Syracuse 73 miles

73 miles to Syracuse. (iPhone photo by BobbaLew.)

—Pictured above is a milepost on New York Central’s old Auburn line.
I made another foray to Ontario Pathways’ trail on Pennsy’s long-abandoned Canandaigua branch. I got on at the fairgrounds and headed toward Canandaigua. Did the same last weekend. Maybe three+ miles walking a lunging hunter.
It’s “a peaceful walk with nature,” a line stolen from my aquacise instructor. Pennsy came north from PA. Toward Canandaigua it turned west, coming adjacent to the old Auburn Road.
Through the woods, rustling the fallen leaves with my feet. Then up alongside the Auburn, which was the first cross-state railroad into Rochester. It’s not New York Central’s main (now CSX), which took a more direct route east toward Syracuse. That came later, and crossed Irondequoit defile.
The Auburn went around the defile; less challenging to 1830s grading. That defile woulda meant down-and-up, or a gigantic fill. Plus it’s wet and flood-prone.
The newer route has the fill, but it’s only about 75 feet high at most, across Irondequoit Creek. The Auburn became New York Central’s bypass. Like the main, it connected Rochester to Syracuse. If the main was blocked, mainline trains detoured over the Auburn.
Quite a bit of the Auburn was abandoned and torn up. Some remains, operated by shortline Finger-Lakes Railway. That Canandaigua branch isn’t used much, so I wasn’t worried about my silly dog standing on its tracks.
Not many railroad shippers are in Canandaigua; it might see one train per day, or every other day. It can be dispatched by train-order via cellphone. Meets never occur.
My wife and I rode that line to Canandaigua once; a Santa Christmas special. We got on in Shortsville east of Canandaigua, then rode west to Canandaigua. Approaching Canandaigua we were down to 10 mph on jointed stick-rail. I think that would be enough time to pull my dog off the tracks.
Hiking that path is slower, except I’m yanked along by a crazy dog. “Who’s walking who?” people ask, although I only encountered three.
One was another guy with a leashed afghan. “I recognize yer dog,” I said. “I had a hunch you were looking for this path, and almost stopped. You almost got hit by an enraged pickup!”
Communing with nature — “a peaceful walk” — accompanied by “sniffity-snort!”

• My beloved wife of over 44 years died of cancer April 17th, 2012. I still miss her. Best friend I ever had, and after my childhood I needed one. She actually liked me.
• “Jointed stick-rail“ is how railroading used to be until about 30-40 years ago. Rail usually was 33-foot lengths (sticks) spliced together into continuous lengths to make the railroad. Now it’s welded at rail-joints into continuous lengths usually a quarter-mile or more long called “ribbon-rail.” The rail on the Auburn may be older than 40 years, or never converted to “ribbon-rail.” “Ribbon-rail” can safely support more car-weight. “Jointed” rail loosens the splice-bars, which are through-bolted. Welds are stronger than the rail itself. “Stick-rail” was 33 feet to fit the common flatcar at that time.