Welcome to the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad
all-time oster and surviving locomotives page.
Page 2, Genesee & Wyoming Railroad
Genesee
& Wyoming Railroad
First,
a clarification.
there
is a difference between the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, and
the Genesee & Wyoming Corporation!
they
are related, but not exactly the same thing.
The
G&W Railroad is that small Western NY salt-hauling railroad that ran
between Retsof and Caledonia, NY,
only
14.5 miles long, and began in 1894. That small railroad is the topic of
this webpage!
That
tiny ancestral Genesee & Wyoming Railroad was the first railroad in
todays global G&W corporation "family" of shortlines all over the world!
"G&W Orange", that began on the G&W railroad, can today be seen
on railroads all over the world..it all started with a salt mine in Retsof,
NY.
And
ironically, the original G&W Railroad no longer exists as one of the
many shortlines in the G&W Corp family of railroads! the original G&W
was folded into the Rochester & Southern system around 2002/2003.
the
R&S is another "G&W family" railroad.
So
the G&W railroad is gone, but the G&W Corporation and its collection
of shortlines lives on.
Another
bit of trivia, that could cause some confusion...
Normally
all the "G&W Family" lines locomotives get lettered with their respective
railroad name,
such
as "Rochester
& Southern" or "Buffalo
& Pittsburg" or "Huron
Central" etc.
with
"R&S" or "B&P or "HC" in the logo.
and
the only locomotives that actually said "Genesee & Wyoming" and wore
a "G&W" in the logo
were
the actualGenesee
& Wyoming units of Western NY.
made
sense! easy to follow..
But
today, even though the original G&W RR of Western NY is gone, the G&W
Corporation has been lettering locomotives with "Genesee & Wyoming"
in places such as Australia!
I
dont know what the story is there..
But
this page, history, and locomotive roster will be concerned only with the
G&W shortline of NY state.
The
original
Genesee & Wyoming! If
its in Australia, it wont be on this roster!
G&W
history and timeline:
1859
- Oil is discovered in Titusville, PA
1878
- A drilling team, moving into south-west NY looking for more oil deposits,
instead uncovers a large salt deposit in Wyoming county.
Amatuer geologist Carrol Coker, having knowledge of salt deposits at Syracuse,
and a knowledge of rock
formations, concludes that more salt formations can likely be found in
Livingston county, just west of the Genesee River.
Coker convinces Western NY financier William Foster Jr. to invest in a
drilling project, and the huge salt deposit at
Retsof is discovered.
Later, in the 1880's, as a town grew around the salt mining operation,
the town of Retsof is incorporated.
"Retsof" is "Foster" spelled backwards, named after William Foster, Jr.
1891
- The Genesee & Wyoming Valley Railway is incorporated.
The first railroad route runs East from the mine, 2.5 miles, to connect
with the WNY&P Railroad. (later the PRR Rochester branch)
1891
- A second route is laid from Retsof 1.5 miles westward, to the interchange
with the DL&W at Greigsville.
1894
- The Third route, commonly considered the "G&W mainline" opens between
Retsof & P&L Junction. (Caledonia)
10.7 miles north from Retsof.
The G&W is the 5th and last railroad to arrive at P&L Junction,
The Erie, NYC, LV and BR&P
are already there. The G&W will also interchange with two other major
eastern Class-1 systems on
the southern, Retsof end, the DL&W and the PRR. And the G&W also
interchanged with the shortline Halite & Northern,
which hauled salt from the Sterling mine in Cuylerville north to Retsof.
1895
- April 1 - the northern line officially opens, the G&W.V. is now hauling
salt to six different Class1 railroads on 14 miles of track.
1899
- March 24, the Genesee & Wyoming Valley Railway becomes the
Genesee & Wyoming Railway.
The G&W.V. was regorganized and sold to the Fuller family, who had
owned the salt mine since 1890.
Members of the Fuller family are still listed as company officers in 1970,
75 years later!
1912
- G&W leases the Halite & Northern Railroad, which runs from the
Sterling salt mine at Cuylerville, north to Retsof.
now the G&W runs between P&L junction, through Retsof, and south
to Cuylerville.
This move brings down the wrath of the mighty PRR onto the tiny G&W.
The PRR is upset that it will lose exclusive
access to the Sterling mine. The PRR took the G&W to court, arguing
that the G&W and H&N should not be
considered common carriers, and instead should be considered switching
roads only, and thus should not participate
in through rates on commodities. If the PRR had won, it would have been
the end of the G&W..but the case went
all the way to the Supreme Court, and the G&W won! giving the G&W
legal status as a Class-2 common carrier.
1929
- G&W ends passenger service.
1932
- The BR&P becomes part of the B&O system.
1934
- G&W abandons the former Halite & Northern between Retsof and
Cuylerville.
The G&W shrinks back to its original route, P&L junction to Retsof/Greigsville/Retsof
Junction.
1938
- First abandonment of a Class-1 route in the area. NYC Peanut abandoned
between Holcomb and Caledonia.
(east out of Caledonia)
1944
- The diesel era begins with the arrival of GE 80 ton switcher #20. Followed
by #21 and #22 in 1945.
the G&W continued the same number sequence from the steam era into
the diesel era..quite unusual.
1945
- Last steam operations on the G&W.
1952
- First Alco RS1 arrives.
1961
- G&W begins aquiring its own salt hoppers.
1962
- the G&W's original route, Retsof to Retsof Junction and the PRR interchange,
is abandoned when the PRR
abandones it's line.
1968
- G&W purchases Business car "Edward I" from the New Haven.
1972
- B&O becomes Chessie System.
1976
- EL and LV are absorbed into Conrail. LV and EL tracks abandoned at P&L
junction.
1976-1985
- The D&H interchanges with the G&W via trackage rights on Conrail,
running on the former
DL&W mainline between North Alexander and Greigsville.
1980
- The current "G&W Family" paint scheme, seen globally today, is first
worn by new MP15DC's #45 and #46.
1982
- June, G&W takes over the former Conrail trackage (originally DL&W
mainline) between Greigsville
and the DMM connection at Groveland.
1982
- G&W corporation begins to aquire other shortlines.
1982
- Conrail abandons the former NYC Peanut between Caledonia and Batavia.
(West out of P&L junction)
Leaving the G&W with only two connections..Chessie system at P&L
junction, running on the old BR&P/B&O,
and the Conrail/D&H connection at Greigsville, on the old DL&W.
1985
- Chessie sells the former BR&P/B&O from Rochester to Silver Springs
to the new Rochester & Southern
shortline, which is a new "G&W Family" line.
1985
- Conrail abandons the former DL&W from Greigsville west to North Alexander.
Leaving the G&W with only one remaining connection to the outside world,
the new R&S at P&L junction.
1985
- G&W aquires the DMM, the G&W reaches its largest size, extending
from P&L Junction south to Dansville.
about 34 miles.
1994
- March 12, a magnitude 3.6 earthquake rumbles under Livingston County,
beginning the flooding and eventual collapse
and loss of the Retsof salt mine..the very reason for the G&W's existance
for 100 years.
could this be the end for the G&W? not quite!
1998
- 4 years after the loss of the Retsof mine, construction begins on the
new Hampton Corners salt mine, located
about 10 miles away just east of Mount Morris. the G&W builds a new
spur from the abandoned DL&W
Mount Morris passenger station over the new mine..the G&W is back in
business hauling salt again!
1999
- The G&W is 100 years old!, and is one of very few railroads to operate
as the same independant railroad
throughout the entire 20th Century.
2002
- or 2003, exact date still uncertain..the G&W Railroad is absorbed
in the Rochester & Southern system.
ending the 103 year history of the G&W Railroad as an independant entity.
The R&S now extends from Greece, NY at the north end, south through
Rochester to Brooks ave yard,
to P&L junction where the line splits - one route to Retsof, Mount
Morris and Dansville, (original G&W)
and the original "R&S Mainline" to the NS interchange at Silver Springs.
(see system map on the R&S page)
2006
- January 31, 2006 - American
Motive Power (AMP) recieves its first locomotive at the former Foster-Wheeler
plant in Dansville! Keeping the former DMM, and the southern end of the
G&W/R&S alive.
AMP rebuilds locomotives. in 2006 and 2007, dozens of older
locomotives have been rebuilt there, here is a small
sampling. (goto page 2 for photos)
2007
- Bringing us up to today..Salt continues to move north on the old G&W
tracks, as it has for the last 116 years.
and old locomotives are hauled south to Dansville to be reborn.
The last seven G&W locos, 45,46,50,51,1000,1001, and 1002, all remain
working for the R&S, and so far,
none of the remaining G&W locos have been repainted with a R&S
logo!
all 7 still retain their G&W markings, and 5 of the 7 are in G&W
orange. (all except #50 and #1002)
G&W
All Time Roster and Surviving Locomotives.
The
G&W owned a total of 39 locomotives
during its 103 year history.
18
steam locomotives,
and
21 diesels.
one
steam locomotive survives,
and
14 diesels are known surviving.
