On this day, June 30, 1956 in Rochester history…
Service on the Rochester Industrial and Rapid Transit Railway (the “subway”) ended. According to several accounts, the public came out in force to bid farewell to the Rochester subway and an extra car had to be added to handle the crowds. Fifty members of the Metropolitan New York Railway Association held a chartered fantrip, and people crowded platforms and overhead bridges all along the subway route to get their last pictures…
It was 12:54 a.m. on July 1 when car 68 (shown above) left City Hall station under the control of motorman Harry A. Beach. The red and cream colored car headed east for the last time, arriving at Rowlands at 1:09 a.m., then turned the loop and retraced its journey back to the western end of the line at Driving Park, arriving there at 1:36 a.m. The crowd got off, the doors closed, and car 68 moved into the barn for the last time. RTC crews, starting at each end, made their way down the line toward downtown locking each station forever. An exciting era in Rochester’s history had come to an end.
Rochester Transit Corporation posted the following notice to riders:
And that’s how The End of the Line got its name.
*Much of this post was lifted from the super awesome book by Ron Amberger, Canal Boats, Interurbans & Trolleys: The Story of the Rochester Subway . Grab yourself a copy today.
Tags: Canal Boats, General Motors, history of Rochester, Interurbans & Trolleys, New York, NRHS, old photos of Rochester, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, Rochester Subway, Rochester Subway photos, Rochester Transit Corporation, Rowlands Loop, this date in Rochester history
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on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 at 7:47 pm and is filed under Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester Subway, Train/Railroad Stuff.
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Hello Again:
I just bumped into another “Last Day of Service” people today, and we both stepped back into history. We both lived in the same area, we both lived close or near the subway, he went to #34 School, and I went to Holy Rosary which are just down from the Lexington Station. We both loved our trip back then, especially the brief high speed sprint of the car, vibrating and sing to all those that were in the car. I remember a dark trip under the street and he said his younger sister cried all the way. I told him about winters on the subway, of the Ruggles plow throwing snow, to electrical sparks when there was ice on the wire. Good to see someone my age and lack of hair, remember the subway in another ones eyes.