Hoyts was a station on the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway line connecting Buffalo with Ashford, NY and was located north of the Riceville station and south of Springville and Cascade Park.
Though it appears on some maps and timetables, it was at best a very small station. Based on the scale of the valuation map (a very detailed map maintained by the railroad) the “station” in the center of the map was probably only 15 feet long by half as wide. There were no villages or roads nearby to attract people to the station.
Hoyts was at the low point between two hills and, based on the track arrangement above, the railroad likely kept extra “helper” locomotives here to push trains up the hill on either side. The “station” was likely little more than a platform for railroad workers at Hoyts to get on and off trains.
If anyone knows more about Hoyts, please send me an email at the address below.
History
The line between Buffalo and Ashford was built in 1883 by the Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad and was later operated by the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway, and the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad. Passenger service on the line ended on 15 October 1955 when the B&O ended its Buffalo – Pittsburgh service. Freight service dwindled over the years and different sections of line were abandoned and removed over the years. As of 2024 only two short segments of the line were still in use – from Buffalo south to Orchard Park and from Ashford north to West Valley.
Digital Artifacts
