Rochester & Eastern Line presented by Charlie Lowe

All programs are free and open to the public. Please join us!

February 21, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. located in the Fairport Historical Museum

Trolley car #163 in 1924

Image owned by NY Museum of Transportation

The Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway and its successor, New York State Railways, Rochester and Eastern Line, connected Rochester, Canandaigua and Geneva with high-speed electric interurban railway cars from 1903 to 1930.

This line will be the subject of a talk and slide show given at the Fairport Historical Museum on February 21, 2012 by Charles R. Lowe. Included in the general history of the R&E will be a discussion of the "battle" of three interurbans, including the R&E, fought for control of the bustling village of Fairport. By 1905 the battle was over and the R&E settled down to the business of rushing its passenger and express freight along its line.

Concluding the R & E history will be a short discussion of some landmarks of the line still to be seen in the Fairport area and where one can not only see the last remaining R & E car but ride an interurban trolley as well.

Mr. Lowe has been a nearly life-long resident of Perinton and has spent the last 30 years researching and writing a history of the Rochester and Eastern. A graduate of Syracuse University, Lowe is a N.Y.S. Professional Engineer and serves as a bridge inspector for New York State Department of Transportation. Lowe also coaches cross country and track at Fairport Central School District. He resides with his wife and son in the former Perinton District No. 10 schoolhouse on Turk Hill Road.

Fairport was one of the stops on the R. S. & E. line. The station is located at 23 North Main Street and is a village landmark. For information about this structure see the Trolley Station.