It has been said, and it is certainly true, that there is no purpose to be served by re-inventing the wheel and to that end for the next couple of columns I will shamelessly plagiarize research done on the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Interurban Railroad (the trolley) by Mert Chomyk of Auburn and the late Janice Robertson of Weedsport.
Although the trolley went through Weedsport for only a relatively short period of time (1909 to 1931), its memory lingers on in the village.
The village park on South Street is known as Trolley Park because the trolley passed through there after leaving the station (more recently the Grange Hall and now a private residence at the corner of Liberty and South Seneca streets) on it's way to Weedsport Stop No. 2 at East Brutus and South Willow street. Stop No. 2 was put there specifically so that people could take the trolley into the village and transfer to the Lehigh Valley at that location to travel north to Cato or Fair Haven.
The trolley was described as a double tracked high speed electric railway running 86 miles from Rochester to Syracuse. The cars were routinely operated at speeds up to 70 miles per hour and were said to be very comfortable. The RS & E was reputed to be the safest and best operated of the many similar systems in the country. They were also known as the “on time” line since they had an on time rating of over 99 percent. Try to get that today from any means of travel!
Unfortunately the line faced an uphill battle from the beginning since there were already three steam railroads in town - the New York Central, the West Shore and the Lehigh Valley - and worse than that, Henry Ford and his associates were trying with considerable success to put an automobile in every garage. Possibly if the trolley had been able to become better established prior to the arrival of paved roads and the mass produced car they may well have still been part of our nation's economy.
As a bit of trivia on the RS & E, one of the investors and the first president of the company was Mr. L. C. Smith of Syracuse typewriter fame. The bridge over the West Shore Railroad a mile east of Weedsport is believed to have been the longest bridge on the system spanning more than 600 feet.
Interline connections could also be made, for example a connection could be made in Port Byron with the Auburn & Northern Electric Railway to go to Auburn.
The R S & E was completed in sections and the section between Syracuse and Port Byron was started in April of 1909 and completed in an astounding eight months, including roadbed, trackage, electrical work, bridges and stations. Power was generated in Lyons with a coal fired steam plant at a voltage of 33,000 volts AC 3 phase and stepped down with transformers to the 600 volts DC used for motive power.
Stations similar to the one in Weedsport were built in Fairport, Palmyra, Newark, Lyons, Clyde, Port Byron (now the American Legion) and Jordan. In between were more than 100 “intermediate stops,” of which 64 of them were provided with the classic octagonal 10-foot diameter buildings.
While the stations had pot-bellied stoves for heat, the Intermediate stops boasted electric heat.
The stops also had signal lamps to turn on to alert the motorman that a passenger awaited. If the signal lamp was not turned on, the trolley zipped through without stopping.
The overhead wires were supported from Rochester to Weedsport on pole and span construction, while from Weedsport to Lakeland near the state fairgrounds steel towers or catenaries were used. These catenaries were finally taken down and went to a trolley museum in Maine.
I recall coming to grief with my first car (a '47 Ford) racing with a classmate on the trolley bed (now Weller Road) when the catenary towers were still in place.
The Ford got away from me in the loose gravel and I slid into one of the catenaries, which was not even scuffed up, but the Ford was hurt badly.
During sleet storms when the wires got coated with ice you could see and hear the normally silent cars coming for miles as the trolley wheel went trough the ice with the resultant arcing looking and sounding like fireworks. There was no turnaround to trolley travel.
When the car got to the end of the line, the motorman changed the trolley pole on the roof, walked to the other end of the car and went the other way. Similarly, the seating was also reversible. Cars were somewhat elaborate with Philippine mahogany paneling, leather seats and a toilet. The cars were orange with red trim and black roofs in their last iteration. It must have been a sight to see them streaking through the countryside at 70 mph on a warm summer afternoon. The cars were 54 feet long, weighed 42 tons each equipped, and cost $13,500 each. Cars often held more than 100 passengers including standees.
One-way fare to Syracuse from Weedsport was 50 cents and a book of 50 tickets for commuters could be purchased for $23.50. In Weedsport the trolley ran on Hamilton, Watson and East Brutus streets, crossing Cool, Hanford (now Lincoln), South Seneca and South streets.
We have so much on Weedsport trolley history at the museum, I'll have to continue next month.
Denny Randall is president of the Old Brutus Historical Society in Weedsport.
The village park on South Street is known as Trolley Park because the trolley passed through there after leaving the station (more recently the Grange Hall and now a private residence at the corner of Liberty and South Seneca streets) on it's way to Weedsport Stop No. 2 at East Brutus and South Willow street. Stop No. 2 was put there specifically so that people could take the trolley into the village and transfer to the Lehigh Valley at that location to travel north to Cato or Fair Haven.
The trolley was described as a double tracked high speed electric railway running 86 miles from Rochester to Syracuse. The cars were routinely operated at speeds up to 70 miles per hour and were said to be very comfortable. The RS & E was reputed to be the safest and best operated of the many similar systems in the country. They were also known as the “on time” line since they had an on time rating of over 99 percent. Try to get that today from any means of travel!
Unfortunately the line faced an uphill battle from the beginning since there were already three steam railroads in town - the New York Central, the West Shore and the Lehigh Valley - and worse than that, Henry Ford and his associates were trying with considerable success to put an automobile in every garage. Possibly if the trolley had been able to become better established prior to the arrival of paved roads and the mass produced car they may well have still been part of our nation's economy.
As a bit of trivia on the RS & E, one of the investors and the first president of the company was Mr. L. C. Smith of Syracuse typewriter fame. The bridge over the West Shore Railroad a mile east of Weedsport is believed to have been the longest bridge on the system spanning more than 600 feet.
Interline connections could also be made, for example a connection could be made in Port Byron with the Auburn & Northern Electric Railway to go to Auburn.
The R S & E was completed in sections and the section between Syracuse and Port Byron was started in April of 1909 and completed in an astounding eight months, including roadbed, trackage, electrical work, bridges and stations. Power was generated in Lyons with a coal fired steam plant at a voltage of 33,000 volts AC 3 phase and stepped down with transformers to the 600 volts DC used for motive power.
Stations similar to the one in Weedsport were built in Fairport, Palmyra, Newark, Lyons, Clyde, Port Byron (now the American Legion) and Jordan. In between were more than 100 “intermediate stops,” of which 64 of them were provided with the classic octagonal 10-foot diameter buildings.
While the stations had pot-bellied stoves for heat, the Intermediate stops boasted electric heat.
The stops also had signal lamps to turn on to alert the motorman that a passenger awaited. If the signal lamp was not turned on, the trolley zipped through without stopping.
The overhead wires were supported from Rochester to Weedsport on pole and span construction, while from Weedsport to Lakeland near the state fairgrounds steel towers or catenaries were used. These catenaries were finally taken down and went to a trolley museum in Maine.
I recall coming to grief with my first car (a '47 Ford) racing with a classmate on the trolley bed (now Weller Road) when the catenary towers were still in place.
The Ford got away from me in the loose gravel and I slid into one of the catenaries, which was not even scuffed up, but the Ford was hurt badly.
During sleet storms when the wires got coated with ice you could see and hear the normally silent cars coming for miles as the trolley wheel went trough the ice with the resultant arcing looking and sounding like fireworks. There was no turnaround to trolley travel.
When the car got to the end of the line, the motorman changed the trolley pole on the roof, walked to the other end of the car and went the other way. Similarly, the seating was also reversible. Cars were somewhat elaborate with Philippine mahogany paneling, leather seats and a toilet. The cars were orange with red trim and black roofs in their last iteration. It must have been a sight to see them streaking through the countryside at 70 mph on a warm summer afternoon. The cars were 54 feet long, weighed 42 tons each equipped, and cost $13,500 each. Cars often held more than 100 passengers including standees.
One-way fare to Syracuse from Weedsport was 50 cents and a book of 50 tickets for commuters could be purchased for $23.50. In Weedsport the trolley ran on Hamilton, Watson and East Brutus streets, crossing Cool, Hanford (now Lincoln), South Seneca and South streets.
We have so much on Weedsport trolley history at the museum, I'll have to continue next month.
Denny Randall is president of the Old Brutus Historical Society in Weedsport.
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