765 Buffalo excursion

My dad and I will be on the Saturday train!

My son and I are riding the Sunday train.  This area has some fantastic scenery.

 

We are driving in from the Chicago area. 

 

Regards,

GNNPNUT

I will look forward to seeing you guys on this trip.

Yeah, sure. You say that now Rich, until you have to climb Attica hill!

You really have no idea how powerful those Nickel Plate 700s are, do you?

Too bad we can't stick our heads out the windows while she's climbing the hill...

With only 18 cars, Attica Hill won't be a problem. Noisy...yes. A problem...no.

Noise? More like music to me... 😃

Sorry HW. You know that I don't really.

Rich's interview in the "Listen for the Whistle" video describes him being told to run up some speed by the NS foreman to make the grade. I guess she had no trouble at all. 

Perhaps "noise" was a bad choice of words.

 

Yes, it is indeed music to the ears to hear a well-timed steam locomotive working hard at speed on a grade.

Joe, is this hill east or west of Attica? I did a sighting lap Sunday following the tracks from Attica to Castile looking for spots to take pics from. While the road from Attica to West Middlebury is very hilly it looks like the tracks run around the base of the hills. 

 

Pete

Pete, you'd have to ask Rich that.

 

The hill is east of Attica. The track turns almost due north for a short distance, then curves east and then back south on the climb. The crossing at Spring Road or further up the hill at Dry Bridge Road would be good spots. I think Dry Ridge Road is at the summit of this little grade.

Thanks Rich. I crossed the tracks on Dry Bridge. Nice vantage point. Hard to tell how steep the grade is from the road.

 

Pete

Back on 4/16/2015 on Trains.com, associate ed. Steve Sweeney did a blog (Trains of Thought) on chasing the 765 trips from Buffalo to Corning, including details on Attica Hill. This info is available to all, and does not require membership.

I am looking for the blog on the trip from Buffalo to corning. Does the train go over the bridge across Letchworth State Park? It would be a spectacular view from the falls below.

Yes, this route goes over the Portage Bridge at the Letchworth Gorge. We'll go across the bridge at 10 mph.

Thanks for the link Borden. Steve may be optimistic if he thinks he can keep up with Rich on these back roads. Even knowing the roads on a sport bike you would have to wick it up to triple digit speeds on the country roads to make up for the time lost in the small towns. I had to wait at a crossing for a NS autorack train that was defintely moving at over 60 mph. I suspect Rich will be doing at least that.

Steve may be able to keep up on the stretch the parallels NY 70 though and parts south of Canisteo along the Canisteo river road.

 

Pete

On the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society website under FAQ it refers to a GPS App for the iphone. What is it called or how do I find it. Thanks

Freight speed is 50mph for much of the Southern Tier, 765 is limited to 40mph.

 

 

I believe the App is currently unavailable. Check back closer to the excursion dates.

Nope. We won't be going that fast.

 

Steam trains are restricted to 40 mph on Norfolk Southern. That's been in the time table since the early 90's.

Anyone planning to chase east from Bison, please be careful, particularly if you are not familiar with the roads.  Do your route research.  Also, watch out for Smokey.

 

IMO, best chasing is between CP-Cass (Hornell) and Gang Mills -- a little research beforehand will show you several points along the way.

 

Poppyl

Good points, Poppyl.

 

The scenery east of Buffalo is MUCH better than what is available close to Buffalo.

 

Once we get into the Canisteo River Valley, things really become scenic!

For those riding the train, scenery is pretty fine east and south of Attica. For those chasing the train, Dale Rd from West Middlebury to just north of Warsaw is close to the tracks and traffic is very light. Same for NY 70 from Dalton to Canaserga. Take county rd 961 to Arkport instead of NY 36. Hornell will be slow so look for alternate routes to Canisteo if you want to keep up. The Canisteo River rd (county rd 119) crosses the tracks at least twice. Some parts are bumpy but should be OK at 40MPH. 

 

East of Attica is mostly country. The pace of life is slower and locals tend to drive at or below the 55 mph speed limit. Places to pass are minimal. Don't risk your life or that of others trying to keep pace.

 

Pete

Getting closer! I would be interested in chatting with fellow forumites on the train, would be cool to share stories...

 I just had a thought.

What a great picture it would be to see her next to the Buffalo Central Terminal. Like a trip back in time! I always hope they'll do something big with that building.

I'll be on the crescent harbor for the August 1 St trip.............Paul

We have coach tickets. Maybe we will run into each other in Corning...

Rich,

The family and I will be on the Sunday Buffalo-Corning train with a few fellow CNY Chapter NRHS members.  I heard a rumor there are air conditioning issues in the coaches?  Thank you.

 

I am looking forward to seeing you, riding and photographing the train.

 

-PhilAE

Sam, Have your aunt and uncle catch the train at Spring Rd. This will be one of the best spots to take pics as the train will be heading up hill in the morning and the road is in close proximity to the tracks for at least 1/2 mile.

This pic only shows about half of the section adjacent to the road.

 

 

 

Pete

Thanks. I will see what I can do. We are not from the area (Crawford, Mercer, Erie counties in PA). May just catch it going through town.

Can't wait taking my mom surprised her this past weekend with the tics.     Hey rich glad to see ur in the cab.   See you all on sunday

I think that would be about right...

 

---

 

As usual, the rumor mill is flat-out wrong. No AC issues at all in any of the cars. We just ran the train this last weekend and they all worked fine, in 88 degree heat!

THAT is great news!  Thank you for clearing that up.  I don't think my father could handle the heat health-wise, so that makes me feel better.

 

I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

 

-PhilAE

Is it known if there will be any professional video shoots of this trip that will be going to dvd?

Are there even any "professional video" outfits left anymore?  What with YouTube, and everyone taking their own videos, most of the "profession" outfits are gone, and/or, only sell vintage steam & diesel DVDs.

The steam train video business ceased to be profitable back in the 90's. That's when I got out of the business.

 

Today, with the proliferation of free (and mostly awful) videos on YouTube, no one will pay for a professionally produced DVD, no matter how good it might be.

Assuming she's coming from the west through Hamburg/Bayview, any idea what day and time she might pass through there? This may be my only chance to catch a glimpse as I have committments all weekend. Thanks.

I've located a spot via satellite map to the east of town on 238 that looks promising, the old Erie is going around a curve.

 

Can anyone describe the Southern Tier line heading east out of Buffalo? How long does anyone think it'll take for 765 to get out of the Buffalo "metro?"