How to catch a southbound train on the Corning Secondary

[Matt L]

When NS acquired the Corning Secondary from Conrail in 1999, I had great visions of chasing trains by the shore of Seneca Lake. I had seen one train on this line back in the '70s (either late PC or early CR), but hadn't gotten a chance to explore the line during my 20s for various reasons. My hope of chasing NS on the Corning Secondary was stifled somewhat by the late departure of H06- it usually comes off the Southern Tier Mainline in Corning somewhere between 4 and 7 PM, gets to Geneva somewhere between 7 and 10 PM, and then heads back in the middle of the night. As you may have seen in the trip sharing forum, H06 can be chased in daylight when its heading northbound on long days in June. Unless the crew outlaws or H06 makes a rare Saturday run, it isn't seen in daylight.

Enter the Finger Lakes Railway, which has had trackage rights on the Corning Secondary between Himrod and Geneva since operations began in 1995. Local HG2 runs from the Watkins Glen Division transfer yard to a connection with the Corning Secondary, north to Geneva and back again during daylight hours. The normal days to see HG2 are Tuesday and Thursday, although (just like most shortlines) the schedule can change due to the needs of customers or connecting Class 1 RRs.

After getting reliable reports about HG2 from a couple of trusted railfans in the area, I decided to chase it last week. The frost wasn't fully melted when #2306 was fired up in the Watkins Glen Transfer yard.



HG2 rumbles across Lakemont Himrod Road on the former Pennsy Elmira Branch.



HG2 swings onto the Corning Secondary about a mile or so north of the location shown in the last photo. It heads around a curve after passing through the interlocking and heads over to the State Route 14 crossing.



All photos in this post were taken by me Thursday 11/29/2012 in Himrod, NY.

[Matt L]

The next few shots were taken along western shore of Seneca Lake. FGLK HG2 was headed northbound on the Corning Secondary during late mrning.

As seen from State Route 14 in Torrey, NY:



As seen from State Route 14 in the Town of Geneva, NY:







All photos in this post were taken by me Thursday 11/29/2012.

[Matt L]

The morning trip was fun, but chasing HG2 southbound during the afternoon was even better. This is HG2 pulling out of the FGLK yard in the City of Geneva and out onto NS's Corning Secondary.



The sun was mostly behind me now, so the shots were easier. HG2 approaches Lake Street in the City of Geneva:



Seneca Lake is in the background as HG2 rumbles southbound in the Town of Geneva:



The old double ROW bridge in the Town of Geneva is a reminder of the line's busier days when it was the NYC's Corning Branch.



The Corning Secondary runs close to State Route 14 for about 10 miles, including this location in Benton.



All photos in this post were taken by me Thursday 11/29/2012 in upstate NY.

[Matt L]

The Corning Secondary does have a 1% grade on the approach to Himrod, so Finger Lakes Railway #2306 could be heard rumbling in the distance well before the train crossed State Route 14 (shown here) on the souhtbound trip.



HG2 comes off the Corning Secondary and back onto FGLK homes rails. NS passes over FGLK's ROW via the bridge in the background.



HG2 heads southbound on a former Pennsy branchline in mid-afternoon:



FGLK B23-7 #2306 leads the train across Severne Road:



Local HG2 pulls into the Watkins Glen Division transfer yard and would end the day about a mile down the tracks.



All photos in this post were taken by me Thursday 11/29/2012 in Himrod, NY. A big thanks goes out to the employees of the Finger Lakes Railway for their friendliness and professionalism. Now you know how to chase if you want to see a train heading south on the Norfolk Southern Corning Secondary. OK, it ain't NS... but the HG2 is operated by a well run shortline.


P.S. I'm looking forward to the day when #2306 gets her lightning stripes.