The 1884 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following inspection of the Silver Lake Railway.
SILVER LAKE RAILROAD.
This line is a standard gauge, extending from the village of Gainesville, on the New York, Lake Erie and Western railway, to the village of Perry, at the foot of Silver lake, a distance of six and one- half miles. At Gainesville, connection is also made with the Rochester and Pittsburg railroad, which company has a right of trackage over the Silver Lake road , and now are running one train each way between Rochester and Perry.
From Gainesville the line crosses a slightly rolling country for about three miles ; thence it follows the south shore of Silver lake, keeping about seven feet above the water, to the outlet, which is then followed to the end of the line, or nearly so, at Perry.
The grades are nominal and curves very easy ; the shore of the lake being quite direct.
The average width of land appropriated is fifty feet, all well fenced with posts and boards ; the roadway very neat and free from old material and underbrush ; all highway crossing signs were in place.
Of mechanical structures there are a few single span openings of ten feet, such as water-ways and cattle-passes , all of which were entirely rebuilt in 1883 , and one truss bridge, twenty- eight feet span , built of iron in 1882 , by the Ohio Bridge Company, and located east of Perry depot, at the extreme end of track, over a street in that village, and resting upon good stone abutments. The height from surface of street to surface of track is fourteen feet. Maximum rolling load , 2,000 pounds per foot. Track stringers , seven by fourteen inches , double.
The short spans and the truss bridge has no floor system, the rail resting directly upon the track stringers . The superstructure is well drained and ballasted with about twelve inches of gravel, cross ties of chestnut, oak, and some of soft wood, all in very good life, and spaced about fourteen in thirty feet ; rails mostly of iron, fifty- six pounds per yard , in good condition , and superstructure generally in excellent line and surface ; the stub switch and rail frogs are used.
At Perry the company has a comfortable station building , freight and passenger combined ; the passenger end has a good, well furnished waiting-room, an office and baggage-room ; along the lake there are two small station-houses, and at Gainesville those of the Erie road are used.
Of equipment, the company own two first-class passenger cars , one baggage car and one passenger engine ; all the equipment was carefully examined and found to be in admirable order.
Your inspector was impressed that there is a thrift and care about this short line of road, conveying an idea of safety, accommodation and economy in its operation.