FGLK U23B 2201, adorned in a classic 1950's Lehigh Valley Railroad paint scheme designed by Paul Mittak, leads the LVRRHS fall foliage excursion train in Shortsville, NY on October 14, 2007. This photo appeared in the December 2007 issue of Railpace magazine. Photo by Mike Roqué.

LVRRHS Station Museum Open House - Sunday, May 18
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society Station Museum at 8 E. High St. in Shortsville, New York, will be open to the public on Sunday, May 18, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. A large collection of historical artifacts from the Lehigh Valley Railroad is on display at the museum. Admission is free; donations are welcome.

The open house will also feature a station stop by a special passenger train during their trip over the Finger Lakes Railway between Geneva and Canandaigua. The gift shop will be open. For more information, call 585-289-8022.

Finger Lakes Scenic Railway to operate New York Central Railroad memorial train rides over "Auburn Road" line on Saturday, May 17, 2008 and Sunday, May 18, 2008
Board the train for a step back in time and experience the New York Central Railroad of the 1950’s during a ride through the scenic Finger Lakes region.

The Finger Lakes Scenic Railway will operate special train excursions on Saturday, May 17, 2008, and Sunday, May 18, 2008, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the last passenger train run by the New York Central Railroad over the "Auburn Road" line on May 18, 1958. Saturday's train will travel from Geneva to Solvay and return. Sunday's train will travel from Geneva to Canandaigua and return. Both trains will make stops at historic freight and passenger stations in communities along the line.

A vintage New York Central Alco RS-3 diesel locomotive #8223 on loan from the Central New York Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will power the trains.  The passenger train will feature 1950’s era coaches decorated in the New York Central two-tone gray paint scheme. Passengers will have opportunities to photograph the train at various times during the memorial train rides.

Saturday's train boards in Geneva (Finger Lakes Railway Offices, 68 Border City Rd.), Seneca Falls (Academy Square Park), Cayuga (Village Hall, Railroad St.), and Auburn (Route 5 across from Grant Ave. Plaza). The train will depart Geneva at 10:00 a.m. Stops will be made at railroad depots in Seneca Falls, Cayuga (tour inside now Village Clerk's Office and meeting room), and Skaneateles Junction (visit model railroad layout of Central New York Model Railroad Club and Historical Society). Next, the train will stop at the 1870 Martisco Depot (tour of the Central New York Chapter, National Railway Historical Society museum) and then continue on to the end of the line in Solvay before heading back west. The train will return non-stop to Geneva, except to drop off passengers at their original boarding locations. Round trip length is seven hours.

Sunday’s train boards in Geneva (Railroad Place and Lewis St.), Phelps (Church St. and Pleasant Ave.), Clifton Springs (Public Library, Railroad Ave.), and Shortsville (Depot 25 Restaurant, Main St.). The train will depart Geneva at 11:00 a.m. Stops include a tour of the Clifton Springs Public Library (former passenger depot), and a lunch layover in Shortsville at the Depot 25 Restaurant, where railroad and baseball historical memorabilia line the walls of this former passenger depot. Just across the tracks in Shortsville, passengers can visit the Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society museum in the former freight depot. The train will then continue on to Canandaigua and stop at the former passenger depot before heading back east. The train will return non-stop to Geneva, except to drop off passengers at their original boarding locations. Round trip length is six hours.

Fare for the train ride on Saturday, May 17, is Adult (Age 14+) $45, Senior (Age 62+ or retired) $40, Child (Ages 3-13) $25, and Child under age 3 on lap free. Passengers who board at locations other than Geneva may receive a reduced rate. Box Lunch will be available onboard at a price of $10 (must order with ticket reservations). Choices are Turkey, Ham, or Roast Beef. Box Lunch includes chips and lite dessert. Drinks and other snacks will be available on board for additional cost.

Fare for the train ride on Sunday, May 18, is Adult (Age 14+) $40, Senior (Age 62+ or retired) $35, Child (Ages 3-13) $20, and Child under age 3 on lap free. Passengers who board at locations other than Geneva may receive a reduced rate. Box Lunch will be available onboard at a price of $10 (must order with ticket reservations). Choices are Turkey, Ham, or Roast Beef. Box Lunch includes chips and lite dessert. Drinks and other snacks will be available on board for additional cost.

A package deal for both train rides is $70 per person. Overnight accommodations are available at the Hampton Inn in Geneva located by the railroad tracks for a separate price. Ask for details when reserving tickets.

All ticket reservations must be made before the event. Tickets may be reserved through the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway website or by telephone. If the rides are not sold out in advance, walk-up tickets will be available at the boarding locations at the time of the scheduled trip.

For more information about the train excursions or to make ticket reservations, visit the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway website or call 315-781-1234.

2008 LVRRHS Station Museum Open House Schedule
The LVRRHS Station Museum in Shortsville, New York, will be open to the public one Sunday afternoon a month from May to October this year.  Open house dates will be May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, September 21, and October 19.  Hours will be 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  A large collection of historical artifacts from the Lehigh Valley Railroad is on display at the museum.  We will be inviting rail historians to give presentations at some of the open houses.  Watch our website for details in the coming months.  Admission is free; donations are welcome.

2007 Santa Train Excursions Report
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society, in cooperation with the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway, sponsored Santa train excursions over the former New York Central “Auburn Road” railroad line between Shortsville and Canandaigua on Saturday, November 24, 2007. Five passenger train excursions were operated from Shortsville to Canandaigua and return over the Finger Lakes Railway using two diesel locomotives and two passenger coaches. Each train ride lasted one hour and was a 11 mile round trip.

A total of 717 paid passengers rode the trains. All five round trips were considered sold out. The average paid passenger count per train was 144. Thank you to all of the passengers who rode our train excursions. We appreciate your patronage!

Paid ads were placed in the Daily Messenger and the Genesee Valley Pennysaver. Press releases were published in the Courier-Gazette, the Daily Messenger, the Democrat and Chronicle, the Finger Lakes Times, and on various Internet web sites. The Finger Lakes Visitors Connection also publicized the event on their calendar.

Thanks to Deb Halderman for handling all of the telephone inquiries along with retail and mail order sales. A total of 581 tickets were sold in advance. Tickets were sold by Country Corner in Phelps, Depot 25 Restaurant in Shortsville, Electric Train Co. in Victor, Bright Ideas at the Five Seasons Gifts in Canandaigua, and Manchester Village Hall. Special thanks to these merchants for their help with ticket sales.

The Society freight station museum was open to passengers during the excursions. Sales at the gift shop were very good. The food concession operated by the Shortsville Presbyterian Church did a brisk business before and after each of the five trips. Thanks to Bev Halderman, Dave Halderman, Deb Halderman, and Jack Tuttle for cleaning and decorating the station before the excursions. Thanks to Jim Kerins for bringing his sound system and supplying his Finger Lakes Railway DVDs for sale. Thanks to Dan Hodge for displaying his N scale model train modules.

As always, we received outstanding service and cooperation from the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway train crew. Crew members were Craig Holden, Conductor; Mike Matteson, Engineer; Mark Pullen, Signals; Phillip Fraser, Coach Attendant; and Deb Najarro, Passenger Services Manager.

Thank you to all of the Society members who assisted with the excursions in one way or another. Thanks to Dick Coffey, Joe Dickson, Gary Lembke, and Jack Tuttle for volunteering as parking lot attendants. Thanks to Bev and Deb Halderman for helping in the gift shop with the phones and ticket sales. Thanks to Dave and Roger Halderman for volunteering as boarding assistants. Thanks to Dave Fleenor and Lynn Heintz for volunteering as car hosts. Thanks to Sean Angelo for helping out on board the trains, too. Thank you as well to Sean Miller and Kristi Ward, the balloon artists, and Joe Frasca, who once again did an outstanding job as Santa Claus. I appreciate the Society’s support of this fund-raising project and look forward to future excursions in 2008.

Ken May, Excursion Coordinator

2007 Fall Foliage Train Excursions Report
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society, in cooperation with the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway, sponsored fall foliage train excursions over the former New York Central “Auburn Road” railroad line between Shortsville and Geneva on Saturday, October 13, 2007, and Sunday, October 14, 2007. Five passenger train excursions were operated over the weekend from Shortsville to Geneva and return over the Finger Lakes Railway using two diesel locomotives and four passenger coaches. Each train ride lasted two hours and was a 34 mile round trip.

A total of 1083 passengers rode the trains over two days – 583 on Saturday and 500 on Sunday. This was a new ridership record for our fall foliage excursions. Three out of the five round trips were considered sold out. The average passenger count per train was 216. Thank you to all the passengers who rode our train excursions. We appreciate your patronage!

Paid ads were placed in the Daily Messenger, the Finger Lakes Times, and the Genesee Valley Pennysaver. Press releases were published in the Auburn Citizen, the Courier-Gazette, the Daily Messenger, the Democrat and Chronicle, the Finger Lakes Times, the Ithaca Journal, and on various Internet web sites. R News in Rochester publicized our event on the "Getaway Guy" section on their web site. The Finger Lakes Visitors Connection posted our news release on their web site.

Thanks to Deb Halderman for handling all of the telephone inquiries along with retail and mail order sales. A total of 848 tickets were sold in advance. Tickets were sold by Country Corner in Phelps, Depot 25 Restaurant in Shortsville, Electric Train Co. in Victor, Five Seasons Gifts in Canandaigua, and Gravino's Barber Shop in Manchester. Special thanks to these merchants for their help with ticket sales.

The Society freight station museum was open to passengers during the excursions. Sales at the gift shop were very good. The food concession operated by the Shortsville Presbyterian Church did a brisk business before and after each of the five trips. Thanks to George Whittaker for cleaning the station and P&J Lawn Care for mowing the lawn before the excursions.

As always, we received outstanding service and cooperation from the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway train crew comprised of Chris Smith (Sat.); Ken Maines (Sat.); Bruce Habberfield (Sun.); and Craig Holden (Sun.). Thanks to Deb Najarro and the on-board train crew members for their services.

Thank you to all of the Society members who assisted with the excursions in one way or another. Thanks to Deb Halderman for volunteering at the ticket sales table. Thanks to Bev Halderman for volunteering in the gift shop. Thanks to Dick Coffey, Joe Dickson, Gary Lembke, and Jack Tuttle for volunteering as parking lot attendants. Thanks to Dave and Roger Halderman for volunteering as boarding assistants. Thanks to Sean Angelo, Dave Fleenor, Dave Halderman, Lynn Heintz, and Paul Shinal for volunteering as car hosts. I appreciate the Society’s support of this fund-raising project.

Ken May, Excursion Coordinator

Membership Drive Underway
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society is actively seeking new members for our group. The membership brochure was reprinted in the fall and is being distributed at hobby shops, museums, and train shows throughout Western and Central New York State. We need your help to recruit new members by handing out more brochures. Please stop by the station in Shortsville when it is open and pick up some brochures. Also, don't forget to renew your membership when the notices are mailed out later this year. Thank you for your support of the membership drive.

Do you have a relative that worked for the LVRR?
We are maintaining an alphabetical record of former LVRR employees, containing general information and specific railroad job descriptions. If you have a relative that worked for the LVRR, please contact us with your mailing address and we will send a LVRR Employee Information form to you.