Finger Lakes Railway - Route Description

Route Description

Main line

The main line is 76 miles long, running from Syracuse to Canandaigua, New York. Once part of the New York Central Railroad and known as the Auburn Road, it dates all the way back to the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad.

At Syracuse, New York the FGLK interchanges with CSX Transportation and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW). Travelling west, the line passes through Solvay, Camillus, Skaneateles Junction (also known as Hartlot or Skaneateles Falls), Sennett, Auburn, Aurelius (Station name Relius), Cayuga, Seneca Falls, and Waterloo. At Geneva, New York, there is a connection with Norfolk Southern Railway's Corning Secondary, which Canadian Pacific Railway has trackage rights over.

Continuing west, the line passes through Phelps Junction and Clifton Springs. In Shortsville, the railroad comes to the terminus of the Ontario Central Railway. Finally, the line arrives at Canandaigua, New York.

Branch line to Kendaia/Romulus

The FGLK operates a portion of the ex-Lehigh Valley Railroad mainline from Geneva to Kendaia running south on the east side of Seneca Lake. This was the Lehigh Valley's mainline from Waverly, New York to Buffalo, New York. This line once saw much action during World War II right on through the Cold War with many military movements in and out of the Seneca Army Depot which closed in the summer 1998. The now-closed base has a very large yard which at current time is used for rail car storage by the Finger Lakes Railway. It is hoped that much of the abandoned Depot will attract new industries to the area.

Branch line from Penn Yan to Watkins Glen

The Penn Yan, New York branch was once part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Only a small section of this line extends from Watkins Glen to Bellona. To get to this line, the Finger Lakes Railway uses trackage rights over Norfolk Southern's Corning Secondary from Geneva to Himrod Junction, which is in the middle of the branch, Penn Yan being to the north and Watkins Glen, New York being to the south.

Ontario Central

In October 2007, the Surface Transportation Board approved the sale of the Ontario Central Railway to the FGLK. Previously the line had been owned by the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad. It consists of 13.3 miles (21.4 km) of ex-Lehigh Valley trackage and is part of the same former Sayre-Buffalo mainline that makes up the Kendaia branch. The two railroads connect near Shortsville, New York. As of December 2008, the Ontario Central continues to operate with a leased EMD SW9 from Golden Spike Rail Service.