Rochester Subway, Photo (1951)

While a two-mile stretch of the Rochester Subway operated beneath Broad Street, most of the “subway” line ran in an open air cut—previously the bed of the Erie Canal. This photo was taken on September 8, 1951 at the Rowlands loop.

Rowlands loop was the eastern terminus of the subway from 1929 until the abandonment of the line in 1956. The point was apparently named after a local property owner. It was in the middle of nowhere when the line was built. Later there were homes constructed on nearby tracts. Rowlands was near Monroe Avenue—roughly where the 590 Pittsford interchange is today.

Car 48 (shown) was originally built in 1916 by the Cincinnati Car Company for the Rome-Little Falls interurban line of New York State Railways. In 1937 this car was moved to Rochester for service in the subway. This photo was taken shortly after all the subway cars were repainted by the Rochester Transit Corp. in a dark red and cream color scheme—to match the company’s bus fleet. Car 48, along with all but one other 46-series car, was scrapped in 1956.