Gump Posted September 12, 2017 Share #1 Posted September 12, 2017 there is a documentary on PBS at 7:30 on the Erie Canal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 12, 2017 Share #2 Posted September 12, 2017 4 minutes ago, Zackny said: there is a documentary on PBS at 7:30 on the Erie Canal. They wrote, produced, and directed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 12, 2017 Share #3 Posted September 12, 2017 Cool! Thanks for the heads up! It's on at 8, and here I thought there was nothing good on TV this evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffJim Posted September 13, 2017 Share #4 Posted September 13, 2017 And yet he forgets to notify the one who lives in walking distance to the canal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ralphie ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Popular Post Share #5 Posted September 13, 2017 15 minutes ago, BuffJim said: And yet he forgets to notify the one who lives in walking distance to the canal. Oh yes, the Aireheads! Good point! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petitepedal ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Share #6 Posted September 13, 2017 Well that ain't on any of our 5 public television stations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 13, 2017 Share #7 Posted September 13, 2017 Missed it by that much. (Posted 10 hours later....) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 13, 2017 Share #8 Posted September 13, 2017 I watched, and found it interesting. They made the claim that the railroads didn't kill the Erie (Barge) Canal as a viable commercial concern, but the St. Lawrence Seaway did. That claim is rather contrary to most everything I've read about competition between railroads and canals, but perhaps the Erie/Barge canal was the exception to the general rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffJim Posted September 13, 2017 Share #9 Posted September 13, 2017 Wasn't on our PBS station. Maybe already ran. I'll keep looking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 13, 2017 Share #10 Posted September 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said: but perhaps the Erie/Barge canal was the exception to the general rule. Nope. The St. Lawrence didn't really come into prominence until after the writing was on the wall for the Erie. Read about the fare wars. The railroads deliberately lowered fares during the summer, when the canal was in operation and raised them in winter. They kept undercutting the canal on price and since speed was no contest, it quickly became apparent that the only thing the canal was good for was bulky items that weren't time sensitive - lumber, gravel, sand. Maybe the St. Lawrence didn't help the canals any, but railroads were the real reason for the death of the canal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Share #11 Posted September 13, 2017 Both dead canals and dead railroads can make great bicycle trails. Petite is sitting on a goldmine of potential bike trails. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parodybot Posted September 13, 2017 Share #12 Posted September 13, 2017 8 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: Nope. The St. Lawrence didn't really come into prominence until after the writing was on the wall for the Erie. Read about the fare wars. The railroads deliberately lowered fares during the summer, when the canal was in operation and raised them in winter. They kept undercutting the canal on price and since speed was no contest, it quickly became apparent that the only thing the canal was good for was bulky items that weren't time sensitive - lumber, gravel, sand. Maybe the St. Lawrence didn't help the canals any, but railroads were the real reason for the death of the canal. Funny that the only three things the barges were good at moving were necessities for building railroads and running locomotives 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Share #13 Posted September 13, 2017 I find it ironic that one of the railroads that put the C&O canal out of business (Western Maryland Railroad) also became a bike trail and gives welcome relief to towpath weary cyclists near Hancock, Md. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 13, 2017 Share #14 Posted September 13, 2017 16 minutes ago, Longjohn said: Petite is sitting on a goldmine of potential bike trails. I'm hoping someone gets a wild hair to make more of the Lehigh Valley Railroad bed a trail - it runs about 1/4 mile from the house....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Share #15 Posted September 13, 2017 2 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: I'm hoping someone gets a wild hair to make more of the Lehigh Valley Railroad bed a trail - it runs about 1/4 mile from the house....? Our local trail group has been working on a local abandoned rail bed the old fashioned way with lots of manual labor. The ride I did Labor Day weekend raised money to support their effort. They included a couple miles of their new trail as an optional part of the day's ride. I was riding my 520 with 32s on it so rode it. I didn't see any other cyclist from our ride but lots of local kids making use of it. It's crushed limestone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Share #16 Posted September 13, 2017 13 hours ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said: Oh yes, the Aireheads! Good point! Yeah, that's a looooong walk to the canal from their place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 13, 2017 Share #17 Posted September 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Longjohn said: Our local trail group has been working on a local abandoned rail bed the old fashioned way with lots of manual labor. I have the Link Trail which connects the Finger Lakes Trail (which, in turn is part of the North Country Scenic Trail ) with the Erie Canal trail. Theoretically I could hike from PA to Maine or North Dakota or something like that. Part of the Link Trail is on the old Lehigh Valley Railroad bed. It once ran from Scranton to Camden NY. The Link ends at the canal and the Canastota to Camden section is almost all privately owned. There's one small section of rail bed in use as a trail in Sylvan Beach and some of it is in use as snowmobile trails, but it's really not open in any contiguous fashion. It'd be nice if it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 13, 2017 Share #18 Posted September 13, 2017 1 hour ago, 2Far said: Yeah, that's a looooong walk to the canal from their place. Comedic license! Upstate NY = close enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 13, 2017 Share #19 Posted September 13, 2017 10 hours ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: Nope. The St. Lawrence didn't really come into prominence until after the writing was on the wall for the Erie. Read about the fare wars. The railroads deliberately lowered fares during the summer, when the canal was in operation and raised them in winter. They kept undercutting the canal on price and since speed was no contest, it quickly became apparent that the only thing the canal was good for was bulky items that weren't time sensitive - lumber, gravel, sand. Maybe the St. Lawrence didn't help the canals any, but railroads were the real reason for the death of the canal. See, now this is what I'd understood as well. So why would they make such a statement? I guess it might depend on what their definition of 'demise of the canal' would be. Many places in upstate NY have old railroad beds from railways that went bankrupt, or in some cases the bed was built and they never put down any rails because they ran out of money. Often you can see these as a line of trees in a farmer's field or a dirt trail on Google satellite view, and then you can trace the old rail bed from town to town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 13, 2017 Share #20 Posted September 13, 2017 16 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said: So why would they make such a statement? The only thing I could think of is they’re conflating the Erie Canal with it’s successor the Barge Canal. I’d imagine the St Lawrence Seaway put the hurt on the Barge Canal. 16 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said: Often you can see these as a line of trees in a farmer's field or a dirt trail on Google satellite view, and then you can trace the old rail bed from town to town. Can confirm: have spent a LOT of time tracing stuff like that. (Which is why you get dragged on these rides in pursuit of the untamed Anserini). There are some places where it’s just plain been wiped out. In my immediate vicinity, I have the Lehigh Valley (red), the O&W (yellow) and the “New” Oneida Lake Canal (blue). You can see where the two railroads went after they left Sylvan Beach (back When Railroads Went to the Beach) - the O&W along the north shore of the lake, to Oswego and the Lehigh on to Camden - but the whole joint bridge, the Y and the tail track have been obliterated in Sylvan Beach. It’s said that Eddies Restaurant was built on top of the former train station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 13, 2017 Share #21 Posted September 13, 2017 1 hour ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: pursuit of the untamed Anserini Good one! (I had to look up Anserini to get the reference...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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