This very special episode of LwS will feature a recording John Prophet made as he rode along with the Niagara Frontier Chapter of The National Railway Historical Society on their "Autumn Leaf Excursion". The trip took place on October 12, 1952 and started at 8:00am at Buffalo Central Terminal and ran out to Rochester on the NYC's main line. From there, Pennsylvania L-1 engine #3583 was coupled onto the train to pull it from Rochester down to Olean on the PRR's Rochester Branch; a line that hadn't seen any regular passenger service since 1941. The NRHS took a similar trip in 1949, but John only took pictures on that excursion; no recordings were made.

This is a "sit-back-and-relax" episode for sure. Enjoy the ride!

(The photo and ticket image above are courtesy of the NFCNRHS.)

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This was not the FIRST trip the NRHS took on the Rochester Branch. Even though the line was abandoned to regular passenger service in 1941, the line was host to another NRHS excursion in June of 1949. On this trip, John elected to take pictures, even though he had only recently purchased his wire recorder in 1948.

Like the 1952 trip we’ll hear about on Living With Steam, the train started at Central Terminal, ran to Rochester, NY, then went from there down to Olean. One of the scheduled “photo stops” for the train was at an area of the line known as “Deep Cut.” It’s here that the shovels and backs of Irish laborers dug out this section of the old Genesee Valley Canal; the towpath of which became the roadbed for the Rochester Branch of the PRR.

The photo below was taken by John of PRR engine 137, in June of 1949, as it made a scheduled stop at “Deep Cut”, under the Erie Railroad bride in Portageville.

The bridge is still there. The Rochester Branch and it’s roadbed was abandoned in 1963 and was only recently repurposed as the Greenway Trail.

Another John Prophet image from the Buffalo Chapter of the NRHS’s June 1949 excursion on the PRR’s Rochester Branch. Here, PRR L-1s engine 137 is passing under the Erie Railroad’s Genesee Viaduct overpass in Belfast, NY.

Letchworth State Park, and the area known as “Deep Cut” was a scheduled photo stop for engine 137 during the NRHS’ June 1949 excursion on the PRR Rochester Branch. The line itself had been closed to passenger traffic since 1941 and it saw very limited freight runs. Looking at the track in this photo, it looks like it had been abandoned already, but that won’t officially happen until 1963.

It’s amazing to see how engine 137 became a plaything for the lucky passengers who wanted to climb all over and around it in order to get that “perfect” picture.

Here is the ticket used for the "Autumn Leaf Excursion" along with the flyer that was distributed to announce the upcoming excursion.

Here are two NRHS photographs of PRR L-1s engine #3583. The first shows the open-door baggage car behind the engine's tender. John Prophet was hanging out one of the doors of the car during the entire trip; keeping his microphone pointed at the engine pretty much the entire time. The second is a view right from the front of the engine.

Below is an NRHS photo of engine 3583 taking on water at Mount Morris, NY. Although pretty impossible to determine if this is true, the tall gentleman in the white cap, just under the "I" and "A" on the tender, may be John. He didn't record the entire stop the train made to take on water so he wasn't babysitting his wire recorder, and he certainly wouldn't have missed an opportunity to get up close to engine 3583 during the break. I'd like think that it IS John.

It doesn't get any better than this. Some folks didn't want to buy tickets to ride the excursion because chasing the train to photograph it was just as much fun. This spectacular photo was taken from the Erie Railroad Portage Bridge in Letchworth State Park looking down on the train sitting on the Rochester Branch.

It may seem really silly to us railfans now, but back in 1952, the NRHS excursion on the Rochester Branch was big news in Olean, NY.

Here are two shots of the Erie Railroad's Portage Bridge taken after the PRR's Rochester Branch was taken up. In the first photo, you can see the old roadbed on the left side of the picture; in the second, the roadbed is at the bottom.

Photos courtesy of the Library of Congress.

A turn-of-the-century photograph of the Portage Bridge with an Erie "old-timer" crossing over. The PRR's Rochester Branch can be see to the right of the picture. The area known as "Deep Cut" is just beyond the second bridge support from the left.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

In the late 19th to early 20th century, the Pennsylvania Railroad offered excursions to Letchworth State Park on their Rochester Branch. Once the train arrived at "Deep Cut", passengers were allowed off the train for 5 hours to enjoy a picnic and the beautiful scenery of the Portage Falls (now known as the Upper Falls).

Image courtesy of http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/rrbroad.html

A perfect shot showing the Portage Bridge with the PRR Rochester Branch running underneath.

Image courtesy of http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com

A "few" feet above the Rochester Branch was the Erie Railroad's PB tower. The Portage station wasn't too far up the tracks from where the tower was located. Today, it may be possible to still see the foundation where PB tower stood.

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Before you can have a railroad, you need a towpath. Below are some photographs of the Genesee Valley Canal and the towpath that would eventually become the Rochester Branch of the PRR.

Images courtesy of the Library of Congress.

There was perhaps no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than on the banks of the Genesee River after the Pennsylvania Railroad dropped you off and left you to your own devices. Mind you... don't toss ANYTHING over the bank.

The Pennsylvania Railroad passenger stations at Mount Morris, Nunda, and Tuscarora.

Below is a beautiful shot that gives you a fairly good idea on how the Rochester Branch twisted and turned like a snake as it followed the Genesee River into Letchworth State Park.

Here are two images of DL&W Junction in Mount Morris, NY. John didn't start recording the "Autumn Leaf Excursion" until the train reached this point. You may ask, "what the heck was he doing from Buffalo to Rochester, and Rochester to Mount Morris?!" Well, it's entirely possible that he was drinking coffee, eating doughnuts, and enjoying the company of friends while taking in the spectacular event unfolding around him. Perhaps it was at DL&W junction that one of his friends casually looked down at the floor of the baggage car, spied his equipment sitting there, and quietly remarked, "Uhh... John... didn't you want to make a recording of the train?"

Special thanks to David Monte Verde for these images.