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Alec and Gabe’s New York & Lake Erie Photo Charter

The first photo location on the Saturday charter was atop the Cattaraugus Creek trestle at Gowanda, N.Y., in screaming morning sunshine. Erie Railroad Alco S1 308 poses on the Cattaraugus Creek trestle at Gowanda, N.Y., in this view from the riverbed. Alco S1 308 was built as Erie S1 308 in November 1946, and later re-trucked with AAR Type B trucks. —Denis E. Connell

Alec and Gabe’s New York & Lake Erie Photo Charter

September 2022by Andrew Grahl/photos as noted

Two young and talented photographers chartered a New York & Lake Erie Railroad train on a beautiful, cloudless Saturday in June. Alec Durfee, 18 and a recent high school graduate, and Gabe Thomas, 19, both from northwest Pennsylvania, called NY&LE owner Bob Dingman and pitched the plan. After 10 months of negotiations and planning with the railroad, the charter took place on June 25, 2022.

“We were inspired to put on this charter after I chased the Jim Fetchero charter held last August. I was enamored by the exciting experience of rare mileage and staged photos from that charter, and thought it would be cool to put on a similar event of my own. Being the first charter I ever attended, the Fetchero charter opened my eyes to all the neat things that could be done on a small railroad like the NY&LE,” said Alec Durfee.

NY&LE Charter

The New York & Lake Erie Railroad was formed in 1978 to operate unwanted Conrail lines of Erie Railroad heritage. Today, the railroad operates excursion passenger trains only, from Gowanda to South Dayton, N.Y.

A recent extension beyond South Dayton south to Cherry Creek provided an interesting station building and siding for photographers on this trip. Trains can also run across the Cattaraugus Creek in Gowanda when there is a need to interchange with the Buffalo Southern Railroad, and as we learned on the trip, trains can operate via a switchback at DM Junction to Persia via a branch that once led to Cattaraugus and Salamanca…


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This article was posted on: September 19, 2022