Livonia Avon & Lakeville

Company History: The LA&L runs from Genesee Junction south to Lakeville, New York, plus a short (former Lehigh Valley) branch to Henrietta. The line began in 1964 as a spin-off from Erie Lackawanna. Passenger excursions were an early focus. They acquired a 2-8-2 for that purpose but it was later replaced by a 2-8-0 due to mechanical issues. The 2-8-0 was finally sidelined in 1975. Two years later, the excursion service ended due to increasing insurance costs. LA&L became an all-Alco powered freight line.

The LA&L had a branch to Livonia but there wasn’t money to repair an old bridge on the line, so that route was closed and the LA&L built a team track in Lakeville to serve the Livonia customers. With traffic on the increase, in 1988 they built a 5 track yard in Lakeville. Much of that traffic is to and from a Kraft Foods plant.

The Livonia Avon & Lakeville all-Alco diesel fleet includes: Two S-2’s, one RS-1, four C424’s, one RS36, one C420, four C424m’s, one C425 and one RS3u.

LA&L is affiliated with the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad and B&H Rail (formerly Bath & Hammondsport.) They had at one time controlled the Ontario Central but that line has since been sold to the Finger Lakes Railway.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.