Another of the Wayne County Passport trails is the Sodus-Wallington Rail Trail, running from Old Ridge Road in Wallington, New York (east of the Village of Sodus) north and northeast all the way into Sodus Point. This trail is on an old railroad bed--most recently the Ontario Midland--and is an excellent multi-use trail. Starting from the Geneva Rd. / Old Ridge Rd. intersection, there are several miles of flat and accessible trail; you can bring your strollers and wheelchairs on this one. In the Wayne County wintertime, it looks to be heavily used and maintained by local snowmobile groups.
History of the Sodus rail line from the Greater Rochester Railfan Page:
History of the Sodus rail line from the Greater Rochester Railfan Page:
The Sodus Point line was built by the Sodus Point & Southern Railroad, which was chartered in 1852 but not opened until 1872. In 1875 ut was reorganized as the Ontario Southern, and seven years later as the Sodus Bay & Southern. In 1884 it was sold to the Northern Central Railroad (Pennsylvania RR). The Webster line was built by the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, which was chartered in 1858. That line was sold to the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg in 1875, and the following year it became part of a through route from Lewiston, near Niagara Falls, to Oswego. RW&O became part of the New York Central and this line earned the nickname "The Hojack Line". OMID service started October 1, 1979. Most of the Hojack was abandoned west of Webster by Conrail in 1979.Wayne County Life appreciates any additional information readers might like to share by posting a comment below this post.
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Seth C. Burgess Said,
Noticed a massive pile of crushed stone at the Geneva Rd. start of the Sodus-Wallington Rail Trail on 22 June 2009. At a glance, the trail appears inaccessible from that point.
Is the Town of Sodus improving the parking area for the Sodus-Wallington Rail Trail? That would be outstanding.
Posted on Tue Jun 23, 10:28:00 AM EDT
Seth C. Burgess Said,
On 24 June 2009, the above mentioned pile of stone has vanished. It appears to have been used in a roadside ditch along the west side of N. Geneva Rd, running north from the intersection with Ridge Rd. and in front of the Wallington Cobblestone Schoolhouse.
Posted on Thu Jun 25, 11:08:00 AM EDT
Donna Blondell Said,
On June 25th, the kids and I rode our bikes to Sodus Point Beach from Wallington using the S-W Trail. It's so great having this Passport thing-y!! Anyway, we did find the post with the ID but it has a flat rather than 45 degree cut top. I am so accustomed to the other designs though I know we are finding some on kiosks such as the one at Palmyra Wetlands which we did yesterday.
Second, anyone who mentions checking this trail out to you should be told to lather on bug repellent. The first stretch is quite buggy now with tall grass on both sides and as the trail becomes more mud and less cinder, there is water (Saturday's heavy rains) attracting even more mosquitos.
And last, I wonder about signage at both ends of the trail. Is that a work in progress?
And I thought you'd like this story: We were stopped in the village of Sodus Point by a sheriff who had passed us earlier, turned around and followed us to where he caught up and asked to speak with me. "Me?! But my kids are wearing their helmets"!, I told him. He said he was proud of us and wanted to know where we were riding from. Anyway, he was introduced to the Passport and to the S-W Trail (which didn't appear to be a teen or drinking hangout. Yet.) and was glad to learn of it. The kids got sheriff stickers for not loitering I think.
Posted on Thu Jul 02, 12:28:00 AM EDT
Seth C. Burgess Said,
Great story Donna, thanks for sharing :-)
You're right, the Sodus-Wallington Rail Trail is very difficult to know where the start is on either end, at least without any kind of visual confirmation. A type of trailhead sign is in the works.
And it's good to hear the feedback that you are used to the 45 deg. angle as your experience with Passport rubbing markers, it was discussed at the May meeting that we might go back through and make the posts more consistent.
Posted on Thu Jul 02, 12:29:00 AM EDT
Denise Washburn Said,
You mentioned that there is a type of trailhead sign is in the works. Could you tell me who might be doing this? The Neighborhood Association of Sodus Point is investigating the potential of promoting the trail and others.
Posted on Fri Nov 05, 11:34:00 PM EDT
Seth C. Burgess Said,
Sure, the group working on the trailhead sign project is Trail Works, Inc.
Send an email to seth@waynecountylife.com and we can discuss it. I'm actually the current Trail Works V.P.
Posted on Sat Nov 06, 07:00:00 PM EDT
Gil Burgess Said,
It's really nice to have the historical info posted above. The line which we now use as a trail carried a lot of passengers to and from points to the south. In fact, a lot of Town of Sodus residents attended high school in Newark by train! And, there were the zillions of tons of coal carried to ships waiting at the "trestle" at Sodus Point.
Posted on Sat Nov 06, 10:56:00 PM EDT