Ripley, NY is a town on the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (New York Central) and Nickel Plate Railroad mainlines ran through the town. The village of Ripley was formerly known as “Quincy” and the station in the village was listed as “Quicy” on the Buffalo and State Line Railroad.
1881 Map
The 1881 map above shows the location of the depot and track arrangement for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad in Ripley.
1912 Map
This 1912 map shows the same area as the 1881 map, but now includes the Nickel Plate Railroad, which was built in late 1881 or early 1882. It appears that a number of buildings were destroyed to make room for the Nickel Plate right-of-way, including the entire block of properties belonging to H.R. Gay, D. Scott, Mrs. W. Casey, H. Phettaplace, S. Rumpsey, and others.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Buffalo and State Line Railroad completed its line through Ripley in January 1852. The line was later operated by the Buffalo and Erie Railroad (1857 – 1869), Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (1869 – 1877), New York Central and Hudson River Railroad (1877 – 1914), and New York Central Railroad (1914 – 1968).
Nickel Plate Road
A 1913-1914 Nickel Plate Road Shippers’ Guide listed the following customers in Ripley:
- Barnes & Rumsey (Westfield, N. Y.), grapes.
- Chautauqua and Erie Grape Co. (P. O. Westfield), grapes.
- Cleveland Builders’ Supply Co., builders’ supplies.
- Crandall, J. E., coal and lumber. (See note 1)
- Dean, Clyde, Co. (Portland, N. Y.), grapes.
- Huntington, A., gasoline engines. (See note 2)
- Johnson Bros., live stock.
- Keith. C. M. feed and grist mill.
- Keystone Grape Co. (North East, Pa.), grapes.
- Lindsey, F. C, (New York, N. Y.), grapes.
- Parker, H. C., grapes.
- Rundall Grape Juice Co., grape juice. (See note 2)
- Rice, F. A., hardware and fertilizer.
- Rickenbrode. W. B.. & Son, manufacturer grape baskets.
- Sullivan, C., feed and grist mill.
- Thompson, R. (Conneaut. O.). logs.
Note 1: Private Siding on line N. Y., C. & St. L. R. R.
Note 2: Private Siding on line of some other road, but which can be reached by switching from N. Y., C. & St. L. R. R.
Timetables
