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!

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.

rode the train from the mall to down town several time with my father and son , while in operation, good times

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.

The susquehanna train passes by that station to jamesville and passes by Cortland and headed south

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.

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.

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 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.

Super nice video Ken! Thank you for all the effort that you put into this. Looking forward to 1K subscribers for you.

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.

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 KZfaq channel we look forward to more thanks !

Interesting history. Probably just a little ahead of it's time as today people seem more open to alternatives to cars/buses.

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?

I simply will not rest until it returns better than before