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LA&L 433 // Matthews & Fields, Henrietta, NY
After switching ends and uncoupling from their southbound leader 425, LA&L's road crew spots a loaded centerbeam at Matthew & Fields lumber yard in Henrietta, NY on the former Lehigh Valley.
I made brief mention of this type of move in my Diamond Packaging post, and as described, this is the best example of how the crew executes their southbound spots for north facing switches. All three customers on the north end of the LA&L are north facing, presenting an extra maneuver required of the crew any time they have cars to spot for said industries. The customers are as follows: Genesee Reserve, Diamond Packaging, and of course Matthews & Fields. Before departing Genesee Junction southbound, the crew will split the power at some point during their switching work while building the train, bracketing the cars destined for any of the three customers mentioned above. Genesee Reserve tends to be the least worked of the three, so chances are when you see a centerbeam it's more often than not destined for M&F. If you see a box car or cars, they're most likely for Diamond. Of course, lumber can also show up in box cars so they're fair game for any of the three, but it's less common to see those at the lumber-oriented customers.
Specifically in the case of Matthews & Fields, there's even more which goes into the move. The connection to the old Lehigh is just south of a road crossing, forcing the crew to tie down their train slightly further north on a mile plus stretch of trackage between crossings. This same area is where the switch for Genesee Reserve is also located. They will then cut away and head south for the switch onto the Lehigh with just the engines on both ends of whatever freight is bound for M&F. There are three road crossings on the old Lehigh, with one over a major roadway hooked into a traffic light system to halt vehicle traffic. Having an engine on the south end versus riding a shove makes crossing that roadway slightly easier on these guys. The third crossing on the line doesn't actually see use anymore, leftover from the bygone days of how they used to serve M&F. The silo fixtures rising in the background behind the power are for a mill which used to be a customer. The mill track formerly crossed over the road and fed into Matthews from the south side, rather than the north as pictured here. Some years ago M&F decided to reconfigure their property and install their own dedicated switch on the north side of the lumber yard. Rail can still be seen right up to the road on both sides, showcasing where the track used to lead into Matthews. As one customer left the business, the other evolved. As a result, you don't see too many joint spurs anymore with multiple customers served by a single track. Although near Genesee Jct, R&S does just that with Metalico and 84 Lumber still (which makes it impossible to shoot 84 as a result).
Of note, the old Lehigh trackage was merely a branch line up in Rochester to serve customers, stemming off of their mainline south of here near Rush, NY. Today's trackage is truncated to just south of the switch into the mill here for headroom, and sits unused for the time being. Active remains of the LV are a bit scattered across the state, with others being used now by the likes of the Finger Lakes Railway to the east, and Depew, Lancaster & Western to the west. Other miscellaneous asides about M&F are merely anecdotal. Once in a blue moon if the road crew is running short on time due to a particular heavy workload in the early half of the day, they have been known to take cars for Matthews and even Diamond all the way south back to Lakeville, sticking them back on their next northbound train for later spotting. In such cases, splitting of the power is then not required, and as such I have witnessed them making the multi-mile shove to Matthews as a result, with the conductor riding the rear all the way there. I was told for a long time that there was some rule where they weren't allowed to shove across the.major roadway without an engine to protect, but clearly that's just not the case, and quite frankly an odd rule to have. While most of the time empty car pickups will come on the northbound trip, tying down their train just south of the Lehigh switch and going down light power, occasionally Matthews may not release their cars until later in the afternoon. If the crew feels they have sufficient time, they will tie their southbound train down in the same spot as if they were delivering a car, going out light power, then leaving the empty car or cars at the switch for the Lehigh, then returning to their train light power. The cars will then be added to their northbound train the next day they run. Matthews & Fields are a rather interesting customer in that regard, with the number of scenarios generated on how they're worked any given day. Each example of course prompted by its own unique circumstance, but stuff like this just goes to show that some industries aren't so cut and dry as they appear on the surface.
A final word on this place, I recall the first time I got a chance to shoot it, the crew had gone down light power to pick a couple empties. While standing in a similar spot, a man and woman had pulled into the lot at here and were walking around near the train. From my view, the man was seemingly drunk, and the woman with him was taking his picture in front of and near the train, obstructing my shot the entire time they were making the pickup. Funniest of all, they had the gall to give a strange look for trying to take photos when they were doing the exact same thing, and executing it far more poorly. They say you'll encounter weirdos in this hobby, but not all of them are necessarily railfans. Simply being next to the tracks is enough some days to bring the wackos out of hiding.
LA&L 433 // Matthews & Fields, Henrietta, NY
After switching ends and uncoupling from their southbound leader 425, LA&L's road crew spots a loaded centerbeam at Matthew & Fields lumber yard in Henrietta, NY on the former Lehigh Valley.
I made brief mention of this type of move in my Diamond Packaging post, and as described, this is the best example of how the crew executes their southbound spots for north facing switches. All three customers on the north end of the LA&L are north facing, presenting an extra maneuver required of the crew any time they have cars to spot for said industries. The customers are as follows: Genesee Reserve, Diamond Packaging, and of course Matthews & Fields. Before departing Genesee Junction southbound, the crew will split the power at some point during their switching work while building the train, bracketing the cars destined for any of the three customers mentioned above. Genesee Reserve tends to be the least worked of the three, so chances are when you see a centerbeam it's more often than not destined for M&F. If you see a box car or cars, they're most likely for Diamond. Of course, lumber can also show up in box cars so they're fair game for any of the three, but it's less common to see those at the lumber-oriented customers.
Specifically in the case of Matthews & Fields, there's even more which goes into the move. The connection to the old Lehigh is just south of a road crossing, forcing the crew to tie down their train slightly further north on a mile plus stretch of trackage between crossings. This same area is where the switch for Genesee Reserve is also located. They will then cut away and head south for the switch onto the Lehigh with just the engines on both ends of whatever freight is bound for M&F. There are three road crossings on the old Lehigh, with one over a major roadway hooked into a traffic light system to halt vehicle traffic. Having an engine on the south end versus riding a shove makes crossing that roadway slightly easier on these guys. The third crossing on the line doesn't actually see use anymore, leftover from the bygone days of how they used to serve M&F. The silo fixtures rising in the background behind the power are for a mill which used to be a customer. The mill track formerly crossed over the road and fed into Matthews from the south side, rather than the north as pictured here. Some years ago M&F decided to reconfigure their property and install their own dedicated switch on the north side of the lumber yard. Rail can still be seen right up to the road on both sides, showcasing where the track used to lead into Matthews. As one customer left the business, the other evolved. As a result, you don't see too many joint spurs anymore with multiple customers served by a single track. Although near Genesee Jct, R&S does just that with Metalico and 84 Lumber still (which makes it impossible to shoot 84 as a result).
Of note, the old Lehigh trackage was merely a branch line up in Rochester to serve customers, stemming off of their mainline south of here near Rush, NY. Today's trackage is truncated to just south of the switch into the mill here for headroom, and sits unused for the time being. Active remains of the LV are a bit scattered across the state, with others being used now by the likes of the Finger Lakes Railway to the east, and Depew, Lancaster & Western to the west. Other miscellaneous asides about M&F are merely anecdotal. Once in a blue moon if the road crew is running short on time due to a particular heavy workload in the early half of the day, they have been known to take cars for Matthews and even Diamond all the way south back to Lakeville, sticking them back on their next northbound train for later spotting. In such cases, splitting of the power is then not required, and as such I have witnessed them making the multi-mile shove to Matthews as a result, with the conductor riding the rear all the way there. I was told for a long time that there was some rule where they weren't allowed to shove across the.major roadway without an engine to protect, but clearly that's just not the case, and quite frankly an odd rule to have. While most of the time empty car pickups will come on the northbound trip, tying down their train just south of the Lehigh switch and going down light power, occasionally Matthews may not release their cars until later in the afternoon. If the crew feels they have sufficient time, they will tie their southbound train down in the same spot as if they were delivering a car, going out light power, then leaving the empty car or cars at the switch for the Lehigh, then returning to their train light power. The cars will then be added to their northbound train the next day they run. Matthews & Fields are a rather interesting customer in that regard, with the number of scenarios generated on how they're worked any given day. Each example of course prompted by its own unique circumstance, but stuff like this just goes to show that some industries aren't so cut and dry as they appear on the surface.
A final word on this place, I recall the first time I got a chance to shoot it, the crew had gone down light power to pick a couple empties. While standing in a similar spot, a man and woman had pulled into the lot at here and were walking around near the train. From my view, the man was seemingly drunk, and the woman with him was taking his picture in front of and near the train, obstructing my shot the entire time they were making the pickup. Funniest of all, they had the gall to give a strange look for trying to take photos when they were doing the exact same thing, and executing it far more poorly. They say you'll encounter weirdos in this hobby, but not all of them are necessarily railfans. Simply being next to the tracks is enough some days to bring the wackos out of hiding.