former Erie Canal: Second Genesee Aqueduct.

When the Utica streetcar system was abandoned in the late 1930s, New York State Railways transferred the relatively new steel cars to Rochester to replace the 2000-series center-door cars that had been in service since the opening of the subway. The Utica cars ran until the end of passenger service on June 30, 1956. Car #60 was saved for preservation, and is undergoing restoration by the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. L2 has been rescued, and has had restoration begun on it by the New York Museum of Transportation.

The subway from Court Street to Rowlands was replaced by the Eastern Expressway in 1956. Limited freight service operated by connecting railroads lasted on the subway route from Court Street to General Motors until 1976, when the City of Rochester elected to fill the cut to eliminate the numerous bridges. Rail freight deliveries in the subway tunnel continued until 1996, when Gannett Newspapers moved their printing operations to another location.