The city of Rochester, historians agree, owes its tremendous early growth to the Erie Canal. "Clintons Big Ditch" as the manmade waterway was affectionately known, was completed in 1825, and crossed New York State from Lake Erie to Troy via Lockport, Rochester, and Syracuse. After the turn of this century, a 13-mile by-pass called the "Barge Canal" was cut south of Rochester, and in 1919, the section of the Erie Canal running through the flower city was abandoned.

Soon after the canals abandonment, Mayor Hiram Edgerton started the move to purchase the canal bed for a subway. Another man who was greatly instrumental in promoting the idea of an electric railway in the canal bed was City Engineer, Edwin A. Fischer. In fact, when the City Council authorized the acquisition of the canal bed in 1921, Mr. Fischer already had plans completed for an electric railway which would provide speedy passenger service as well as trackage for freight switching between the major railroads entering Rochester and the firms which would be situated along the subway. Hence the early name of the subway railroad—the Rochester Subway and Industrial Railroad.

EARLY CONSTRUCTION

For the price of $1,500,000, title to the canal bed passed to Rochester in January 1922, Fischers blueprints were followed very closely. The original plans specified two main passenger tracks from Monroe Avenue in Brighton to Driving Park Avenue on the northeast section of the city; one freight track of 7 miles from Driving Park Avenue to East Avenue; and a second freight track of 14 miles downtown. Scott Bros. of Rome, N.Y. were awarded the contract for construction at the covered downtown portion in December 1922. This part, the most difficult, was begun first. It began at Brawn Street and ended at South Avenue, and entailed the construction of many reinforced concrete pillars and columns to support the "roof" which became the 60-foot wide by-pass for vehicular traffic known now as Broad Street.

During the next five years, construction continued at a slow pace. Other contracts for construction were awarded as the work progressed. At each election, charges and counter charges were hurled as the enemies of the project brought their argument, against city operation and high costs of construction into play. One of the focal, points in favor of the supporters of the project centered around the operation of the interurban cars in the subway once it would be opened. Rochester had several interurban lines radiating from the city at this time. Among those using downtown streets were the Rochester, Lockport & Buffalo, which used Exchange St., State St., and Lyell Avenue enroute to its private right-of-way; the Rochester & Syracuse, which used Exchange St., Main St., and University Avenue, but later after its new station was constructed used only University Avenue; and the Rochester & Eastern Rapid Railway which rumbled over Court St., Clinton Ave. South, and Monroe Avenue to its roadbed. For some years, these 40-ton interurban cars presented a menace to pedestrians and city traffic wherever they used the city trolley tracks. Due to their high speed wheel flanges, they had the misfortune of frequently running off those city tracks and injuring or maiming pedestrians who happened to be in their path. The proponents of the subway, therefore, said that the subway "will take those interurban juggernauts off the city streets once and for all." As a matter of fact, in 1922, the City Council, backed by the Chamber of Commerce, ordered the interurban, off the city streets, but relaxed this order when the idea of their using the subway came into being.

The city had visions of running the subway itself, but the New York State Railways, which operated all of the Rochester city and interurban lines at that time, refused to run their interurban cars into the subway unless they were permitted to operate the entire subway system. Confronted with this situation, the City Council then voted to allow NYSR to run the entire line-freight as well as passenger service, through the negotiation of a service-at-cost contract similar to the one in force covering the surface lines. The proponents pledges for getting the interurbans off the city streets were made good. Through the construction of reinforced steel ramps at strategic places along the route, the interurban, did come off the streets if only for a few short years.

EARLY OPERATIONS

In 1927, the first cars were run over the subway from City Hall Station to a loop east of Winton Road - the section readied for use first. Rochester & Eastern interurban cars made the first inspection trip for city and transit officials. Regular service to the public began on December 1, 1927, the operators yielding to the general clamor of the public which demanded some tangible results from an expenditure of $12,000,000. The block-signal system hadn't been installed, reballasting was needed, sharp curves had to be eliminated, and platform roofs needed repairing. The first car, #171 from the abandoned Rochester & Sodus Interurban line, pulled out of City Hall Station for Winton Road loop at 7 A.M. on December 1, 1927. It was scheduled to leave earlier, but a break in a water main in the Culver Road sector made the roadbed impassable. Among the first passengers on the new line was Marion S. Kelsey who piloted the last canal boat, the "William B. Kirk," on the Rochester section of the Erie Canal. It was a banner day in Rochesters history as its largest, most costly project became available to its citizens. The aforementioned contingencies were corrected finally, and, with the first passenger service, the subway was ready for freight operations also. By August 31, 1928, freight switching contracts with the New York Central, Lehigh Valley, and the Buffalo, Rochester, & Pittsburgh were negotiated. Later on, the Erie joined its competitors.

In February 1928, the Rochester, Lockport & Buffalo became the first of the interurbans to use the subway, its cars entering via the ramp at Lyell Avenue. The Rochester & Syracuse ran its express cars into the subway via a 500-foot double-track tunnel under East Avenue. They were then turned around at the Oak Street loop, and took their outgoing passengers at City Hall Station, The third interurban, the Rochester & Eastern, used the ramp at Monroe Avenue to run as far as Rowlands Loop, then veered to the east to enter its original roadbed, There was another ramp constructed at Broad and Exchange Streets, and it is a mystery to most people why it was never used. Rails were laid, and only a few feet of connecting track with the Exchange Street line would have made it possible for the R&E to avoid considerable street running, which always has been the bane of most interurbans wherever they operated. The never-used ramp illustrates just one of the many extravagances of money used on the systems construction.

The first passenger cars to be run on the completed subway were refugee, from the abandoned Rochester & Sodus Bay interurban. They managed to hold speeds of 50 miles per hour for a time, but, later on, were scrapped in favor of 10 motorized 1912 Brill trailers obtained from the Rome-Utica-Little Falls interurban. These picturesque steam-coach-roof cars served the line for ten years. They were center entrance, double-doored, right-entrance cars, the left side being blind. This oddity brings to light the fact of European left-handed subway operation, practically the only one of its kind left on this continent. This feature came into being through plans authorized by the city. All stations were placed between the tracks with stairs leading down to the platforms from overhead bridges along the route. Steel ears later replaced the old wooden motorized trailers, but they too are blind-side interurbans.