Flying gets you there, but the railroad is more scenic. Upstate New York has world-class wineries (a few of which are wild grapes) and fall foliage. The Adirondack Mountains are located in New York state, going places by train from April through to December is usually great viewing, as well as relaxing. Here is a little bit about trains going through New York state.
The Medina Lockport railroad goes to the train museum, doing a winery tour, about once per month, and also has several train runs in October, part of the harvest festival – a few of these trains are costume parties. The Medina railroad museum claims to be the largest railroad museum in the world. The trip from Lockport takes about two hours, and travels through some lovely rural communities and woodlands. This is a train ride not to miss if you are in upstate New York, the view is beautiful, the crisp air is clean and fresh, and the price is a bargain-hunter’s delight! I went looking for the railroad in Buffalo and Rochester, and only found Amtrak – this is nice, however, it is scenic, and the Lockport – Medina railroad is located about a 45 minute drive from either Rochester or Buffalo. Private groups can charter a railroad excursion from this railroad also, which is a classic and relaxing way of traveling about for the day.
However, by searching the Internet, I found the Rochester Museum of Transportation, located in Rush which irregularly hosts events in tandem with the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. The next train running for the general public will be on July 20th, called “Caboose Days”. This will be called “Diesel Days” on August 23rd and 24th 2008. These trains are noisy, if you are sensitive to noise, bring along headphones or earplugs – however, the rides are a lot of fun, and the train seems to move to the beat. The visit to either museum is well worth the trip from Rochester if you are an old time railroad enthusiast.
There will also be a railroad show in Buffalo at the Central terminal on September 6th, which is for model train enthusiasts, bring the kids, as there is a special family fare of $10.
There is the Buffalo city light rail, one line that is above the ground around the bus and train terminals, the theater district, and the stadium, with a beautiful view of downtown Buffalo. Getting a day pass is a good idea, as it is a bargain, and there is only one surface line, and the sights are inviting – get off at every stop, if you like, and look at the historic buildings, do some museum stopping and bargain hunting, Buffalo is young and happening again, and the light rail is similar to a railroad to nowhere, especially if you are not sure where you are going around the downtown area. The trains run frequently between sunup and about midnight, so do not worry about getting another light rail train, and there is a stop near the Amtrak station, too.
Another train to nowhere is located in Geneva, NY – it is called the Finger Lakes Scenic railway. There is a limited service commuter train that goes through such places as Canadaigua, Phelps, Clifton Springs, and Shortsville – on Wednesdays, during the summer. There is also a service like the Medina Railroad museum train, that offers entertaining excursions for the day, including a fall foliage tour – these trains run a few times per week, aside from snow season. These fun day excursions include a few to the Central New York train show in November.
Around the Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool (just outside of Syracuse) is the Onondaga trolley, which is not yet a light rail going around the park.
If you are in New York City, and do not have a lot of cash or time, try taking Metro North to Poughkeepsie from Grand Central Station provides some beautiful views of scenic woodland, if you have the time. Most of the commuters are too busy too notice, or travel during hours when its dark, and the trains are pretty empty during off-peak hours. The sunrises and sunsets are beautiful, though. The winters are gorgeous and crisp, and the not-so distant Hudson River sparkles prettily on sunny days. The Poughkeepsie train line gives an excellent view of the Hudson River throughout Dutchess county, and leaves from the Harlem 125th street station as well as the Grand Central Terminal.
Amtrak goes all over New York State, for destinations like Poughkeepsie, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, the main train being called the Empire Service. There is also a train to Montreal, the Adirondack train, that has beautiful views of New York state, Albany and north.
New Jersey commuter rail to Port Jervis, Otisville or Middletown is also an excellent way of seeing a way out of the city to upstate New York, and trains also leave from Penn Station, or take the PATH train to Newark or Secaucus. From Middletown on the Port Jervis line, there are buses through Binghamton to Syracuse. New Jersey rail also has another railroad that goes through Rockland County, which is a few days walk from Poughkeepsie.
I do not know of any trains around Binghamton or the southern tier, however, this does not mean that there is not a train with scenic views somewhere. There is also a fantastic toy train store in Windsor, New York just outside of Binghamton, New York, in an out of the way place. This location is also an unexpected place to have a Lionel train store, there is a freight railroad line here, and not much else – it is a good place to bring children.Aside from this, there seem to only be freight trains around Binghamton, and antique alley, as of the present writing in 2008.
