The Railroad

The Railroad. Helping Canandaigua Grow. , The first train to come into Canandaigua was on September 12, 1840 via the Rochester-Auburn Railroad. Canandaigua continued to grow as a transportation hub through the century. At its peak, 36 passenger trains entered and departed from Canandaigua in a single day. In addition, thousands of tons of lumber, coal, clay, bricks, oysters, brews and farm products were shipped employing hundreds. After the increase of private automobiles, buses, trucks and airplanes, usage of the railways declined. The last passenger train departed Canandaigua on May 18th, 1958. Presently, Finger Lakes Railroad operates a freight only service on the line., After serving as a freight house with the railroad, the building was used for retail businesses including a grain and seed store., Multiple owners operated the Canandaigua Hotel where, for years, the basement served as a ticket office and waiting room for passengers. Mrs. Thompson and the Vanderbilts financed the train depot in 1890. Mrs. Thompson also bought the hotel in 1921. It was destroyed by fire in 1971., [Photo captions, clockwise from center left, read] , . Train Station , . Freight House , . Roundhouse · The Roundhouse has been demolished but the foundation still remains at the corner of Leicester and Ontario Streets , . View from the Court House Dome in 1911. The red roofed structure in the foreground is the Hallenbeck Building now used for the DMV and county offices. , . Railroad Avenue · Now Niagara Street , . Mary Clark Thompson · Owner of Canandaigua Hotel · Financier of NYC Railroad Depot , . Henry Gibson · President of Rochester-Auburn Railroad, 1840,