The Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad is celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend with a variety of events in western New York.
The LA&L was established in 1965 when local residents banded together to save a former Erie Lackawanna branch line that connected the railroad’s namesake communities. The short line’s first train operated on April 7, 1965. Sixty years later, the LA&L has expanded into a 400-mile system comprising four lines in New York and Pennsylvania.
Anniversary celebrations commenced on Friday morning at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in Rush, N.Y., which preserves several historic pieces of equipment from the LA&L fleet. Among them is LA&L RS-1 20, which was dedicated on Friday to former LA&L board member Eugene Blabey, who passed away in 2024.
Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad President and CEO Bob Babcock speaks at a press conference marking the railroad’s 60th anniversary on Friday. Photo by Otto Vondrak.
On Friday night, LA&L was scheduled to host a sold-out night photo session at its shops in Lakeville.
On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum will operate short excursions featuring two of its three LA&L locomotives: RS-1 20, which was donated to the museum in 2016, and S-2 72, donated in 2023. The excursions will also include LA&L caboose 2603, built for the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway in 1918. General Electric 45-tonner 41 will also be on display. Originally built by GE in 1941 for use at its own Riverworks plant in Lynn, Mass., this locomotive was the first unit purchased by LA&L in 1964. However, the railroad quickly realized it was too small for its needs, and it never turned a wheel for the LA&L. Instead, it was sold to Rochester Gas & Electric, where it operated until 1991. Lastly, LA&L plow 4410, which was donated to the museum in 2023, will also be on display.
Tickets for this weekend’s excursions can be purchased online. —Justin Franz
The Livonia, Avon & Lakeville office car train is seen at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum on Friday. Photo by Otto Vondrak.
Read more about the LA&L’s 60th anniversary in the April 2025 issue of Railfan & Railroad. Subscribe Today!
