Misplaced Pages

#126873

30-657: The Charlotte Branch was built in the 1880s by the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad , and passed through ownership by the New York Central Railroad, Penn Central and Conrail before CSX acquired the line as part of the Conrail breakup in 1999. The Charlotte Runner branches off of the CSX main at CP-373 via a wye that allows access from either the west or the east. Heading north, the line passes under Interstate 490 before reaching

60-594: A peninsula projecting into Lake Ontario, where the lake enters the river. The southern section of the peninsula is in the neighboring town of Lyme. Facing the town across the St. Lawrence River is Wolfe Island , the largest of the Thousand Islands . The island is in Frontenac County , Ontario , Canada. New York State Route 12E runs along the St. Lawrence River before it turns southeast at Cape Vincent village. As of

90-427: A few persons on the railroad who know how the name came to be applied, but I happen to know the exact circumstances. Along in the early 70's a man named Royal and one John Tobin were employed by the R., W. & O. railroad in running trains between Lewiston and Suspension Bridge. Royal was a gruff, genial fellow and was well liked by the railroad men at the bridge. It was his habit, when after having delivered his cars at

120-579: A half mile after the switch to the power plant. Though much more important in previous years (see Usage for more info) , the Charlotte Runner is still a vital piece of CSX's trackage in Monroe County . There are four online customers on the line, one of which is the largest CSX customer in the Rochester area. Despite being a branch line, the Charlotte Runner has seen its share of mainline traffic over

150-665: A switch that leads to the Falls Road Industrial Track , the lone remaining remnant of the Conrail Falls Road Secondary in Rochester. Just past this switch, another split on the line heads east to the former New York Central mainline trackage, which is no longer used due to the lack of customers following the closure of the Kleen Brite chemical company in 2004. Meanwhile, the Charlotte Branch continues to

180-829: A village. By that time, the region was becoming a famous tourist area due to the Thousand Islands . In 1935, the East Charity Shoals Light was erected at the entrance to the Seaway. The Xavier Chevalier House , Nicholas Cocaigne House , Remy Dezengremel House , Joseph Docteur House , James Buckley House , E. K. Burnham House , Reuter Dyer House , East Charity Shoal Light , Johnson House , Captain Louis Peugnet House , George Reynolds House , Rogers Brothers Farmstead , Tibbetts Point Light , Union Meeting House , Claude Vautrin House , and Warren Wilson House are listed on

210-480: Is by its corporate name." Author Richard Palmer attributes it to a slang term for a slow local passenger train or way freight. The Port Jervis Evening Gazette reported, "[w]hile the Hojack was backing down to the depot Wednesday afternoon a horse in a team attached to a wagon from the country got its foot fast between the rail and the bed of the track in a manner similar to that which a horse belonging to Thomas Cuddeback

240-575: The National Register of Historic Places . According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 89.8 square miles (232.7 km ), of which 56.4 square miles (146.0 km ) are land and 33.5 square miles (86.8 km ), or 37.28%, are water. The northwestern border of the town is the St. Lawrence River , and the western border is Lake Ontario . Much of the town is on

270-552: The St. Lawrence River at the end of the 19th century: Cape Vincent, Clayton and Ogdensburg. At the first two towns, ferries were available to Ontario towns on the opposite side of the river, as well as the Thousand Islands . The RW&O was nicknamed "Rotten Wood & Old Rusty Rails" due to its crumbling infrastructure. By 1878, the RW&;O had been merged into the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). DL&W built

300-478: The St. Lawrence River . A branch of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad , commonly known as "The Hojack Line", operated along the south shore of Lake Ontario , from Oswego, New York to Niagara Falls, New York . After it was merged into the New York Central in 1913, the RW&O line was known as the St. Lawrence Division. The Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad (RW&O) began in 1842 as

330-819: The Webster Hojack Trail , Cayuga Hojack Trail , Maple City Trail in Ogdensburg, Harbor Rail Trail in Oswego and additional sections in Hamlin , Hilton and Rochester, New York . The RW&O had terminals in Suspension Bridge, Rochester, Syracuse , Rome , Utica , Natural Bridge , Massena , Ogdensburg , Clayton , Cape Vincent and Sackets Harbor . The RW&O was nicknamed the Hojack , but its origins have multiple explanations. Considerable mystery has always surrounded

SECTION 10

#1732858821127

360-493: The census of 2000, there were 3,345 people, 867 households, and 601 families residing in the town. The population density was 59.2 inhabitants per square mile (22.9/km ). There were 2,783 housing units at an average density of 49.3 per square mile (19.0/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 70.64% White , 21.88% African American , 0.39% Native American , 0.36% Asian , 6.28% from other races , and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.27% of

390-576: The Ontario Secondary in 1882 (Beebee line) from Charlotte, New York (where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario ) to Rochester, New York . By 1891, RW&O became a subsidiary of NYC. On April 12, 1913, the RW&O was formally merged into the NYC. In 20th century timetables for the New York Central Railroad (NYC), the line was referred to as the St. Lawrence Division. Revenue passenger service

420-623: The Watertown & Rome Railroad (W&R) to link Watertown with Rome, New York on the Syracuse & Utica Railroad , later consolidated as part of the New York Central Railroad (NYC). The Potsdam & Watertown Railroad was formed at this time to link Watertown with Potsdam, New York in St. Lawrence County . In 1861, these two railroads merged as the RW&O. A branch line from DeKalb Junction (near Canton, New York ) to Ogdensburg

450-617: The West Yard between Lake Avenue and Greenleaf Road to run around power or perform further switching duties, rather than tying up traffic on Ridge Road and Ridgeway Avenues near Eastman Business Park. Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad that grew, in stages, from Rome, New York to Watertown and then to Ogdensburg, New York and Massena, New York . The original Rome and Watertown Railroad terminated in Cape Vincent, NY on

480-407: The average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 13.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 43.3% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 216.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 251.8 males. The median income for a household in the town

510-405: The bridge, he was ready to return, to stand at the officer door and call out to his partner in stentorian tones. 'Ho, Jack, time to be going back.' The man and the voice became inseparably connected with the railroad and when his train appeared the men would say, 'Here comes the hojack.' The name sticks to the road and the R., W. & O., is now better known among railroad men as the 'Hojack' than it

540-654: The east of the Charlotte Runner), crossing over the Genesee River on a swing bridge that dates back to the days of the RW&O, and returning to the city on the Rochester Running Track . The plant and the line were closed within two years of each other and, by 1998, the Rochester Runner and the Hojack east of the Charlotte Runner were abandoned and removed. The swing bridge, the final remnant of this portion,

570-500: The north toward Kodak Park . North of Driving Park Avenue, the Charlotte Runner parallels the Rochester and Southern Railroad . The two lines follow one another into Kodak Park, the gigantic industrial complex run by Eastman Kodak and maintained via an intra-plant railroad . Just north of West Ridge Road , the KPRR interchanges with both tracks. The RSR and the Charlotte Runner then turn to

600-639: The northeast for a stretch before the RSR turns to the north while the Charlotte Runner continues northeast, following the path of the Genesee River . Just before the Genesee empties into Lake Ontario in Charlotte, the line turns west onto the former Hojack Line. The track continues to the west for just under two miles before coming to an end at Dewey Avenue after crossing the Lake Ontario State Parkway , roughly

630-554: The origin of the nickname "Hojack" applied to the R. W. & O. division. Railroad men, when asked, seemed to have but a vague idea of the reason of the term. In a letter to the Oswego Bulletin, a writer who signs himself as an "Old Engineer," writes: "I noticed recently in an Oswego paper there was some doubt as to the origin of the word 'Hojack' as applied to the R, W. & O. division of the New York Central railroad. There are

SECTION 20

#1732858821127

660-407: The population. There were 867 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and

690-558: The route in 1961, discontinued with the October schedule. The local coach service to Ogdensburg ended by October, 1961 as well. The remaining local coach service for Massena was dropped from the timetable by April, 1964. Former RW&O trackage is operated by CSX (CSXT), Ontario Midland Railroad (OMID) and the Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern Railroad . Several disconnected sections of the former line have also been converted to trails, including

720-500: The train is now generally known by that name." NYC attempted to ban the name by way of an edict released in 1906. Cape Vincent, NY Cape Vincent is a town in Jefferson County , New York , United States. The population was 2,765 at the 2020 census. The town is in the northwestern part of the county. In the town is a village also called Cape Vincent . Both town and village are northwest of Watertown . The town

750-473: The years. Until 2009, long coal trains made their way to the Russell Station every month, the line also carried coal trains that went to RG&E's BeeBee plant located near High Falls in downtown Rochester. These trains would travel the length of the runner and, after crossing onto the Hojack portion of the line, would travel east on the Hojack (as, at this time, the Hojack was intact for a short distance to

780-621: Was decommissioned in 2012 by order of the US Coast Guard. Following the closure of the BeeBee plant, volume along the Runner significantly decreased due to the lack of coal trains for the BeeBee. This amount was reduced even further after RG&E shut down Russell Station in 2009, leaving Kodak as the only major customer on the line. CSX continues to make use of the former Hojack trackage up to Russell Station for car storage, bringing up Kodak trains to

810-573: Was first explored in the 17th century by French explorers and missionaries. At that time, it was home to the Onondaga people . Modern settlement began in 1801 at Millens Bay. During the War of 1812 , Cape Vincent served as an armed camp to oppose the British forces in adjacent Kingston, Ontario . The town was formed in 1849 from the north part of the town of Lyme . In 1895, the hamlet of Cape Vincent incorporated as

840-519: Was later built. In 1864, the RW&O constructed a line from Pulaski to Oswego and merged with the Syracuse & Northern Railroad . In 1858, the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad (LOS) was chartered from Oswego to Suspension Bridge, New York (now Niagara Falls, New York ). RW&O merged with the LOS in 1875; by that time the LOS was bankrupt. Branch lines reached what became resort towns along

870-417: Was operated from the NYC's "Water Level Route" mainline. Coach passengers for the route to Watertown, Potsdam and on to Massena changed trains at Syracuse. Passengers for the branch splitting off the route at Philadelphia, New York for Ogdensburg changed at Syracuse . Sleeping car passengers would be able to take a continuous through-car ride. The last sleeping cars to and from New York City operated along

900-455: Was ruined some time ago. It was with great difficulty that the horse Wednesday was saved from a similar fate. The foot was got out just in time to get out of the way of the train." A subsequent story in the same newspaper supports that explanation, saying "[t]he name Hojack, which the Gazette gave to the way train leaving here for the west at 1:30 in the afternoon, sticks closer than a brother, and

#126873