By Richard Palmer
Right on time, at 10:20 p.m. Sunday, May 18, 1958, eastbound Train No. 108 pulled out of the Auburn station on the New York Central‘s “Auburn Road” for the last time, marking the end of nearly 120 years of passenger service. This line meandered indirectly 102 miles through the Finger Lakes region between Syracuse and Rochester.
The 1950s was a time when the New York Central sought to eliminate unprofitable passenger trains – due primarily to air and highway competition. The railroad, in its petition to the New York State Public Service Commission, claimed it was losing more than $100,000 a year on the Auburn branch runs. There had only been one daily round trip train on this line since 1949. The last train operating east and west consisted of an Alco RS-3, a Railway Post Office car, baggage car, coach and a sleeper.
There had always been sleeping car service provided on the Auburn Road in both directions. At one time a westbound sleeper connected with Chicago trains in Rochester. In August, 1949 a 10 section, 3 double bedroom sleeper is listed in the Official Railway Guide for the Auburn branch. The February, 1956 Guide lists this as being an eight section, 5 double bedroom car.
As years passed the old section sleepers were retired. The last 8 section, 5 double bedroom car is listed In the April, 1957 Guide. It was replaced on the Auburn branch by the more modern 10 roomette, 5 or 6 double bedroom cars. In the 1940s and 1950s the Auburn branch sleeper connected with numerous mainline trains. Eastbound it might be #6, “The Fifth Avenue Special”; #34, “The Cayuga,” or #44, the “New York Special.” Westbound it might be #81, “The Genesee,” or #35, “The Iroquois.” At one time, a Pullman car originated in Auburn.
At Geneva the last eastbound train, which carried more passengers than it had in years, was met by a group of 25 to 30 people. Many Seneca Falls residents came to Geneva and rode back on the train, while many Genevans had gone to Canandaigua to ride back to Geneva. Residents living along the line waved as the train passed by.
Although 15 people gathered to watch the train, only one passenger boarded the final evening train in Auburn. The train crew consisted of conductor O.C. Diterle. The engineer was Harry McNerney and fireman Gilbert Shumway. C.E. Scott was the brakeman. During the other days except Sunday, these trains were #103 westbound and #104 eastbound. The last westbound train had operated that morning. It would be turned at Rochester for the final eastbound trip.
The trains had previously carried different numbers. Up until 1957 this train was #3, westbound and #18 westbound daily except Sunday; and #7 westbound and #8 eastbound on Sunday. Joseph C. Phillips was the last agent in Auburn to sell tickets. The system timetable dated April 27, 1958 showed the running time over the line was a little more than four hours. Stops listed were Camillus, Skaneateles Junction, Auburn, Cayuga, Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Geneva, Phelps, Clifton Springs, Shortsville, Chapin (flag stop), Canandaigua, Victor, Pittsford and Rochester.
Since this was a train that operated solely in New York State, authority for its discontinuance had to come from the state Public Service Commission. In August, 1957 the New York Central announced its intention to discontinue passenger service on the line, effective Sept. 15. The PSC ordered an investigation to determine whether the trains should be continued in service, which was to continue until a final decision was made.
At a public hearing on Oct. 2, 1957 in Auburn, railroad officials said that out-of-pocket losses resulting from operation of the trains in 1956 exceeded $126,000 and would probably top $200,000 in 1957. Opposition witnesses representing some of the 16 intermediate stations served by the branch accused the railroad of having failed to promote business. What was provided was considered sub-standard to the point area residents elected to use other means of transportation.
The hearing examiner reported to the PSC that no evidence was submitted as to the financial results from freight operations on the branch. He also said many of the communities on the line would be left without public transportation of any sort if the trains were discontinued. The hearing examiner noted that the railroad had omitted reference to sleeping car service from the timetable.
In December, the PSC ordered that the round-trip train be continued, citing the fact that the railroad had deliberately attempted to discourage patronage by failing to list the Pullman service in the system timetable. In the decades of the 1950s and 1960s, this was also the perception the traveling public had of the New York Central in general. The PSC ruling stated “If a company sees fit to deliberately not to hold its service open to the public, it cannot be heard when it complains that the public does not patronize it. Unquestionably, the failure to include these trains in the current system timetable will have a tendency to further reduce the patronage of those trains.”
It was said that it was unfortunate that the New York Central did not show the same enthusiasm to promote passenger service as it did for discontinuing it. The Auburn Road service was completely omitted from the Oct. 27, 1957 timetable, but was subsequently included in the April 27, 1958 version where it listed a 10-6 sleeper. The railroad did not give up. It subsequently petitioned for a rehearing in the matter which was granted. At a hearing in March, 1958 it was claimed that expenses for providing passenger service had continued to climb and revenues had declined. It was also shown that patronage during the last half of 1956 was only about half of what it had been from January through June. In May, 1958, the PSC relented and permitted the railroad to discontinue the service.
In discussing the New York Central’s enthusiasm in the design and development of a shock free car t(made from a 70-foot open-end baggage car) to transport guided missiles, the editor of the Auburn Citizen-Advertiser noted on Oct. 3, 1958: “It seems too bad that the Central didn’t come up with some such ‘shock-free’ method before its passenger service on the Auburn road declined to such an extent that it was compelled to abandon it. It is a safe assumption that had more travelers been assured of a sound night’s sleep enroute -instead of regularly being jolted almost out of their berth in the Syracuse yards – they would have remained satisfied customers.”
With passenger service gone, the New York Central soon applied to abandon the Auburn branch between Victor and Pittsford, a little more than 10 miles, and pulled up the rails in 1960. Freight service would be provided out of Syracuse instead of Rochester. When Conrail took over in 1976, it abandoned another eight and a half miles from Canandaigua to Victor in 1978.
More than once, operating officials questioned the wisdom of this abandonment, particularly in the 1960s when mainline derailments were becoming more the rule than the exception. The line was further cut back another eight and a half miles between Canandaigua and Victor in 1978. The Auburn Road faced a bleak future until the Finger Lakes Railroad came to the rescue in 1995. Since then it has been transformed into one of the most successful regional operations in the Northeast, handling more than 18,000 carloads a year, and has an extensive excursion business.
As an interesting side note, John “Tex” Rickard came to Auburn in 1919 to become the local agent for the American Railway Express Co. At that time, he said, there were eight passenger trains a day on the Auburn branch and “those trains carried a lot of passengers between Syracuse and Rochester. The first was the early 6:10 from Syracuse and a 7:30 a.m. from Rochester and an 11:30 from Syracuse; then 2 p.m. from Rochester, 3:45 from Syracuse and a 5 o’clock train from Rochester.” He said a sleeper was made up every night in Auburn. “You could board at 10 p.m. and wake up in New York City the next morning. It was switched in Syracuse to the main line and the overnight service was used by many before the days of 45-minute air trips to New York.”
Mr. Rickard said sometimes he took the sleeper or a coach to New York using his railroad pass, to attend a baseball game or a prize fight he especially wanted to see. When he was interviewed in 1975 he was 94 years old.
A New York Central timetable dated June 22, 1924 shows two daily passenger trains in each direction and six daily except Sunday in each direction. Although the Auburn branch was essentially single tracked, there were numerous passing sidings.
Sources:
New York State Public Service Commission annual reports, 1957 and 1958
Auburn Citizen – Advertiser, May 19, 1958, June 22, 1960, and January 12, 1975.
Syracuse Post-Standard, May 19, 1958
Syracuse Herald-Journal, May 19, 1958
Official Railway Guide, August, 1949; May, 1950; February, 1956, April, 1957
New York Central System Timetable, April 28, 1958
This article was written and provided by Richard Palmer.