Photo's from the past of The New York Central's West Shore Branch
Here's the Route 30A crossing in Fultonville. The branch extended as far as Ilion, NY until 1973.
(Photo: Davis Family)
This is just west of Fultonville, Route 5s is in the background. (Photo: Davis Family)
Here is the Fultonville Freight House. You can just make out NYWS&BRco under the new owners sign. This stood for New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad Company. This was the line aquired by the New York Central...
(Photo: Davis Family)
Here's a great shot of the Ilion Freight House in the 1960's. Once again we can see the lettering for NYWS&BRco. This view looks down the mainline east towards Mohawk. The Ilion Depot was just across the tracks to the left of here. The Clark & Bakor Factory (Remington Rand / UNIVAC) is right behind the Freight House. (Photo: Rob Stubbs)
Here's a New York Central diesel exiting a rock-cut at South Little Falls in 1967 (Photo: Len Garver)
Here's the Union Fork And Hoe Plant in Frankfort, New York. This was the original shop building for the West Shore Railroad. It also was one of the last customer's on the Utica to Fort Plain segment of the line which closed in 1971.
(Photo: Don Ross, Kevin Cunningham Collection)
Here's the trackage that passed behind the Fork & Hoe in Frankfort. The track to the left went to the turn table when it was the railroad shop. (Photo: Don Ross, Kevin Cunningham Collection)
Here's an NYC switcher on the shop-grounds of the Fork & Hoe building. This photo and the 2 before her were snapped in the late 1960's right before this stretch of the line was abandoned. (Photo: Don Ross, Kevin Cunningham Collection)
Here's a neat shot of the WS ROW looking West towards the Beechnut Factory (Photo: Dave Nestle Collection)
Here's a great shot of the Canajoharie Station looking west (Photo: Dave Nestle Collection)
Here is a West-bound freight (Detour from the Chicago-Line) heading west near Lock 10. Photo from the early 1960's. (Photo: Davis Family)
Here's a small train heading to Canjohaire, New York to service the Beech Nut Factory. Beech Nut was one of the last customers prior to abandonment in 1981. Ron Crowd of the Battenkill Railroad wanted to acquire the line, but it never worked out. The old Adirondack Light and Power sits on the South side of the river. (Photo: Davis Family)
Here is a shot looking west at Fort Hunter. The branch line was abandoned from Little Falls to Fort Plain (Just west of Canjoharie) in 1971. Ilion to Little Falls was abandoned in 1973. Harbor to South Utica was abandoned in 1971.
(Photo: Davis Family)
Here's a shot of the little switcher when she first arrived in Cranesville. She still has the marks from The Buffalo Slag Co. where she last worked. (PHOTO: Michael Vaiuso Jr.)
Here's that old EMD-Switcher sitting in the spot she's sat in for over 40 years. (Photo: Davis Family)
Here she is at work at Cushing Stone in Cranesville. This little switcher would pull cars out from the quarry and transfer them for the NYC, PC and Conrail to pick up. (Photo: Davis Family)
The Conrail Years
Here's a close-up of the switcher (Photo: Steve Myers)
Here's a shot of a Conrail local pulling cars out of the Cushing Quarry. Photo taken in August of 1988.
(Photo: Steve Myers)
Here's a shot taken a little further up the line in Cranesville. This time we see a Conrail-GE local pulling a big load of hoppers out. (Photo: Unknown)