
Lehigh Valley Railroad westbound train With Alco C420 "Yellowjacket" in the lead, at Mile Sqaure Road grade crossing east of Mendon, NY on March 8 1973. Double headed signal on the left is now erected at the Lehigh Valley Veterans park in Manchester, NY. Note MT2 is OOS and ripped up just past the grade crossing. Paul Templeton photo

A&K Track Materials crew picking up Lehigh Valley Railroad rail near Clover Street. The overpass bridge has been removed and a newly paved Clover street is in its place. View is Eastbound and Rochester Junction is about a mile or so behind the photographer's back. May, 1978. Paul J. Templeton photo.

A&K Pettibone at the Lehigh Valley Railroad West Bloomfield road grade crossing in Mendon NY. Road has been repaved and rails removed on the road, signals still in place, MT 2 removed years earlier. The Hamlet of Mendon is a little over a mile beyond the curve. This is part of the Lehigh Valley Trail. August, 1977. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Shot of ex Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Junction on August 14, 1978. The sun was low in a hazy sky, so Paul Templeton lined it up with the empty signal. View is railroad west, and the tracks were gone on the other side of Plains Road by this time. Conrail was operating the Rochester branch at this time. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Lehigh Valley Railroad local PLB-5 departing Rochester Jct. on March 30, 1976. This local normally worked from Tifft Terminal in Buffalo to P&L Jct. However, the job could go east as far as Rochester Jct. with no penalty on dispatcher orders. This was the very last PLB-5 prior to the Conrail takeover. The local came into RJ as BPL-6. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Here is a photo that depicts A&K pulling rail from the trestle that led up to the bridge that went over the Erie Railroad, Genesee River, and Pennsylvania Railroad on the Lehigh Valley mainline. The bridge still stands and is part of the Lehigh Valley Trail. The tracks went on top of the bridge, not through it like it is now. The approach trestles are gone. Taken from the south side on the very late afternoon of a chilly 16 December 1977. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Lehigh Valley passenger train coming off the Rochester Branch from Hemlock and arriving at Rochester Jct., sometime in the 1930s. This view looks east from inside the interlocking tower, with the station behind the photographer. The branch to Rochester also connected here. This self-propelled gas-electric motorcar is towing an unpowered coach trailer, common for branch lines without a lot of traffic. The last regular Rochester Branch passenger service to Lima was discontinued on August 9, 1937. Photographer and date unknown. Anthracite Railroads Historical Society Collection.

Conrail local EX-1 working at ex Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Jct. April 6, 1976. Signal 3792, which was the approach signal for Quaker interlocking, was still lit but was set at Red Over Red and stayed lit that way until Conrail disconnected the power. Did not matter as the mainline was no longer being used, just the Rochester Branch. Cars were going to concerns in Honeoye Falls and Lima. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Conrail local EX-1 arriving at ex Lehigh Valley Railroad Rochester Jct. for the first time on Tuesday, April 6, 1976, 6 days after the Lehigh Valley shut down for good. Mainline tracks were still in place although Conrail did not use them, they only used the Rochester branch tracks and the crossover at the Junction to reach Honeoye Falls and Lima. Train originated at the former E-L Exchange St. yard. Paul J. Templeton photo.

A&K Track Materials gang loading rail into gondola cars at ex Lehigh Valley Rochester Jct. January 16, 1978. Rumor going around at the time related that A&K let a loaded gon get away and it rolled towards Rush, finally stopping. The A&K Pettibone could not pull the car so the crew of Conrail EX-1 was talked into going down the abandoned track in order to pick the car up and drag it back to RJ. Never had confirmation of that story, however. Only the Lehigh Valley mainline tracks east and west of Rochester Junction were removed. The Junction itself was still being accessed by Conrail via the Rochester branch for deliveries to Honeoye Falls and Lima until the early 1980s, when everything else was ripped up. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Lehigh Valley Railroad in Mendon, NY March 1978. Tracks have been partially torn up, crossing signals have been removed at this grade crossing, which is route 251. The signals on Route 64 stayed up for a few more years after the tracks were torn up, then they were gone too. View is railroad east and Mendon station park is now where this all was. Paul J. Templeton photo.

Willis and Ethyl Miller purchased the property at 287 Bull (Bulls) Saw Mill Road from John and Rebecca Bull. Included in the sale was the saw mill for which the road was named. This picture is looking south across Bull Saw Mill Road. In the background is a Lehigh Valley passenger train headed east towards Mendon. It is about to cross West Bloomfield Road. The path of the train is now the Lehigh Valley Trail. In the foreground there is a barn on the right. The building on the left is the saw mill, relocated from its original location. Honeoye Falls - Town of Mendon Historical Society Collection.

Lehigh Valley Rochester Junction, Honeoye Falls NY, early 1900s. View is railroad West. Crossover track in the center of the photo was the Rochester Branch, and went to the City of Rochester in one direction and to Honeoye Falls, Lima, and Hemlock in the other. Honeoye Falls - Town of Mendon Historical Society Collection.

Lehigh Valley VRR train BNW-3, with 3 Alco C420 “Yellowjackets” heading west on May 21, 1974. This photo was taken from the Route 65 (Clover Street) bridge, which was about a mile east of Rochester Junction. If you look closely, you can see the interlocking signals, all red, at Quaker interlocking, which is by the curve. Paul J Templeton photo.

Eastbound Lehigh Valley RR local RM-2 at Mile Square Road in Mendon, NY, late February 1976. The Hamlet of Mendon is behind the train about 3/4ths of a mile. Signal 3731 is now at the Lehigh Valley Veterans Memorial Park in Manchester NY as a tribute to Engineer Jack W Parmele. Roughly a month after this photo was taken, The Lehigh Lehigh Valley Railroad would shut down forever and faded into history. The R.O.W. is now known as the Lehigh Valley Trail. Paul J. Templeton photo.
















































































































































































