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THE AMAZING THIRD FLOOR
By Bob Bowdren
I recall, 10 years ago, watching the giant concrete slabs being lifted into place to construct the third floor addition to the hospital. Once the hustle and bustle of the new construction abated, I forgot about that new third floor.
On March 21st I underwent surgery at Clifton Springs Hospital for a total hip replacement. At that time I was told I would need to undergo some extensive rehab therapy.
On March 25th I was moved from the 1200 wing of the hospital to the mysterious third floor. What a surprise!
I got my therapy, learned what the third floor was all about and had one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We'll spend the next several weeks examining this third floor (and my own personal tale of adventure). I have enlisted the services of my friend, Mrs. Karagosian, to help me tell this story. We hope you find this as interesting and enlightening as I did. Tune in next week for Part II of our story
SIGN OF THE WEEK
CLIFTON SPRINGS TOUR OF HISTORIC HOMES
CLIFTON SPRINGS, NY - The Clifton Springs Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring the Clifton Springs Tour of Historic Homes on Saturday, June 3, 2006 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. This is in conjunction with the annual Sulphur Springs Festival. The homes that will be open for tour are The Clifton Pearl Bed & Breakfast, 46 East Main Street; The Spa Apartments featuring the Tiffany Mosaic of the Last Supper and the Solarium, 11 East Main Street; The 1891 Inn at the Springs, 14 Pleasant Street and the homes of Will and Diane Clark, 27 East Main Street and Kevin and Jolyne Casey, 59 East Main Street all of Clifton Springs.
The proceeds from this Tour of Historic Homes will benefit the New Palliative Care Rooms (end of life comfort care) at Clifton Springs Hospital. Tickets are $10 per person and are available at Clifton Springs Hospital Lobby Information Desk, The Rose Petal Gift Shop, and Peirce's Gifts, Village Green Florist or by calling (315) 462-1439.
For more information on the Clifton Springs Tour of Historic Homes please call (315) 462-1439.
CLIFTON SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS OF THE MONTH FOR JUNE
Finger Lakes Scenic Railway
Local Rail Company Climbs Aboard Tourism Promotions
Geneva , NY , May 5, 2006 - The nostalgic experience of rail travel has spurred a resurrection of passenger excursions throughout the northeast. Currently, Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania are among the states that are utilizing their iron horses and box cars for more than hauling freight. Locally, the Finger Lakes Railway Corporation (FLRC), with offices in Geneva, NY, has been offering special passenger excursions since 2000. "These types of trips are really events in and of themselves," states Events Coordinator, Deb Murphy of DL Murphy and Associates. "We are stimulating tourism in the Finger Lakes region by hosting out-of-state bus groups and pulling in passengers from over 100 miles away who want to reserve seats for one of 20 excursions being offered this year." Murphy has been working with FLRC for just over one year promoting the train as a venue for special events.
Following this train of thought, FLRC hosted their first-ever, Scenic Railway Conference at the Geneva Ramada Inn on April 8 with over 30 regional, scenic railway operators and engineers in attendance. The main focus was to share best practices and highlight benchmarking criteria for future growth of the industry, especially within New York State. One conference attendee, Bob Colucci, Regional Manager from the Syracuse office of OnTrack/NYS&W Railway that stretches from Syracuse to New Jersey, remembers their attempt at doing passenger excursions on a regular basis. "We still do the Holiday Rides with great success," Colucci commented, "But the one thing FLRC has that we don't is access to the beauty of the Finger Lakes. That is a true destination."
The Finger Lakes Railway Corporation began operations on July 23, 1995 when investors purchased 118 miles of track from the well-known train company, Conrail. The lines were previously known as the Geneva cluster. Now just over 10 years later, they are successfully offering both freight and passenger services along those lines. Finger Lakes Railway's main line of track used to be the New York Central / Auburn Rail Road , which runs between Canandaigua and Syracuse and dates back to 1835. This line rambles through Shortsville, Clifton Springs, Phelps, Geneva, Waterloo, Seneca Falls, Cayuga, Auburn, Camillus, and ends in Solvay, just west of Syracuse. Other portions of the Finger Lakes Railway were once the Lehigh Valley (south from Geneva to Kendaia) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (south from Penn Yan to Watkins Glen).
Since 1995, Finger Lakes Railway has grown rapidly from 6 to 30 employees; from 3 to 10 locomotives; and from an initial car movement of 5,600 to over 16,000 car loads per year. The freight lines serve a diverse customer base handling a wide range of commodities including plastics, canned foods, grain, lumber, paper products, scrap and finished steel, along with minerals such as salt, sand, soda ash and fertilizer. Customized rail service has allowed for new companies to locate on the FLRC line while giving existing customers an efficient way to increase their business.
On the passenger side, there has been steady growth in interest with triple the number of passengers from last year alone. Each coach is named for a town or lake in the Finger Lakes region. The Cayuga and the Canandaigua each hold about 64 passengers, and the 2 two-season coaches (for spring & fall) are named the Seneca and the Geneva. Each holds about 72 passengers. "The general public has been very receptive and curious about our train excursions," comments Murphy. This year's popular addition to the line-up is the Blues-n-Brews excursions which are slated for every 3 rd Saturday of the month and feature onboard entertainment from authentic blues band and local microbrewery companies. Other upcoming excursions include a Mother's Day Champagne Brunch, a Memorial Day Ride, scenic rides during the Watkins Glen Wine Fest, and many more. These excursions are open to the public, vary in cost and length, and do require a ticket purchase or RSVP for seating purposes.
For more information on freight or passenger services, please call the Geneva office at 315-781-1234 x301 or visit the website at www.FingerLakesScenicRailway.com.
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