1825, Erie Canal completed<\/p>\n
By 1900 the canal is antiquated; too narrow for modern barges, many lift-bridges downtown tie up traffic, and many consider it an eyesore<\/p>\n
1905, funding approved to widen the Erie Canal and reroute it south of the city<\/p>\n
1911, <\/p>\n
There are five major railroads with stations in Rochester:<\/p>\n
Between 1900-1910, four interurban lines are built into Rochester:<\/p>\n
With more automobiles appearing on the streets, Interurbans were becoming unwelcome on Main Street, sometimes referred to as the \u201cAisle of Death\u201d<\/p>\n
Rochester\u2019s population was growing rapidly and expected to reach 2 Million<\/p>\n
Freight service into and out of Rochester was also a necessity<\/p>\n
1912, City Hall approves $1.8 MM to build subway using canal and aqueduct. It would officially be called the Rochester Rapid Transit and Industrial Railroad (a.k.a. Rochester subway)<\/p>\n
1919, Last boat passes through on the Canal<\/p>\n
1920, the Canal is drained<\/p>\n
1921,
\nCity buys the Canal right-of-way including adjacent sections in Greece, Brighton, Pittsford
\nMayor Edgerton (Republican) signs ordinance to begin construction <\/p>\n
1922, (May) Mayor Clarence Van Zandt (Republican) breaks ground using a golden shovel<\/p>\n
1923, (Spring) Mayor and city engineers inspect the project; one of them enthusiastically stated, \u201cthe old Erie Canal made Rochester, the new subway railway is to make for a greater Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n
1924, (Spring) City officials take first ride on subway<\/p>\n
1924, (August) Broad Street opens with a parade
\nThe long construction period caused some to question the City and criticize the project calling the $1.8 million dollar underground railway \u201can adventure in optimism\u201d and a white elephant<\/p>\n
1927, (October) NYS Railways (a subsidiary of NY Central Railroad) agrees to operate the subway. They already operate the streetcars and two interurban lines.<\/p>\n
1927, (November 30) subway officially opens.
\nThe fare is 9\u00a2.
\nOnly the eastern end of the line is electrified.<\/p>\n
1927, (December 2) Mayor Martin O’Neil (Republican) orders a demonstration run. Prominent citizens including George Eastman are invited to ride.
\nStations<\/p>\n
East from Downtown (trip time ~20 minutes)<\/p>\n
West from Downtown (trip time ~11 minutes)<\/p>\n
By mid-1920s streetcar systems across the country were already struggling due to competition from private automobiles<\/p>\n
1926, there are now 70,000 vehicles in Monroe County<\/p>\n
1929, Great Depression<\/p>\n
1934, Rundel Library built over subway<\/p>\n
1937, Harold McFarlin becomes Commissioner of Commerce & Railroads and he begins to make efforts to save the subway from financial collapse<\/p>\n
1937, (August 2) operation of subway is turned over to Rochester Transit Corp. (RTC)<\/p>\n
1940, subway cars are repainted with a new green color scheme to give them a more modern look<\/p>\n
1940, (Sunday, September 23) motorman Michael Keys is killed when Car 60 derails and hits a pole; high speed and fog are blamed<\/p>\n
McFarlin states that he believes Rochester needs high speed rail service to maintain economic growth because bus service is too slow (not everyone agrees and many consider buses an improvement over the aging streetcars)<\/p>\n
1941, (March) <\/p>\n
1941, (December) America enters WWII<\/p>\n
1944, (December 11 & 12) blizzard paralyzes Rochester region, halting bus service; subway continues to run uninterrupted<\/p>\n
1945, (September) WWII ends; during the war subway ridership had tripled<\/p>\n
1947, ridership hits all time high with over 5.1 Million passengers<\/p>\n
1948, <\/p>\n
1952, Service reductions<\/p>\n
1953, City Council pledges to promote the subway, but other politicians are actively promoting the highway plan<\/p>\n
1954 (September 9), In a secret meeting, Rochester\u2019s new Republican City Council votes to discontinue passenger service on the last day of 1954 so the right-of-way could be used as a connector highway to the Thruway. University Avenue was the other option. <\/p>\n
1956, (April) Governor Averell Harriman signs bill designating conversion of subway\u2019s eastern end into Interstate 490<\/p>\n
1956, (June 30) last day of subway service<\/p>\n
Car 60 – All subway cars scrapped except Car 60 <\/p>\n
Car 60 was donated to Rochester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and moved a railroad museum near watertown, Rail City<\/p>\n
1968, Car 60 is loaned to Albany and sat deteriorating in a shed at a Thruway maintenance yard<\/p>\n
1957, (August 31) last day of freight service<\/p>\n
In 1960s many city residents move to suburbs<\/p>\n
In 1970s in response to an international oil crisis, proposals are introduced to build a light rail line using portions of the old subway route but the plans go nowhere<\/p>\n
1984, the City begins to sell remaining subway land on the western end for development<\/p>\n
1997, Gannett moves printing operation to Greece; stops using subway to carry printing supplies<\/p>\n
1998, Car 60 is handed over to Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in Rush\/Henrietta<\/p>\n
2005, A group of citizens (Subway Erie Canal Revitalization or SECR) starts a movement called \u201cChill the Fill\u201d to try to stop the City from filling the subway tunnel. The City argues that $1.2 MM is spent each year repairing the tunnel and road deck. Preservationists sought a moratorium until the community could come to a consensus about how best to reuse the site.<\/p>\n
2010, Broad Street Tunnel Improvement Project begins, filling in the west end of the tunnel<\/p>\n
2016, a planned luxury apartment building may seal off the east end of the tunnel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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