Q: about LSL Eastbound...

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HARHBG

Service Attendant
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Sep 13, 2015
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I will be taking my 2 G-Kids on their first train "adventure" in April. Riding the Eastbound LSL it should hit daylight about Erie, PA. Kids are 8 & 11 yrs.

For any of you AU people who have ridden this train and know the scenery; Will any pieces of the Erie Canal be visible from the train?

I tried to find maps of the RR tracks and Canal but haven't had much success. Can find one or the other but not both on the same map.

Any info or referral to sources would be very appreciated.
 
Yes. Sit on the right side of the train going east and you'll come on the canal, and some of the locks as well.
 
The abandoned industrial hulks along the tracks on that route are quite interesting also.
 
The LSL follows the canals from Rochester all the way to Albany. (West of Rochester, the canal runs significantly north of the railroad line, through Lockport -- there used to be a railway line on that route but there isn't any more.) There are actually several canals; the Erie Canal was relocated at least once in the Syracuse area and the railway runs adjacent to the "old" canal some of the time and the "new" canal some of the time.

Google Maps is actually pretty good for seeing where the canals and the railroad run. The canals west of Utica aren't very impressive; they just look like large ditches. Around Utica you get into the Mohawk River lock system, which is more visible.
 
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In the city of Rochester there is actually a section of the old Erie Canal that is above street level. East of Rochester in the small town of Fairport, the tracks are along the New York State Barge Canal which is what it is now called since they widened the old canal and made it deeper. There is a bridge in Fairport that is raised when too tall a boat goes through on the canal.
 
The eastern half of the "Erie Canal" is actually the Mohawk River, which the train follows basically to SDY. Then it basically follows the Hudson River from (just south of) ALB to NYP. As said, it is on the right side most of the time.
 
THANKS for all the info. The kids have studied the Erie Canal in their history classes and are anxious to actually see it. I spoke with a neighbor here in Harrisburg who told me you can actually rent a canal boat and "sail" along sections of the canal.

Who knew? HA!

I'm grateful for all the responses.
 
Yep. The Erie Canal is still functional; as noted it's called the "New York State Barge Canal" now.

If you're a real boat person with all the certifications and you get the right sort of boat, you can actually take the New York State Barge Canal all the way from Buffalo to Albany (it takes weeks).

If you're not that hardcore, there are a lot of places with tourist "out and back" trips on the canal.
 
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There is a magazine called "NYS By Rail" which has been distributed in the past on Empire Service Trains. I am not sure if it is still printed, and I don't remeber if it was on the LSL, but it did feature interesting articles on what to see in various areas of NY State. I sort of remember an article about the canals, but I can't say for sure. Perhaps available on line?
 
Type in "New York by Rail" in your search engine--it should come up with a link to the New York by Rail magazine. When you go into the site, go down to the lefthand bottom corner and you will see a magazine cover to click on for the magazine (about 100 pages!) and further down a link to material on New York State's canals.

I tried to post the link, but I obviously did not get an "A" in the tutorial I received from someone on here on how to do that, because it wouldn't post.
 
Yep. The Erie Canal is still functional; as noted it's called the "New York State Barge Canal" now.

If you're a real boat person with all the certifications and you get the right sort of boat, you can actually take the New York State Barge Canal all the way from Buffalo to Albany (it takes weeks).

If you're not that hardcore, there are a lot of places with tourist "out and back" trips on the canal.
That's good information, Neroden. Thank you.
 
If you're a real boat person with all the certifications and you get the right sort of boat, you can actually take the New York State Barge Canal all the way from Buffalo to Albany (it takes weeks).
If you do this, you'll always know your neighbor; you'll always know your pal.

Here is the link Mystic River Dragon spoke of above: New York by Rail
 
We learned that one in school, but "the Erie is a rising, the gin's a gettin' kind of low. I scarcely think- Im a gonna get another drink til we get to Buffalo" rang a bit truer for me.
 
Yep. The Erie Canal is still functional; as noted it's called the "New York State Barge Canal" now.

If you're a real boat person with all the certifications and you get the right sort of boat, you can actually take the New York State Barge Canal all the way from Buffalo to Albany (it takes weeks).

If you're not that hardcore, there are a lot of places with tourist "out and back" trips on the canal.
That's good information, Neroden. Thank you.
The only certification needed is a credit card. You can rent a English style canal boat, and after a quick "how to" off you go.

Unless your boat over 65 feet, or carrying fare paying passengers. What USCG regulations? Credit Card Captain you are.
 
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