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GREATER ROCHESTER SHORTLINE RAILROADS

lallogoai.gif (1233 bytes)LIVONIA AVON & LAKEVILLE RAILROAD

ADDRESS & PHONE: 3637 Rochester Road, Lakeville, NY 14480 - 716-346-2090

CORPORATE WEBSITE:  http://www.lalrr.com

OWNERSHIP: Shareholder owned (private stock)

REPORTING MARK: LAL

RADIO FREQUENCIES: 160.830, 161.205, 161.175

PRIMARY BUSINESS

ANNUAL TRAFFIC: 3,300 cars

INFRASTRUCTURE: 27 miles of track, 90-136 lb rail, trackage rights on the Rochester & Southern from Genesee Junction to Brooks Avenue Yard

ONLINE CUSTOMERS:

SCHEDULE OF OPERATIONS:

TRAINSPOTTING LOCATIONS:

INTERCHANGE POINT & RAILROAD: Genesee Junction with CSX and the Rochester & Southern

LOCOMOTIVE ROSTER: Enginehouse located in Lakeville - click on an engine # for a picture - those pictures which are not mine were used without permission and were taken from www.railroad.net, www.lalrr.com, and gelwood.railfan.net - so credit to these webmasters.

 

#

TYPE

YEAR

BUILDER'S #

CURRENT
ASSIGNMENT

HERITAGE / NOTES

BH 4 ALCO S1 1950 78139 Cohocton Stored serviceable on the B&H
BH 5 ALCO S1 1950 77077 Cohocton In service on the B&H
LAL 20 ALCO RS-1 1949 76797 Lakeville ex LEF&C - yard switcher, work trains
LAL 72 ALCO S2 1941 69535 Lakeville ex SB - yard switcher
ONCT 418 ALCO RS-36 1962 83697 Victor ex ONCT 86, exx NW 2865, exxx NKP 865 - On the Ontario Central and owned by the Ontario Central.
LAL 420 ALCO C420 1964 3363-3 Lakeville ex LIRR 200 - high nose - LAL road power
BH 421 ALCO C424m 1963 3367-3 Lakeville (shopped) ex GTI 452, exx D&H 452, exxx CR 2495, exxxx RDG 5206 - at the LAL's Lakeville shops, lettered for the B&H - LAL road power
BH 422 ALCO C424m 1963 3358-14 Cohocton ex GTI 451, ex MEC 451, ex ST 74, exx D&H 74/455, exxx CR 2488, exxxx EL 2414 - assigned to the B&H Rail Corp.
LAL 423 ALCO C424m 1963 3358-7 Cohocton ex GTI 453, ex MEC 454, exx D&H 454, exxx CR 2481, exxxx EL 2407 - assigned to the WNYP -  soon to be assigned to the B&H after 426 finds its way to the WNYP
LAL 424 ALCO C424m 1963 3358-1 Lakeville ex GTI 450, exx ST and D&H 70/450, exxx CR 2475, exxxx EL 2401.   This is the first US built C424, built exactly 5/29/63, or one month after Canadian-built CP 8300 (which was later renumbered to CP 4200). - in Lakeville for maintenance, may be assigned as backup road power for the LAL or return to the WNYP if needs dictate
LAL 425 ALCO C425 1964 3398-8 Lakeville ex CR 5086, CR 2457, PC 2457, NH 2557 - LAL road power (David Baer photo)
WNYP 426 ALCO C424 5/66 3450-01 Falconer ex Hudson Bay 603, exx BRC
LAL 427 ALCO C424 1963 84553 Lakeville (stored) Ex-GBW 320, ex-EL 2412 - at the LAL's Lakeville shops - out of service
LAL 428 ALCO C424 1963 84557 Lakeville (stored) Ex-GBW 321, ex-EL 2415 - at the LAL's Lakeville shops - out of service
LAL 429 ALCO C424 1963 84558 Lakeville (stored) Ex-GBW 319, ex-PRR 2415, the only PRR C424 - at the LAL's Lakeville shops - out of service
WNYP 430 ALCO C430 12/67 3494-1 Lakeville (stored) ex NYSW 3000, exx Conrail 2050, exxx PC 2050, exxxx NYC 2050, Hi-Ad trucks; modified aftercooler section - at Lakeville awaiting work in the shop
WNYP 431 ALCO C430 12/67 3494-4 Falconer ex Morristown & Erie 17, exx Conrail 2053, exxx PC 2053, exxxx NYC 2053, Hi-Ad trucks; modified aftercooler section - assigned to the WNYP
WNYP 432 ALCO C430 12/67 3494-5 Falconer ex Morristown & Erie 16, exx Conrail 2054, exxx PC 2054, exxxx NYC 2054, Hi-Ad trucks; modified aftercooler section - assigned to the WNYP
WNYP 433 ALCO C430 12/67 3494-7 Lakeville (stored) ex NYSW 3006, exx Conrail 2056, exxx PC 2056, exxxx NYC 2056, Hi-Ad trucks; modified aftercooler section  - at Lakeville awaiting work in the shop
WNYP 630 ALCO C630m     Falconer ex A&M 70, exx CP 4500 - assigned to WNYP - A&M paint on this locomotive will remain.
GSRX 708 EMD SW-9 1952   Victor ex Canton Railroad 51, exx Appalachicola Northern 708 - On the Ontario Cental.  Owned by GSRX (Golden Spike Rail) - and leased to the ONCT as their backup engine

 

The Livonia Avon and Lakeville's divisions:

The Livonia, Avon and Lakeville traces its roots back to when the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad abandoned part of its Rochester Branch in 1964. A group of investors got together to purchase the line connecting the communities that it's named after. The Livonia-Lakeville line was abandoned in 1981. Until 1995, the LAL interchanged with Conrail in Avon. Because of Conrail's desire to sell off its branches to smaller shortlines who would be able to server these customers better, the LAL seized the opportunity to expand it's railroad. The Conrail Mortimer Secondary and the Rochester Industrial Track was purchased for an undisclosed sum in 1995.

This expansion allowed the LAL to service customers in Avon and Henrietta - and eliminated an overhead Conrail move from Henrietta to Avon. The LAL now interchanges with CSX and the Rochester & Southern at Genesee Junction in Chili.  The LAL also maintains trackage rights to the R&S's Brook Avenue Yard for interchange and haulage rights to the NS interchange in Silver Springs.

The LAL has since expanded in other parts of the Rochester region. In 1996, they acquired operating rights over the Stuben County owned Bath & Hammondsport - a 34 mile shortline between Bath and Hammondsport, and Bath and Wayland.. In October 1998, they purchased a controlling share of the Ontario Central - a 14 mile shortline between Victor and Shortsville.  In 2001 and 2002, they acquired 187 miles of former Erie trackage between Hornell NY and Meadville, PA - the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad.

The current LAL now runs from Lakeville to Henrietta and Genesee Junction in Chlil. in 1995, the LAL purchased 18.5 miles of trackage from Conrail, giving them direct access to Conrail's Genesee Junction and a total length of 27 route miles. This eliminated an overhead move of cars down the Mortimer Secondary to Avon by Conrail, and gave the LAL access to new and existing customers along the way. The LAL follows a route through Lakeville, Avon, Rush, Henrietta - and in Henrietta at Mortimer Junction, it continues west to Genesee Junction on a track that runs parallel to the Conrail (CSX) West Shore Branch. At this point, the line also runs south-east to West Henrietta on the former Lehigh Valley Rochester Branch to service a couple of customers off Lehigh Station Road.

The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad provides rail service for three shippers and a transloading facility in the Lakeville, NY area. Approximately 90 percent of the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad's traffic consists of inbound corn syrup destined to Sweeteners Plus, Inc., and ADM Corn Processing in Lakeville, NY. The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad also handles inbound fertilizer and chemicals along with outbound grain and wood products. The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad interchanges all of its traffic with Conrail at Genesee Junction in Chlii. Over a six-year period, traffic on the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad has more than doubled from 1,435 carloads in 1992. 2,000 in 1996, to an estimated 3,300 carloads in 1998.

On March 31, 1996 the Surface Transportation Board issued an exemption to the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad Corporation to acquire and operate an 18.49-mile line of railroad known as the Rochester Line, located between Rochester, NY and Avon, NY. The line had previously been owned by Conrail and had been refereed to as the Rochester Industrial Track and was packaged together for sale as the "Rochester Cluster". The Rochester Line currently has six active rail shippers. Conrail had also used the line for the overhead movement of traffic to and from the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad's existing line between Avon, NY and Lakeville, NY. The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad stated that the transaction would simply allow end-to-end segments of the same branch line to be unified under the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad ownership and control.

The Rochester Line extends east-west, between milepost 361.59 at Genesee Junction - Chili, and milepost 360.00 at Mortimer Junction - Henrietta, a distance of 1.59 route miles, paralleling Conrail's West Shore Branch. The north-south segmant is between milepost 380.0 at Mortimer, NY and milepost 366.2 at Avon, NY, a distance of 13.8 route miles. A short branch extends northwest-southeast between milepost 388.0 at Mortimer Junction and milepost 384.9 at Lehigh Station Road in Henrietta, a distance of 3.1 route miles, terminating just past Matthews and Fields Lumber, on online customer. The Rochester Line connects at Genesee Junction in Chili, with Conrail's West Shore Branch, a route that by-passes downtown Rochester, NY on Conrail's main line across New York State.

The Rochester Line carries traffic, including inbound lumber, fertilizer, and vegetable oil and outbound bagged beans. Of the six active shippers on the Rochester Line, three are located near the former Conrail-Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad interchange at Avon, NY. The remaining three are located on the northern end of the line, two near Henrietta, NY, and the other one (the largest) near Brighton, NY and adjacent to Conrail's West Shore Branch. These shippers originated or terminated 399 carloads of traffic in 1995. The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad indicates that no traffic is generated on the middle portion of the Rochester Line. Conrail had provided service on the Rochester Line twice per week with a local train assignment to Conrail's Genesee Junction Yard in Chili, NY.

The transaction also enables the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad to move traffic directly to and from the Genesee Junction Yard and to connect to through-train service on Conrail's Chicago Line (the Buffalo Mainline). The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad also stated that its acquisition of the line would eliminate the need for a separate Conrail local train movement between Avon, NY and Rochester (Chili), NY.

As part of the STB approval for the Conrail breakup, the LAL was allowed to purchase Genesee Junction Yard from Conrail (CSX). This will give them access to NS via the Rochester and Southern Railroad as well as switching rights, thus eliminating a paper barrier that Conrail created in order to prevent through traffic between the LAL and the RSR.

The Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railroad has increased the level of service on the Rochester Line from twice to three times weekly, with more frequent service as business dictates.

In May 1998, the LAL purchased a business car from the Arkansas and Missouri. The origins of the car dates back to 1884, but has since gone under considerable changes to what it is now - a heavyweight steel car with 6-wheel trucks. It spent most of the 20th century with the Canadian National until 1988. It has seen some use for business excursions for customers and DOT officials.

During 1998, the LAL was rehabilitated allowing for faster speeds and heavier cars on the line. These improvements will allow for track speeds of up to 25 MPH and for fully loaded cars weighing up to 286,000 lbs. Recent train movements between Lakeville and Genesee Junction has seen consists of 40-46 cars and three locomotives on a single train (taken from the 10/29/98 Lake and Valley Clarion)

Avon to Henrietta

Lakeville to Avon

In January 2001, the Conhocton Valley Railroad Corporation was formed to operate the former Bath & Hammondsport and Steuben County Industrial Development Agency's trackage between Bath, Hammondsport and Wayland.   From April 1996 to December 2000 - this was simply known as the LAL's Southern Division.

In February 2001, the LAL created a new subsidiary, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad to operate the 145 mile Norfolk Southern's Olean Secondary between Hornell and Corry, PA.  Plans call for rehabilitating the long mothballed line and developing new business.  Visit the WNYP's website for more information on this exciting new venture for the LAL.


Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad Corp. Executive Appointments

 

LAKEVILLE, N.Y., August 11, 2004 —The Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad Corp. (LAL) announces the following appointments:

 

Eugene H. Blabey, II, 65, has been elected vice chairman of the Board and succeeds Brackett D. Clark as chief executive officer.   Mr. Clark continues as Chairman of the Board.   Mr. Blabey, who previously served as LAL president, continues as chairman and chief executive officer of LAL's subsidiaries.

 

William D. Burt, 50, has been elected president and chief operating officer.  He previously was vice president and general manager.  Mr. Burt continues as president and chief operating officer of LAL's subsidiaries.

 

Larry A. DeYoung has been elected corporate secretary.  He succeeds Sergeant W. Wise, who continues as general counsel to the company.

 

Linda M. Fox has been elected treasurer and controller.  She was previously accounting manager.

 

Thomas C. McTighe, Jr., has been elected vice president – engineering and construction.  He previously was vice president – engineering.

 

Robert H. Swayne, Jr., has been appointed as chief engineer for LAL and its subsidiary railroads.  He previously was with Pandrol USA, LP.

 

Founded in 1964 as a 13-mile short line railroad, LAL operates a 282-mile system of railroads in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.  They include LAL, Cohocton, N.Y.-based B&H Rail Corp, Victor, N.Y.-based Ontario Central Railroad Corp., and Falconer, N.Y.-based Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, LLC.  The company also has a track contracting subsidiary, Western Track Works, LLC.

 


 

HISTORY: The line was built about 1853 by the Buffalo Corning & New York Railroad, whch eventually became part of the Erie. The Livonia Avon and Lakeville was incorporated May 7, 1964, to purchase an Erie-Lackawanna branch slated for abandonment. It began operations in December 1964 and operated excursions from 1965 to 1977. A portion of the line from Conesus Lake Junction to Livonia was abandoned in 1981. In 1996, the Conrail line from Avon to Genesee Junction and Henrietta was purchased.

 

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CREDITS: John Stewart's railroad.net and the American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th ed. by Edward A. Lewis


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UPDATED: February 20, 2005

 

Copyright 2002 by Les Wilson - all rights reserved