Ogden/ Spencerport Today, an electric substation sits where the trolley station once stood and the only reminder of the tracks can be seen if you look closely at the pavement on West Avenue. But, if you close your eyes you can almost hear the wheels of the trolley and the warning bell as you stand at West Avenue and Union Street in Spencerport. The Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Trolley operated from 1908 to 1931 serving small communities along the way. The trolley stopped at several places in Ogden including Spencerport and Adams Basin. The trolley contributed to the dynamics of daily life in Ogden. Passengers rode to school, work and for pleasure. Fares were based on mileage and were sold in books of 500 miles for $10. Special commutation tickets were available for students and 54-trip tickets to be used within 30 days (between specific stations) were available. A round trip ticket from Spencerport to Rochester was 40 cents. The charm of the trolley is gone but the memories live on in stories told by residents. Jeannette Bronson of Hilton tells about riding the trolley from Spencerport to school in Adams Basin. She lived on Canal Road when she started her school year in Adams Basin. When her family moved to Spencerport during the year, it was decided that she would take the trolley to school in Adams Basin. She would board the trolley at Spencerport, join her teacher, who rode the trolley from Gates to the school, and then return again in the evening. She was six years old. Paul and Esther Davenport, who live in Spencerport, and who will celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary this year, fondly remember taking the trolley. Paul, who lived in Gates, where there was no high school, had the choice of going to school in Rochester or in Spencerport. He, and many other young people from Gates, chose Spencerport. A monthly student commuter ticket cost $2. He lived on Howard Road and would walk or ride his bicycle to the trolley stop at Long Pond Road. Sometimes they rode on the back platform. He said that these trips were uneventful except for the rare occasion when sleet would cause the trolley to stop. Sometimes the kids would be accused of making it stop, but he is sure they didn't do that. Upon arriving in Spencerport, the students would disembark and walk to Spencerport High School, the building that later became Trowbridge School and is now the Trowbridge Apartments. In the afternoon they made sure they made it to the 4:17 p.m. trolley because the next trolley didn't come along until around 8 p.m. Esther (O'Leary) Davenport lived on Martha Street when she was a child. She was about twelve years old when she would board the trolley in Spencerport and ride it to Rochester to visit her aunt. She took the BL&R to Lyell Street and Lake Avenue and then changed to a city trolley to go out Lake Avenue to her aunt's house. Winifred Fasano (Win), who lives in Spencerport, remembers seeing pictures of her father, Harold Hoy, on crutches in his army uniform as he got off the trolley in Brockport around 1919. According to Win, "He was courting her mother (Josephine Sackett) who was a student at Brockport Normal School (It is now SUNY Brockport) and boarding in town." At times, Win's grandmother (Jennie C. Hoy) would take her by trolley to Rochester. "There were stops along the way, some underground travel and then the bright light when we came up on top at Lyell and Broad Streets." Both Paul Davenport and Win Fasano mentioned "The Cut" where they would ski in the winter. "The Cut" was where the trolley line was cut through the hill on its way west after it left West Avenue in Spencerport. Too bad the tracks are gone. What fun it would be to ride that trolley today. Thank you to Bernie Cubitt who allowed the use of his copy of "The Story of the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway 1908-1931" by William Reed Gordon as a reference and to all those who responded to my request for stories. I hope that the community will recognize the value of passing along our heritage to our youth. Please share these stories with a child. Contact Carol Coburn, Ogden Town Historian, with special "Notes from the Past." Mail stories and pictures to: Historian, Town of Ogden, 269 Ogden Center Road, Spencerport, NY 14559. To tell a story in person, call Coburn at 352-3444 to set up an appointment or stop into the Town Hall on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Help Wanted Anyone who has original pictures of historical events, people or structures in Ogden and are willing to donate them to the historian's collection, call Carol Coburn at 352-3444. |
