Thanks so much for the shout out! More importantly, thank you for thoroughly documenting one of the most interesting and, for a time, most successful rail experiments in a density-challenged upstate NY city. If I had known that, when I was in my 20s I could have driven to Syracuse and experienced commuter rail service, I would have gone every weekend! The fact that I never got to ride this actually causes me extreme regret lol. Would love to see a similar trip to ride the only existing commuter rail experience in Western NY, Buffalo’s Metro Rail. It’s amazing how few people know Buffalo has a subway, albeit only for a few miles ;) Anyway, great stuff, keep up the great work! Would love to connect and collaborate this summer!
We didn’t get to ride either. Would have loved to experience that! You pretty much have the most comprehensive blog about OnTrack and i figured if anyone is interested in the topic and hasn’t seen your stuff, they should check it out. Would be great to collab on something sometime! Thanks much for commenting and watching!
This was the coolest thing growing up!! I got to ride it frequently to the Dome from the Trolley lot as a kid to avoid the traffic. My parents knew I loved trains, and those early 2000s basketball games and Ontrack rides will forever be one of my fondest memories.
It was interesting to find these platforms and see them in real life and also try to give a brief overview of the line. If you have any thoughts, definitely leave a comment! Would love to learn more about OnTrack. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the Nostalgia trip. You really did your homework. The Achilles heel, was indeed, the CSX bridge. The blueprint was already in place, with the Ontrack Stops. What came to mind, was the onrail service in Cleveland, that took you to the Flats (similar to Armoury Square), and to the Sports venues. The other, was Burlington, Vt. The onrail, where you could load your bike, and venture on the Lake Champlain trail. That was, well thought out, also.
Its scary how many lines just don’t make it. The one in Cincinnati is a good example of one that works well but always seems to be sabotaged by outside forces. Thanks for watching!
P.S. we shaw have a lot railroad history within the northeastern corridor of the country its amazing that were are blessed with a way of transport to the future have good one good to your RUclips channel we look forward to more thanks !
This line was originally part of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR ("The Lackawanna") which together with the New York Central (which provided east-west service) turned Syracuse into a railroad hub by providing north-south service to Oswego and Binghamton (and beyond to Scranton and Hoboken). The line was elevated through downtown Syracuse at great expense by the Lackawanna Railroad in the 1930s. The New York Central had just elevated their line through downtown Syracuse a year or two earlier, and THAT line was destroyed in the 1960s by the construction of Interstate-690, which together with the construction of the now-crumbling I-81 destroyed a large swath of downtown Syracuse, and confined rail access to a very poor "Am-shack" out in the village of East Syracuse (which has since been torn down and replaced with the somewhat better-located Walsh Transportation Center). Syracuse has become a hollowed-out, post-industrial wasteland ever since. Extending OnTrack to the Transportation Center was the last chance Syracuse ever had of becoming a "real" city again (linking its university and its downtown to the national intercity passenger rail system), and now it is destined to become just another forgettable car-oriented suburb surrounding a dying city center. I say this with some sadness, since I attended Syracuse University (1980-84) and rode OnTrack in the 1990s, and really thought there was a chance Syracuse could reverse its decades-long decline. But by focusing al their efforts on expressways and parking garages (in other words, catering ONLY to cars) and further abandoning the rail system which gave them a competitive advantage in the 1840s, they now have even LESS to distinguish themselves from other dying upstate New York cities like Rochester, Rome and Schenectady. Truly sad.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Its incredible how much rail meant to New York. Its incredible how if one looks into something around here not only do you see former rail, but an enormous story unfolds. Thank you so much for commenting. No telling what could have happened with OnTrack if that last section had been finished! Its nice to dream about!
I really enjoyed this video! I remember seeing OnTrack service, but I never rode it. I did love those RDC cars. It’s sad it didn’t succeed. If you look at other cities who have Lite Rail, to have a system like this to truly work, the system has to connect all modes of transportation. As you mentioned, had this line gone to the Airport and the Amtrak/Bus station, it just may have gotten the ridership it needed. Do you know if there is still talk of bringing in a Lite Rail system?
The dream is still out there to have a more proper streetcar around here, but yeah- they definitely need to connect some strangely placed dots in Syracuse. I never got to ride it either- Thanks for watching!
Well done! You guys do such a good job of explaining the why/details/history behind what you're vlogging -- something missing from many others. I remember OnTrack being promoted as a better means for getting to and from concerts and games on the Hill, as you mentioned. Too bad it didn't stick. You're right, it could've been so much more -- with plenty of funding and cooperation from railroad -- with stops at the airport, and possibly Onondaga Lake Park. And it looks like that line, which I believe connects just west of the new Amtrak station, continues right to the Micron site in Clay. You could leave work there, stop for a Snappy or two at Heid's then continue to home in the city. Maybe some day ...
I totally agree that had they just extended the line to the Amtrak station and the Stadium It would still be running today. Once they went down to just a couple days a week, of course ridership was going to drop because people didn’t know when they could count on the train for transportation. Unfortunately, these type of rail systems have to run seven days a week.
It is very unfortunate, honestly if Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany had Commuter and/or light rail and service was improved/sped up on the empire corridor upstate NY could work really well has a transit friendly region
Then people can enjoy all of the crime that it will bring with it. It’s a great opportunity for criminals for sure. Public transportation always brings a lot of problems and never seems to pay for itself.
@@themetalhead1463 Public transport exists where the most people live, because that’s where the density is to be able to support ridership. Crime exists where the most people live because that’s where there is the most stores to rob, people to mug, and people to sell illicit substances to. They just happen to be in the same place but the correlation doesn’t equal causation here. It doesn’t actually cause a rise in crime. Plenty of places have clean and safe public transport, especially when they treat it as a way for people to get around instead of welfare like many cities do.
I’m trying to figure this out. I’m not familiar with Syracuse, the Ontrack system was never connected to the intermodal/ bus station?. I was trying to figure out the missing link of track that was never put in that you were describing at the end. I’ll google earth it and see if I can figure it out. Great video! Enjoyed it! It probably could have been successful if they had invested more into it and better frequency.
It definitely suffered from not being connected to the train station- if you look at Google maps, search for Destiny USA the tracks are just to the west. The train station is a straight shot to the north east. Painfully close. Thanks so much for watching! The line had quite a few other flag stops that I'm hoping to do another video about sometime.
I don't know how many times ive looked at a map of Syracuse and traced out a streetcar route... haha! Thanks so much for watching! Really jealous that you were able to ride it! 👍
Thanks so much for the shout out! More importantly, thank you for thoroughly documenting one of the most interesting and, for a time, most successful rail experiments in a density-challenged upstate NY city. If I had known that, when I was in my 20s I could have driven to Syracuse and experienced commuter rail service, I would have gone every weekend! The fact that I never got to ride this actually causes me extreme regret lol.
Would love to see a similar trip to ride the only existing commuter rail experience in Western NY, Buffalo’s Metro Rail. It’s amazing how few people know Buffalo has a subway, albeit only for a few miles ;)
Anyway, great stuff, keep up the great work! Would love to connect and collaborate this summer!
We didn’t get to ride either. Would have loved to experience that!
You pretty much have the most comprehensive blog about OnTrack and i figured if anyone is interested in the topic and hasn’t seen your stuff, they should check it out.
Would be great to collab on something sometime! Thanks much for commenting and watching!
This was the coolest thing growing up!! I got to ride it frequently to the Dome from the Trolley lot as a kid to avoid the traffic. My parents knew I loved trains, and those early 2000s basketball games and Ontrack rides will forever be one of my fondest memories.
It was interesting to find these platforms and see them in real life and also try to give a brief overview of the line. If you have any thoughts, definitely leave a comment! Would love to learn more about OnTrack. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the Nostalgia trip.
You really did your homework. The Achilles heel, was indeed, the CSX bridge.
The blueprint was already in place, with the Ontrack Stops.
What came to mind, was the onrail service in Cleveland, that took you to the Flats (similar to Armoury Square), and to the Sports venues.
The other, was Burlington, Vt. The onrail, where you could load your bike, and venture on the Lake Champlain trail. That was, well thought out, also.
Its scary how many lines just don’t make it. The one in Cincinnati is a good example of one that works well but always seems to be sabotaged by outside forces.
Thanks for watching!
Super nice video Ken! Thank you for all the effort that you put into this. Looking forward to 1K subscribers for you.
Thanks for your support, Mike! It took a while to figure out how to present this one.
P.S. we shaw have a lot railroad history within the northeastern corridor of the country its amazing that were are blessed with a way of transport to the future have good one good to your RUclips channel we look forward to more thanks !
Thanks! Its fun to see all the old things and wish it was all still active! Stay tuned for more…!
This line was originally part of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR ("The Lackawanna") which together with the New York Central (which provided east-west service) turned Syracuse into a railroad hub by providing north-south service to Oswego and Binghamton (and beyond to Scranton and Hoboken). The line was elevated through downtown Syracuse at great expense by the Lackawanna Railroad in the 1930s. The New York Central had just elevated their line through downtown Syracuse a year or two earlier, and THAT line was destroyed in the 1960s by the construction of Interstate-690, which together with the construction of the now-crumbling I-81 destroyed a large swath of downtown Syracuse, and confined rail access to a very poor "Am-shack" out in the village of East Syracuse (which has since been torn down and replaced with the somewhat better-located Walsh Transportation Center). Syracuse has become a hollowed-out, post-industrial wasteland ever since. Extending OnTrack to the Transportation Center was the last chance Syracuse ever had of becoming a "real" city again (linking its university and its downtown to the national intercity passenger rail system), and now it is destined to become just another forgettable car-oriented suburb surrounding a dying city center. I say this with some sadness, since I attended Syracuse University (1980-84) and rode OnTrack in the 1990s, and really thought there was a chance Syracuse could reverse its decades-long decline. But by focusing al their efforts on expressways and parking garages (in other words, catering ONLY to cars) and further abandoning the rail system which gave them a competitive advantage in the 1840s, they now have even LESS to distinguish themselves from other dying upstate New York cities like Rochester, Rome and Schenectady. Truly sad.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Its incredible how much rail meant to New York. Its incredible how if one looks into something around here not only do you see former rail, but an enormous story unfolds.
Thank you so much for commenting. No telling what could have happened with OnTrack if that last section had been finished! Its nice to dream about!
I really enjoyed this video! I remember seeing OnTrack service, but I never rode it. I did love those RDC cars. It’s sad it didn’t succeed. If you look at other cities who have Lite Rail, to have a system like this to truly work, the system has to connect all modes of transportation. As you mentioned, had this line gone to the Airport and the Amtrak/Bus station, it just may have gotten the ridership it needed. Do you know if there is still talk of bringing in a Lite Rail system?
The dream is still out there to have a more proper streetcar around here, but yeah- they definitely need to connect some strangely placed dots in Syracuse. I never got to ride it either- Thanks for watching!
Well done! You guys do such a good job of explaining the why/details/history behind what you're vlogging -- something missing from many others. I remember OnTrack being promoted as a better means for getting to and from concerts and games on the Hill, as you mentioned. Too bad it didn't stick. You're right, it could've been so much more -- with plenty of funding and cooperation from railroad -- with stops at the airport, and possibly Onondaga Lake Park. And it looks like that line, which I believe connects just west of the new Amtrak station, continues right to the Micron site in Clay. You could leave work there, stop for a Snappy or two at Heid's then continue to home in the city. Maybe some day ...
Hopefully something cool like that could happen. Thanks!
rode the train from the mall to down town several time with my father and son , while in operation, good times
The susquehanna train passes by that station to jamesville and passes by Cortland and headed south
I totally agree that had they just extended the line to the Amtrak station and the Stadium It would still be running today.
Once they went down to just a couple days a week, of course ridership was going to drop because people didn’t know when they could count on the train for transportation. Unfortunately, these type of rail systems have to run seven days a week.
Its sad but fun to wonder "what could have been..."
thanks for commenting!
I want a light rail system so bad for Syracuse. Hopefully they'll push for it so we can be ahead of the curve as more people move here.
It would be super cool to see that happen. Thanks so much for watching!
It is very unfortunate, honestly if Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany had Commuter and/or light rail and service was improved/sped up on the empire corridor upstate NY could work really well has a transit friendly region
Then people can enjoy all
of the crime that it will bring with it. It’s a great opportunity for criminals for sure. Public transportation always brings a lot of problems and never seems to pay for itself.
@@themetalhead1463 Public transport exists where the most people live, because that’s where the density is to be able to support ridership. Crime exists where the most people live because that’s where there is the most stores to rob, people to mug, and people to sell illicit substances to.
They just happen to be in the same place but the correlation doesn’t equal causation here. It doesn’t actually cause a rise in crime. Plenty of places have clean and safe public transport, especially when they treat it as a way for people to get around instead of welfare like many cities do.
I remember seeing a red old abandoned destroyed subway lookin train that was red by destiny when i was really little im 16 now but i have a memory
I’m trying to figure this out. I’m not familiar with Syracuse, the Ontrack system was never connected to the intermodal/ bus station?. I was trying to figure out the missing link of track that was never put in that you were describing at the end. I’ll google earth it and see if I can figure it out. Great video! Enjoyed it! It probably could have been successful if they had invested more into it and better frequency.
It definitely suffered from not being connected to the train station- if you look at Google maps, search for Destiny USA the tracks are just to the west. The train station is a straight shot to the north east. Painfully close. Thanks so much for watching! The line had quite a few other flag stops that I'm hoping to do another video about sometime.
Interesting history. Probably just a little ahead of it's time as today people seem more open to alternatives to cars/buses.
You’re probably right on that. Seems like every year since the idea gets more popular
I simply will not rest until it returns better than before
I don't know how many times ive looked at a map of Syracuse and traced out a streetcar route... haha! Thanks so much for watching! Really jealous that you were able to ride it! 👍