The month of January marked an important milestone in the history of East Aurora, the 140th anniversary of the beginning of railroad service to the village. While the railroad may not seem as significant in the town’s history as the Roycroft or Fisher-Price Toys, it played an important role in transforming East Aurora from a small settlement into the thriving community that attracted those more famous landmarks.
By David Hamilton
The value of a railroad was recognized by Aurora’s prominent early residents, led by Aaron Riley, who chartered the Aurora & Buffalo Railroad in 1832. At the time, a number of railroads were being formed across the state, with the idea of connecting towns with the recently completed Erie Canal. Unfortunately, the financial panic of 1837 put an end to this and many other railroad companies of that period.
Actual construction of a railroad line to Aurora did not begin until 1853, with the organization of the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, projected through the Lower Village of Willink, and the Buffalo & Allegany Valley Railroad, planned through the Upper Village. Both companies purchased, surveyed and cleared land, but neither actually laid any track before money ran out during 1854. In the meantime, a number of Buffalo businessmen became involved, foreseeing the benefits of having a railroad that would directly reach the timber and oil resources of Pennsylvania. In 1865, the Buffalo & Washington Railroad was incorporated, absorbing the Buffalo & Allegany Valley Railroad and its route.
After more than a decade of inactivity, work on building the railroad finally resumed, and on Dec. 23, 1867, the first Buffalo and Washington Railroad train arrived in Aurora’s Upper Village. Regular service began in January 1868, with two round-trip trains per day carrying passengers and freight. Interestingly, early schedules listed the station as East Aurora, although the name wasn’t officially adopted by the village for several more years.
Construction continued at a slow pace, with the line reaching South Wales in late 1870, and Holland in early 1871. On Dec. 28, 1872, a special train made the inaugural run over the completed railroad between Buffalo and a connection with other lines at Emporium, Pa. During the following years, the company expanded with branches into the oil and timber lands. It was renamed the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia and later the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, before being taken over by the giant Pennsylvania Railroad in 1900.
Regular train service to Buffalo allowed East Aurora to develop into a prosperous suburb of the city. In addition to the typical mail, express and accommodation trains, a morning commuter run into the city with a return trip in the evening was established. One of the regular passengers on this train was an employee of the Larkin Soap Company named Elbert Hubbard. No doubt many of the ideas that would later bring him fame at the Roycroft were first put on paper while taking his daily train ride.
As the town grew, more commuter runs were added, and the Pennsylvania Railroad eventually ran a total of 16 daily passenger trains to East Aurora at its peak around 1920.
However, the increasing popularity of the automobile brought about the decline of the passenger train, and service on the line to East Aurora was no exception. Commuter trains disappeared by the early 1940s, and the local mail train made its final trip in 1948. After Penn Central took over the railroad in 1968, it reduced passenger service to one train each way, operating on alternate days. Amtrak assumed responsibility for running the nation’s passenger trains in 1971, and unfortunately the railroad line through East Aurora was not included in the system. The last passenger train departed on April 30, 1971.
Freight trains continued to operate, as they had for over 100 years, serving local industries and providing a link between Buffalo and the coal fields of Pennsylvania. Early trains often made stops to load cans of milk, with special platforms built at Blakeley and Jamison roads. Peek’s lumberyard, at the current site of Oakwood Plaza, constructed several sidetracks to handle railroad cars, and Fisher-Price received raw materials and shipped out finished toys by rail for many years.
Until the late 1980s, area farmers depended on the railroad to bring feed to local mills, and residents may remember the train slowly crossing Riley Street to leave cars of grain at Griggs & Ball. With the closing of factories and feed mills in recent years, though, fewer freight trains have operated over the line, and most no longer stop in East Aurora.
There have been a number of serious train wrecks over the years that have occurred right in the Village of East Aurora. In July 1893, an excursion train returning to Buffalo from Lime Lake was rounding the curve north of Olean Road, when the engineer saw that the switch leading to the turntable at Oakwood Avenue was open. Before the train could be stopped, the locomotives plunged into the turntable pit, with the coaches stacking up on top of them. Although many passengers were seriously injured, none were killed. In 1910, a heavy northbound coal train was unable to stop and collided with the local freight as it slowly pulled into the siding at Persons Street. A repeat of the 1893 wreck occurred in July of 1924, when a northbound freight train hit an open switch at the same location, destroying a number of buildings at Peek’s lumber mill, just as workers made a narrow escape. Fortunately, more recent accidents have consisted mostly of minor derailments.
Many changes to the railroad have taken place over the years. The original train station was located on the west side of the tracks, and was replaced in 1917 by the building that still stands today. Trains stopping at the station often blocked the crossing at Main Street, causing delays to traffic, until the tracks were elevated in 1934. At one time, there were over a dozen different sidetracks leading to mills and factories in the village, but none remain in use today.
Other changes have involved the railroads that operate the trains through East Aurora. Shortly after taking over the line in 1968, Penn Central went bankrupt and was absorbed by Conrail in 1976. In 1999, Conrail itself was sold, with Norfolk Southern taking over this portion of the railroad.
Today, the regional Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad leases the line, running between two and three freight trains per day through the village. After years of heavy traffic, ranging from commuter runs to coal trains, the railroad is back to operating the same number of trains as when the line first opened in 1868. Although it is relatively quiet again, the significance of the railroad in the history of East Aurora cannot be overlooked, and it continues to play a role in the town’s future as well. If Aaron Riley could see the results of his efforts to bring the railroad to East Aurora, he would no doubt be pleased.
Former East Aurora resident David Hamilton is researching the history of railroads around East Aurora and would like to hear from residents who worked for or rode on the line, or have photos or other memorabilia regarding the trains that ran through town. Contact him at transportsim@aol.com.
Source: “140 YEARS OF RAILROAD HISTORY IN EAST AURORA“. Herald Courier, Arcade, NY. February 04, 2008.