Operation
- Images of the Rochester and State Line Railroad (click on image to enlarge)
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Locomotive number 1 -
Locomotive headlight -
Ticket to ride -
Oil tank train at the Salamanca station -
Named after Rochester's first mayor, the Rochester and State Line locomotive, "J E Child" -
Rochester and State Line Railway timetable of 8 October 1877. The name, J E Child, sometimes appears as J E Childs. -
Rochester and State Line Railway advertising poster, circa 1878 -
Rochester and State Line Railway first route map, circa 1878
In 1874, the Rochester and State Line Railroad connected Rochester and Le Roy, although little traffic came to or from many small agricultural and industrial villages, thanks to the Great Depression of 1873-1879. Near the end of the depression, in 1878, the railroad had reached Salamanca, but the return to prosperity eluded many.
The freight carried by the new line varied. Initially, farm produce and lumber comprised the revenue loads, and this did not materially change until the line reached Salamanca. Then, crude oil became the dominant load, with solid trains of tankers running north to Rochester. In the end, it did not carry significant quantities of coal, and this figured in its economic failure when the oil business declined.
Unlike the standardization prevalent today, the lines of the 1870s used a number of gauges, necessitating some means of allowing interchange of rolling stock. The Rochester and State Line Railroad faced this in Salamanca at its interchange with the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, with its six-foot gauge. The Ramsey car transfer device solved the problem, although it did little for the inconvenience until the A & G W saw the light of reason and adopted the standard 4'-8½" gauge.
Like a great many rail companies, the R&SL experienced fiscal embarrassment from time to time. During the construction of the Salamanca line, management devised a means of protecting the locomotives and cars from the tax collectors when back taxes began to accumulate. They sold the rolling stock to themselves, removing it from the tax collectors' reach, eventually selling the equipment back to the railroad when the pressure eased.
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