GREATER ROCHESTER SHORTLINE RAILROADS
GENESEE & WYOMING RAILROAD
ADDRESS & PHONE: 1200-C Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY 14624
OWNERSHIP: Genesee & Wyoming Industries, Inc.
REPORTING MARK: GNWR
RADIO FREQUENCIES: 160.770 Road, 160.500 & 160.590 - salt mine switching, 161.100 Yard, 160.785 and 161.445 Others
PRIMARY BUSINESS
- Salt
- Grain
- Stone
ANNUAL TRAFFIC: 18,000 carloads
INFRASTRUCTURE: Approximately 35 miles of track, 80-115 lb rail
ONLINE CUSTOMERS:
- American Rock Salt Mine, Hampton Corners
- Akzo Nobel Salt Stockpile, Retsof
- Foster Wheeler, Dansville (DMM)
- Folgers Grain, Mt. Morris
SCHEDULE OF OPERATIONS:
- As needed
TRAINSPOTTING LOCATIONS:
INTERCHANGE POINT & RAILROAD: Caledonia with the Rochester & Southern
LOCOMOTIVE ROSTER: Enginehouse located in Retsof - unsure if this facility will reopen when the salt mine reopens... power being dispatched out of the R&S Brooks Avenue Yard.
- See the Genesee & Wyoming Industries page for the complete company locomotive roster, since power is pooled.
The GNWR's primary business will be the movement of salt from the American Rock Salt mine in Hampton Corners. Previously, the GNWR's primary customer was Akzo Nobel mines in Livingston County until its closure in 1996. A little history: The B&O acquired the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh in 1932. B&O went into Chessie in the 70's which became part of CSX later. The Rochester branch which was sold to the Genessee & Wyoming in 1985. Business for the railroad has dropped dramatically with the closure of the salt mine in Retsof - from 20,000 carloads per year to 200. A new mine in Hampton Corners is under construction this year by a new company named American Rock Salt. The GNWR now building a 2.2 mile spur and a small yard on the mine property to service the mine - completion is expected in the summer 2000.
Some aerial views of the spur construction project from November 1999 can be found by clicking here.
There have been some changes to the GNWR's line due to the closure of the Akzo salt mine in 1996. The yards at Retsof have been torn up, with only one track in Griffith yard remaining and all the curved tracks that lead towards Greigsville. All the yards including Fuller, Griffith and Hill have been torn up. Griffith has one track remaining in it (below the old Hill yard, alongside it). The Greigsville inbound/outbound yard is reportedly still intact. All four tracks still curve toward Rt. 36(?) and the former Delaware Lackawanna & Western main. The railaod is now the G&W subdivision of the R&S. According to one of their bulleitns the track is out of service from P&L Junction south to Dansville (which also includes the Dansville & Mount Morris shortline from Groveland to Dansville). -- Thanks to Mike Zollitsch for the update.
On a recent drive to Restof on 7/19/98, the G&W car barns and offices in Retsof are all boarded up. On the south end of the Akso property, a single track leads to a large stockpile of brand new ties - possibly for the construction of the new spur to the new salt mine... or just for storage. The mine itself has been closed and the mine shaft filled in. The site is now known as the Akzo Noble Salt Stockpile - which is a large hill of salt under a huge tarp.
GENESEE & WYOMING MILEPOSTS
Click here to download the spreadsheet
GENESEE & WYOMING RAILROAD BOOK OF RULES
This rule book was published in 1989. These are large files so be patient during their download. They have been ZIP'ed, and you'll need software such as PKUNZIP, PKZIP for Windows, WinZIP, etc... to unZIP them. You will also need Adobe Acrobat Reader (these are all free downloads - click on the links as needed) to view these files once they've been unZIP'ed - e-mail me if you have any questions or problems opening these files. I've divided the rule book into four sections for easy downloading. Here you'll find yard maps, operating information, etc...:
- General Operating Rules - 1624 kb
- Special Instructions - 693 kb
- Train Handling Instructions & Air Brake Rules - 1344 kb
- Hazardous Material Emergency Response Procedures - 339 kb
HISTORY: The Genesee & Wyoming Valley Railway was incorporated in 1891 and opened from Retsof to P&L Junction in 1894. The company was placed in receivership in November 1898 and sold to the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, which was incorporated March 24, 1899. On July 30, 1912, Genesee & Wyoming leased the Halite & Northern Railroad (it was abandoned in 1934). The railroad did not come under ICC control until 1921. Passenger service was discontinued in 1929. Genesee & Wyoming acquired Conrail's ex-Lackawanna line from Groveland to Greigsville in June 1982.
CREDITS: John Stewart's railroad.net and the American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th ed. by Edward A. Lewis