World Trip 2004 - Rochester
Rochester New York State is one of the smallest cities in the Unites States to have a subway. The Rochester subway was not a large system, mainly just down town. But the system did have four stations. The Rochester subway was mainly for light rail; trams or streetcars. The system was used for long, and was closed to passenger service shortly. It remain in use to transport paper to the Rochester newspapers until 1994.
Ever after seeing the brilliant pictures of the Rochester Subway on the Viewing Hole Gallery I've wanted to visit Rochester myself to see the subway. I did this on June the 8th 2004. It was well worth the trip from Australia just to see this.
This double decked bridge over the Genesse river holds a road on the top deck and the Rochester subway on the lower deck.
City Library is mounted directly above one of the old subway stations.
You can just make out some of the walkways there.
Southern entrance to the Rochester subway. The concrete above is so worn that there's a small field of grass growing on it and even small trees.
Getting level with it you notice how worn that concrete is. In the distance is a light.
The remains of wooden guides for mounting the streetcar overhead cable are still mostly intact.
Light in the distance. Also note the line in the dirt on the ground from water dripping through the concrete above.
Old Subway related building. As I walked past, a guy appeared in the doorway of the building. I just waved and kept on walking so he waved back. This is a pretty dodgy area.
Under the library building a light is visible ahead. On the right is a ramp to a former station platform.
Platform ramp. Note the bluestone construction on the right.
The large water filled area.
That pool and that walkway.
Hmm, go on, walk down there. I dare ya. This area reminds me of a sci-fi movie I watched once.
The raging Genesse river.
Some lights still worked down here.
Underground waterfall
Approaching the bridge viaduct.
Under the viaduct. I encountered a homeless guy getting drunk down here but he was okay.
This would have been where the subway ran. You can still see some of the overhead.
Easy access has been provided via a wooden stairway.
Main bridge tunnel again. There was enough room for 4 tracks, 2 to each side of the bridge.
Arches in the other side of the bridge.
Dark forbidding tunnel at the end of the bridge.
Close up of the bridge. I believe the top deck is more modern than the main bridge but I could be wrong.
The first sign of rails.
Tracks appear in the darkness.
This is the infamous spitting steam vent that makes a heap of noise in the tunnel.
This narrow door leads into the next section of tunnel.
Strange rooms and passage ways. At this point my light gave out so I was taking photos blindly so I could see where to go.
Loading dock
Loading dock. I found a geocache here.
Fire water pipes and valves.
Part of the loading bay. The metal plate there would fold up or down to give easier access to delivery carriages.
The loading bay area.
Junk on the loading bay floor.
Mysterious doorway.
A lot of the light fittings looked relatively new.
Once again there was a wall over the tunnel but this door led the way through.
Light at last. This was the siding that allowed newspaper delivery trains into the tunnel.
The siding on the left lead up from the Rochester Subway to the surface.
Long semi lit section of track. There was a station here which in the past used to have access to the ground above.
Trackwork in the Rochester Subway.
Girders support the roadway above.
Trackwork and girders. This exit is accessible by cars.
You can hardly see it. But that's a sofa there. This gives you an idea of how much light there was down here. I explored This tunnel without a torch.
Arch work in the tunnel and sofa of the left.
Light at the end of the tunnel.
The exit to the surface.
The tunnel runs under This roadway back into town. Ahead trees grow on an abandoned rail line.
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