Below is a list of articles from newspapers and magazines about the railroads and towns of Western New York. Click on the title to read the entire article.
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Town Bonds Held to be Invalid
Town Bonds Held to be Invalid. In 1870 several towns interested decided to bond in aid of the Utica, Chenango and Cortland railroad company, and the Commissioners issued and delivered to said company their bonds. In return the railroadt company commenced to grade the road and build bridges, but abandoned all work on its line,…
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Test Post – Ignore
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Carbarn Comment
by Harold Ahlstrom The following are notes from railroad historian Harold Ahlstrom and were found at the Fenton Historical Society in Jamestown, NY. In the study of interurban lines, there were many facets and areas of interest. My specialty was always the rolling stock, what the company had, and the use and scheduling of same.…
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140 Years of Railroad History in East Aurora
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…
Aurora and Buffalo Railroad, Buffalo and Allegany Valley Railroad, Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, Buffalo and Washington Railway, Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, East Aurora, NY, Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad
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Old Route of the Erie Railroad
From a paper produced by William J. McNamara, April 29, 1956; provided by the Historical Society of Dunkirk, New York; comments added by Roy A. Davis, Railroad Vice President, Historical Society of Dunkirk, NY; edited by Cheryl Lopanik, September 28, 1997. The construction of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad from Dunkirk, New…
Cuba, NY, Dunkirk, NY, Erie Railroad, Forestville, NY, Laona, NY, Perrysburg, NY, Sheridan, NY, Smith Mills, NY
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Planned Railroad Through Zoar Valley Started 97 Years Ago
Bob Holbrook relates that his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. McDuffy, lived on South Hill, Otto, and that in 1864 his grandfather helped to build shanties to house the Irish immigrants who worked on the railroad. Bob claims that before the timber was cut the almost finished right-of-way through the woods was a delightful place for…
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Erie Speeds Repairs on Wrecked Bridge
Source: Gowanda News. Gowanda, NY. October 20, 1955. Provided by Phil Palen
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Erie Freight Wrecks on Creek Bridge
An Erie freight train roaring across the Cattaraugus Creek bridge about 12:40 a.m. Wednesday morning was derailed from an undetermined cause, piling up 63 freight cars, about half of which were scattered along the bank or dumped into the stream. No one was reported injured. The pictures above, taken by Al McDonald, early Wednesday morning…
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Freight Wreck Loss Put at $250,000
SHATTERED CARS PILED 40 FEET DEEPIN VALLEY OF CATTARAUGUS CREEK 64 Leave Track, Rip Out Two Trestles Of Bridge;Debris Is Strewn for Quarter of a Mile By Jack West Buffalo Evening News Staff Reporter GOWANDA, Oct. 12 – The valley of Cattaraugus Creek was filled 40 feet deep with shattered freight cars in the spectacular…
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Burned Out Journal On Erie Freight Is Cause For Delay
The Erie Railroad River Line was blocked at North Cuba for more than four hours Monday morning when a journal on a refrigerator car burned out and caused the car to leave the rails. The car was part of westbound freight No. 191. The accident occurred about seven thirty o’clock and the line was cleared…
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1945 History of the Buffalo and Washington Railway
The pages are an excerpt from a 1945 report entitled “THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY – Corporate, Financial and Construction History of Lines Owned, Operated and Controlled To December 31, 1945”. It provides some interesting facts about the Buffalo and Washington Railway. Source: “THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY – Corporate, Financial and Construction History of Lines Owned,…
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The Man in the Tower
January 1944 by Edward Hungerford They ran higgledy-piggledy over the western part of New York State . . . . When the Towerman was a newspaper reporter in Rochester years ago, he knew them all; the lordly Fall Brook, whose offices and shops were in Corning in the Southern Tier (since come to be one…
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Dolly Varden Passenger Train Makes Its Last Trip
The Dolly Varden passenger train making its last trip from Dunkirk to Titusville carried about 100 people. Hundreds of stations were filled with people to see the train go by. Claude Timmons, Conductor punches his last ticket. Dunkirk, 13 June 1937. Claude Timmons has punched his last passenger ticket as Conductor on the DAV&P Railroad.…
Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad, Dunkirk, NY, Falconer, NY, Gerry, NY, Jamestown, NY, Lilly Dale, NY, Mayville, NY, Sinclairville, NY
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New York Central Memo September 30, 1935
[The following is a memo sent to officers and employees of the New York Central railroad in 1935.] New York Central System F.E. Williamson New York Central BuildingPresident 230 Park Avenue New York September 30. 1935 TO ALL NEW YORK CENTRAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYES: It is not necessary for me to tell any member of the…
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Milk Train Conductor
This short notice in the Richfield Springs newspaper talks about the “milk train” that ran on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Richfield Springs Branch. Source: Richfield Springs [NY] Mercury, 11 May 1933, p. 5. NYS Historic Newspapers.
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Lehigh Valley Ad – Niagara Falls & Buffalo, 06/09/1925
An advertisement of a new Lehigh Valley Railroad train operating in the summer of 1925 between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, NY. Source: The Niagara Gazette. Niagara Falls, NY. nyshistoricnewspapers.org
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1923 Pennsylvania Railroad List of Stations and Sidings
This document is a detailed list of all the stations, freight and passenger, and sidings on the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1923, including details on the customers serviced by the sidings.
Pennsylvania Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Line, Pennsylvania Railroad Chautauqua Line, Pennsylvania Railroad River Line, Pennsylvania Railroad Rochester Line
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The First Thirty Years of Our Railway
This is an article from the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway employees magazine from December 1920. It is an interesting view of the history of the railroad, including its predecessors, including the Rochester and State Line Railroad, and the Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad. Source: Scan from Google Books.
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsbugh Railway, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad, Rochester and State Line Railroad
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1919 New York Central Railroad Rear End Collision in Dunkirk, NY
A rear-end collision between two New York Central passenger trains occurred at Dunkirk, on July 1, 1919 resulting in the death of 8 passengers and the injury of 170 others. The following are the official Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) report on the accident and a series of articles and editorials in Railway Age magazine about…
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Stolen Pork Found in Attic
A HALF TON OF CHOICEST PORK LOIN IS HID IN ATTIC OF VACANT HOUSE —- Meat was Discovered Last Sunday Where it was Carefully Hid Away in anUnfrequented Farm House – Officers Believe it is Result of SystematicPilfering from Railroad Trains, Which Run Slowly Eastbound in thatVicinity – Detectives are Working on the Case. More…
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Two Men Are Killed in Tail-End Wreck
TWO MEN ARE KILLED IN TAIL-END WRECK—-FREIGHTS CRASH IN FOG NEAR THE GRAVEL PITS—-WEST OF RED HOUSE STATION—-Two Brakemen Gave Lives in Accident Caused by Dense Atmosphere –A Number of Cars Were Demolished and Contents Spilled on Right of Way Steamburg, Oct 4. – (Special.) – Two brakemen were killed early this morning by a…
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Up-State Railroad Sold
New Yorker Buys the Buffalo and Susquehanna for Bondholders. BUFFALO, N. Y., Sept. 13 – The property of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railway, consisting of about 80 miles of trackage, several stations, and rolling stock, and operating between Buffalo and Wellsville, N. Y., was sold here today to Morton G. Bogue of New York, representing…
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Buffalo & Susquehanna Sold
CORNING, N.Y., Dec. 5 – The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was sold under foreclosure at Coudersport, Penn., to-day for $5,000,000. The purchase was made by a protective committee representing the first refunding 4 per cent. bonds. Alvin W. Krich, President of the Equitable Trust Company of New York, is chairman of the committee. Source: New…
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Station Removed
A September 4, 1913 article about the removal of the station building at Chace’s, NY on the former Silver Lake Railway, which became part of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway on October 1, 1910.
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New Trolley Line Now Seems Assured
Below is are two articles from the same date about a new trolley line from Hamburg to Falconer, NY. The line was never built. Believed That Work on Extension fromFalconer to Hamburg will be Commencedin Near Future – Right of WayNegotiations On. Falconer, Jan. 10 – During the past few days there has been much…
Cherry Creek, NY, Conewango, NY, Dayton, NY, Gowanda NY, Hamburg, NY, Jamestown, NY, Kennedy, NY, Persia, NY, South Dayton, NY
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Landslide on Erie Near Cattaraugus
Engine of Train Plowed into Mass ofEarth off Track – Damage to One Coach Dunkirk, Jan. 9 – While an incoming passenger train on the Erie railroad was running along near Cattaraugus yesterday morning, the engineer saw something across the track which he took to be a big snowdrift. When the engine went plowing into…
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Wellsville’s New Station
A new artistic and very cozy station has been erected at Wellsville, on the Allegheny Division, and, while proving how well the Erie is progressing in the general betterment, the benefit will be gained by Wellsville itself, as a result of the attractive structure, can easily be imagined. Because the town is going to the…
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Passing of the Silver Lake Road
An article from the October 13, 1910 issue of the Wyoming County Times newspaper about the October 1, 1910 sale of the Silver Lake Railway to the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway. Passing of the Silver Lake Road Saturday, October 1st, the Silver Lake Railway Company passed into history when the property was taken possession…
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Receiver in Charge of B. & S. Railroad
This is an article about the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad entering receivership in 1910. Source: Belmont Dispatch. Belmont, NY. May 6, 1910. Found on USGenNet web site.
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Excursion Season Opens on July 19th
The New York Central Will Bring More Visitors To Niagara This Year Than Ever Before Source: Niagara Falls Gazette. Niagara Falls, NY. April 9, 1910. fultonhistory.com
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Central Takes Over G.C. & S. R. R.
The second district public service commission authorized the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad company to issue bonds to fund its purchase of the Geneva, Corning and Southern Railroad. Source: Niagara Falls Gazette. Niagara Falls, NY. February 14, 1910. Article found on fultonhistory.com.
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Isn’t It About Time Lackawanna Railroad Is Ejected From Pier?
A January 8, 1910 article about arguing that the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad should be kicked out of their Lackawanna Terminal building because it was built on land that was illegally taken from the government.
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Joy in Wellsville
Erie Railroad Company is to Erect a Fine New Red Brick Passenger Station in That Lively Village This Fall. Erie officials have given out at Wellsville that a new passenger station, 30 x 150 feet, is to be erected in that village, the work to begin within a few weeks. There will be a long…
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1906 Inspection Report of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad / Pennsylvania Railroad
Below is the 1906 inspection report of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway, operated since 1900 by the Pennsylvania Railroad. From the introduction: On August 21, 22 and 23, 1906, I made an inspection of the lines of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway in this State and respectfully submit the following report…
Pennsylvania Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Line, Pennsylvania Railroad Chautauqua Line, Pennsylvania Railroad River Line, Pennsylvania Railroad Rochester Line, Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad
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1906 Inspection of the Silver Lake Railway
The 1906 annual report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following inspection report for the Silver Lake Railway. SILVER LAKE RAILWAY, ( Inspected July 24, 1906. ) On July 24, 1906, I made an inspection of the Silver Lake Railway, and respectfully submit the following report : The Silver Lake Railway is…
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Rail Laying Halted at the big Gorge at Rushford
This is an article about a delay at Rushford in the laying of the track of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad between Wellsville and Buffalo. Source: Belmont Dispatch. Belmont, NY. July 28, 1905.
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The B&S System
Review of Work and Plans of The Enterprising Goodyears Still Another Extension of The Road From Elmira to DuBois, Pa., No Doubt But The Goodyears Will Make Their Road Prominent A railroad, up to date in every way is to be constructed from Elmira to DuBois, PA. The Goodyears of Buffalo are back of this…
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Bad Shawmut Wreck
Coal Train Ran Away Sunday Morning, This Side of Clermont.One Man Killed, 23 Cars Wrecked. A Shawmut Line coal train, consisting of mountain type engine, No. 53, 34 cars of coal, a car of lumber, a car of tile and a caboose ran away down the hill from Clermont, at 4 o’clock Sunday morning, and…
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B & S Spring Work
The Spring Work of Grading the Buffalo Extension Begun The first carload of material for the Buffalo extension of the B & S to arrive in Belmont came Wednesday. E.P. Lupfer, division engineer, was in town on B & S business and arranged to have a gang of men come from Belfast to unload the…
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Reminiscences of the Atlantic & Great Western
Thirty Years Ago the Jamestown Freight Station Was an Insignificant Affair – Interviews With Veterans in the Service It was 30 years ago today that Frank S. Jones, ticket agent at the uptown office of the J. C. & L. E. railway and local freight manager for the Pennsylvania Railroad, began his career as a…
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Killed by the Cars
YOUNG MAN MET DEATH AT WATTS FLATS Benjamin L. Blanchard the Victim of a Fatal Accident Some Time Monday Night — No One Saw the Accident and the Particulars Can Only Be Conjectured Sometime during Monday night Benjamin L. Blanchard, an 18-year-old boy, residing with his uncle, H. J. Lopus, about one mile south of…
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Trains Cut In Two
Two Firemen Injured — Three Freight Cars Smashed Rochester, Feb 17 – A freight train crossing from the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg tracks to No. 3 track on the New York Central at Lincoln Park, was struck and cut in two by the eastbound Continental Limited on the West Shore. Both engineer and fireman on…
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Ten Freight Cars Derailed
A Wreck on the Erie Near LittleValley Thursday — No One Injured Trains from Dunkirk eastward on the Erie via Salamanca found it necessary Thursday to use that part of the B. & S. W. branch between Dayton and Jamestown and the main line between Jamestown and Salamanca in order to reach the latter place…
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Standard Gauge
First Train Reached Bolivar on Sunday, November 24. The first standard gauge train to run into Bolivar reached the Shawmut station at five o’clock, Sunday afternoon, Nov. 24, a date to jot down in your diary. A work train drawn by Engine 9 with S.E. Heers at the throttle and John Jacques in the fireman’s…
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Two Very Bad Wrecks
Below is a scan of a long article in the February 8, 1901 issue of the Cattaraugus Republican newspaper published in Salamanca and Little Valley, NY. It concerns a wreck on the Erie Railroad main line in Carrollton, NY, just south of Salamanca. The first paragraph summarizes the article: Tuesday evening a fatal collision occurred…
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1900 Inspection Report of the Silver Lake Railway
The 1900 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following inspection of the Silver Lake Railway SILVER LAKE RAILWAY. (Inspected August 22, 1900.) The Silver Lake Railway extends from Silver Springs, on the line of the Erie Railroad and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway, to Perry, a distance of 6.86 miles.…
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1899 Inspection Report of the Central New York and Western Railroad
The following is an inspection report for the Central New York and Western Railroad done by the New York State Railroad Commissioners and included in their 1899 report. I have made a few changes (breaking one long paragraph into smaller ones) but the text is all original. CENTRAL NEW YORK AND WESTERN RAILROAD. (Inspected June…
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1898 Inspection Report of the Silver Lake Railway
The 1898 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following inspection of the Silver Lake Railway SILVER LAKE RAILWAY. (Inspected May 19, 1898.) The Silver Lake Railway extends from Silver Springs, on the line of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway and Erie Railroad, to Perry, a distance of 6.86 miles . The…
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After Twenty-Seven Years
This article discusses the arrival of the first Erie and Central New York train in Cincinnatus and the long history of the effort to secure that railroad connection. Source: Oxford [NY] Times, 3 May 1898, p. 3, NYS Historic Newspapers.
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Memories of the Erie
Note: The following is a transcription of the memoirs of Sheridan Gorton Latta. They are reproduced with permission from “The Latta Genealogy Newsletter.“ On April 1, 1887, I began working as Baggage Master on the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, at Friendship, NY, under George W. Fries, Station Agent. I had improved in…
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Thing of the Past
—– Narrow-gauge Railroads of the Oil Country.—–Hidden By Under-Brush—–Little Left to Represent the Vast sums of MoneyInvested in this Enterprise—–Country StagesHave Taken the Place of Some of the Roads—–Special to the Buffalo Express. Bolivar, Jan. 29. – One of the most picturesque features of the Northern oil fields, the narrow-gauge railroads, will soon be a…
Allegany Central Railroad, Bradford, Bordell and Kinzua Railway, Central New York and Western Railroad
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1894 Inspection Report of the Silver Lake Railway
The 1894 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included a complaint against the Silver Lake Railway. IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPLAINT OF JOHN K. HAMMOND v. THE SILVER LAKE RAILWAY COMPANY. June 6, 1894 . On May 27, 1894, John K. Hammond, giving his address as Perry N. Y. , complained against…
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Bolivar Breeze News Items On The Central New York and Western Railroad
The following is a collection of articles from the Bolivar Breeze newspaper in Bolivar, NY about the Central New York and Western Railroad, a predecessor of the Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern Railroad. January 6, 1893 Engine 4, of the C.N.Y. & W. snapped a drive wheel tire in the yards here yesterday noon, and as…
Angelica, NY, Bolivar, NY, Central New York and Western Railroad, Ceres, NY, Olean, NY, Portvile, NY, Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, White House, NY
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Articles About the Lackawanna and Southwestern Railroad
The following is a collection of short newspaper articles about the Lackawanna and Southwestern Railroad, a predecessor of the Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern Railroad. These articles are from the Bolivar Breeze newspaper in Bolivar, NY and were provided by Richard Palmer. October 1, 1892 The L.& S.W. Sold The Lackawanna & Southwestern railroad property was…
Angelica, NY, Belmont, NY, Bolivar, NY, Central New York and Western Railroad, Ceres, NY, Lackawanna and Southwestern Railroad, Olean, NY, Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad
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WNY&P/Lackawanna Rumor
It is reported that the Lackawanna will build thirty-eight miles of road between Brocton, N. Y., and Erie, Pa., and will make a deal with the Western New York and Pennsylvania. By the terms of the deal the latter will use the new road to get into Erie and in return the Lackawanna trains will…
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Pullman Cars for the WNY&P
The Western New York and Pennsylvania has made a contract with the Pullman Palace-car Company for ten passenger coaches to be delivered in time for the excursion season. They are to be the finest Pullman canmake. Source: The Chautauqua News. Sherman, NY. May 27, 1891
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Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad News
Below are a selection of small news items related to the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad that appeared in the April 11, 1890 issue of the Cattaraugus Republican newspaper in Salamanca, NY. The net earning of the Wnyanp railroad for February were $251,872. The Western New York & Pennsylvania expects 75 cars a day…
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Erie News
Below are a selection of small news items related to the Erie Railroad that appeared in the April 11, 1890 issue of the Cattaraugus Republican newspaper in Salamanca, NY. The new Erie bridge at Batavia will be 190 feet long, the longest single span bridge on the road. The net earnings of the Erie railroad…
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A Train Load of Silk
A train load of silk passe through Salamanca recently enroute from San Francisco to New York. The train consisted of ten cars and was drawn by two engines. The silk was still in bond, and each car bore the seal of the U. S. custom-house at San Francisco, with a notice on each car that…
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Erie Wootten Camelback Locomotives
It is stated that the Erie will have twenty-five more Wooten engines built at the Baldwin locomotive works of Philadelphia… Source: Cattaraugus Republican. Salamanca, NY. February 28, 1890.
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Early Railroad Routes
Historical Facts Concerning Western New York Roads. Mr. David E. E. MIX of Batavia has compiled from records in the County Clerk’s office, some valuable and interesting information in regard to early railroads in Western New York. Mr. MIX read a brief paper before the Pioneer Association at Silver Lake from which the following facts…
Albion and Tonawanda Railroad, Attica and Buffalo Railroad, Buffalo and Rochester Railroad, Medina and Darien Railroad, Tonawanda Railroad, Warsaw and Le Roy Railroad
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1886 Inspection Report of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad
Below is an inspection report of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad from the 1886/1887 Annual Report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners, Volume 1. It details the results of an inspection of the railroad in October 1886. Note: The report refers to it as the “Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway” but…
Belfast, NY, Black Creek, NY, Brocton, NY, Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, Buffalo, NY, Caneadea, NY, Cuba, NY, Cuylerville, NY, East Aurora, NY, Ebenezer, NY, Elma, NY, Fillmore, NY, Fowlerville, NY, Franklinville, NY, Hinsdale, NY, Holland, NY, Houghton, NY, Ischua, NY, Mayville, NY, Mount Morris, NY, Olean, NY, Oramel, NY, Piffard, NY, Portage, NY, Protection, NY, Rockwell, NY, Salamanca, NY, Scottsville, NY, Silver Creek, NY, South Wales, NY, Tuscarora, NY, York, NY
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1886 Inspection Report of the Silver Lake Railway
The 1886 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included a short report of a recent inspection of the Silver Lake Railway. The last inspection of this road was made in 1884, at which time it was in good order; somewhat better than it was found when inspected this season . The property has…
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The New Central Depot
The news clipping below reports on the construction of the New York Central Railroad depot in Suspension Bridge, NY. This depot was being built to replace the former station that was destroyed in a January 1883 fire. Source: Suspension Bridge (NY) Journal. September 11, 1886.
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New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Timetable January 1886
The following passenger train timetable for the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad is reproduced from a newspaper advertisement from early 1886. NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA AND OHIO RAILROAD TIME TABLE ADOPTED JAN. 3, 1886. Central Time, twenty-eight minutes slower than Columbus time. Trains depart from Randolph as follows: WESTWARD. No. 1 – Cin., Chi &…
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Gossip of “The Idler”
Speaking of a credit business, one thing is certain, somebody has got to do a tick trade when railroads keep their employes behind months. There is the Lackawanna & Pittsburgh, which has not given its workman a dollar in over five months. How can they pay in advance? But such treatment on the part of…
Allegany Central Railroad, Bolivar, NY, Erie Railroad, Lackawanna and Pittsburgh Railroad, Olean, NY
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1884 Inspection Report of the Silver Lake Railroad
The 1884 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following inspection of the Silver Lake Railway. SILVER LAKE RAILROAD. This line is a standard gauge, extending from the village of Gainesville, on the New York, Lake Erie and Western railway, to the village of Perry, at the foot of Silver lake, a distance…
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Niagara Falls Excursion
The Buffalo Road will give their first electric light excursion of the season to the Niagara Falls, on Thursday, June 26, for the especial benefit of the towns along the Olean division from Kinzua to Olean. The fare for the round trip from Kinzua, Sugar Run, Corydon, and Onoville, is $2.00, West Run [note: This…
Allegany, NY, Carrollton, NY, Olean, NY, Onoville, NY, Quaker Bridge, NY, Red House, NY, Salamanca, NY, Vandalia, NY, Wolf Run, NY
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1883 Inspection Report of the Sodus Bay and Southern Railroad
An excerpt from the Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1883, Volume 1 of an inspection on the Sodus Bay and Southern Railroad, which later became part of the Northern Central Railroad. SODUS BAY AND SOUTHERN RAILROAD. Organized in 1852…
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1883 Inspection Report of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad
The 1883/1884 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following report of the inspection of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad. BUFFALO, NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA RAILROAD. The Buffalo division is a single track line, extending from the city of Buffalo to Olean , and south to the Pennsylvania State line…
Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, Buffalo, NY, Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad, Ebenezer, NY, Elma, NY, Holland, NY, Mayville, NY, New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, Olean, Bradford and Warren Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Line, Pennsylvania Railroad Chautauqua Line, Pennsylvania Railroad River Line, Pennsylvania Railroad Rochester Line, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad, South Wales, NY
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War Over a Railroad Track
A May 28, 1883 article from The (NY) Evening Post describing the battles between the Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to build their respective tracks over a plot of land near Buffalo. The Rochester and Pittsburgh was in the process at that time of building their line from Buffalo…
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Disastrous Fire
The newspaper article below from the January 6, 1883 edition of the Suspension Bridge (NY) Journal describes the fire that destroyed the New York Central Railroad passenger depot in Suspension Bridge on the night of January 2, 1883. The same issue had the following smaller tidbits about the fire: The railroad authorities have gone to…
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First Express Over the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad
A short article about the first express train between Rochester and Olean on the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, also known as the Rochester Division of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway. The First regular express train over the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, from Rochester to Olean, N.Y., 106 miles, was run yesterday, making good…
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First R&P Train to Perry
The first Rochester & Pittsburg train into Perry arrived there at 11:30 a. m., July 5th, drawn by engine number seven, Shell Hess, engineer, S. H. Dasonboy, fireman, Superintendent Merchant’s private car containing the following persons: George E. Merchant, general manager, Rochester and Pittsburg railroad; E. G. Matthews, general superintendent, Silver Lake railroad; J. P.…
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The Grand Narrow Gauge Gridiron of Southwestern New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania
Comparatively few of our readers are aware of the extent to which the narrow gauge railroad system of northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York has been carried, much less do they realize the extent of that system when pushed to perfection. Two interests, those of Erie and its allies, and the Buffalo, New York and…
Allegany Central Railroad, Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Western Railroad, Olean, Bradford and Warren Railroad
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Genesee Valley Canal Railroad Progress
GENESEE VALLEY CANAL RAILROAD. From the Rochester Express we clip the following : “A construction train is now running on the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad from this city to Fowlerville, or Spencer’s basin, within ten miles of Mt. Morris. Between Mt. Morris and Fowlerville the grading is completed for the distance of six miles, and…
Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, Fowlerville, NY, Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, Mount Morris, NY, Rochester, NY
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DL&W Corning Station
The following article talks about the location of the New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, later Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, station in Corning, NY. Source: Elmira Daily Advertiser, 27 March 1882, p. 5. NYS Historic Newspapers.
Corning, NY, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, DL&W Main Line, New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
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Construction of the Warren to Salamanca Line
This March 1882 article shows the progress made by the Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Western Railroad to build their line from Warren, PA to Salamanca. It’s not that historically significant, but it gives me a chance to use the word “jollification,” which turns out to be a real word. See the Olean – Salamanca Line page…
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Genesee Valley Canal Railroad Approaches Cuba
-The construction train on the Genesee Valley Canal railroad has now reached what is known as Hicks’ corners, a point about two miles west of this village. Track is being laid at the rate of two-thirds of a mile per day. Although the smoking engine has not put in an appearance at Cuba as soon…
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A Nice Little Scheme
This editorial from the February 3, 1882 Buffalo Evening News newspaper discusses a plan for the New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to acquire a piece of property on the waterfront from the City of Buffalo for, what the writer claims, is an artificially low price. This piece of property, where the Delaware, Lackawanna and…
Buffalo, NY, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, DL&W Main Line, New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
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Angelica’s New Railroad
The first train on the extension of the Allegany Central Railroad between Angelica and Friendship went over the line Monday afternoon. It reached Angelica about two o’clock in the afternoon and was greeted with enthusiasm by the natives. Every window was full of wondering individuals. Children and grandparents climbed up on stumps to get a…
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Main Street Bridge in Buffalo
The following is from the report of the Buffalo, NY city council on December 12, 1881 about a dispute between the city and the New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Source: Buffalo Evening News, 13 December 1881, second edition, p. 1.
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A New Railroad
An Important Enterprise A very important new railroad enterprise has just been assured for Allegany county. It is no less than the extension of the Olean & Friendship narrow gauge to Belvidere, Angelica, Swains, Nunda and Mt. Morris – or near the latter point – where it will form an important connection with the extension…
Angelica, NY, Belvidere, NY, Friendship, NY, Mount Morris, NY, Olean, NY, Swains, NY, Wellsville, NY
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A Train this Week
The New York, Lackawanna & Western Railroad is progressing rapidly. The double track from Binghamton is laid to within three miles of Owego, and a train will probably run between Owego and Binghamton this week. Source: Elmira Daily Advertiser, 4 August 1881, p. 5
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“The Battle of the Gauges”
Last of the Broad Gauge – The New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Conforms to the Standard The broad gauge of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad is no more. In the bright light of this beautiful summer morning with each moving rail a change was wrought and in a few short…
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A Special Train for Nine Passengers
The morning express on the Albany and Susquehanna road, usually makes a connection with No. 3 on the Erie at Binghamton. It is by this route that Boston passenger traffic is sought by the Erie, Pullman cars being run from Chicago to Boston without change. Tuesday morning the Albany train arrived in Binghamton three hours…
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Genesee Valley Canal Railroad
Genesee Valley Canal Railroad. Yesterday morning sub-contractor Peterson, under direction of Contractor Bennett, commenced the work of grading the road bed for the track of the Genesee Valley Canal railroad. The first work was done at the Rapids. Several boat loads of steel rails are expected to arrive soon from New York. Within a short…
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Early Railroad Profits
The Enormous Dividends of the Narrow Gauge Lines in the Bradford Oil Regions Soon after the great railroad purchase recently made by the Buffalo, Pittsburg and Western Railroad Company, attention was called to the enormous dividends which the narrow gauge railroads of the oil country were paying their stockholders. Through the courtesy of the Secretary…
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Train 5 Looses Wheel
On Saturday morning last as [Erie Railroad] train 5 was running near Ewing crossing, some two miles south of this place [Randolph, NY], one of the small wheels under the front of the engine broke and flew into an innumerable number of pieces. The engineer immediately applied the air brake, but the train ran some…
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NYPANO Punctuality
This news clipping talks about the punctuality of the trains on the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, while taking a swipe at the Erie Railroad. Source: The Weekly Courant, Randolph, NY. January 27, 1881
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Erie Railroad Wreck in Gowanda
This new clipping describes a wreck on the Erie Railroad near Gowanda, NY which injured the engineer, Thomas Griffin, and killed the fireman, Charles Becker. Source: The Weekly Courant, Randolph, NY. January 27, 1881
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Five Dead in Wreck at Tioga Center
Five Men Burned to Death.—-Train 12 on the Erie Railroad Wrecked and Burned. Express train 12, bound eastward, passes this station at 2:21. On Saturday last it passed here nearly on time. At Salamanca, it is transferred to the Erie track, and if no accident befalls it it reaches New York at 7:25 the following…
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Rochester & State Line Popular for Eastern Travel
The Rochester & State Line Railroad is becoming a very popular route for people going east from this section. The trains on the Atlantic make very close connections at Salamanca, and at Rochester the trains on the New York Central make good connections with those of the State Line. Source: Weekly Courant. Randolph, New York.…
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Proposed Railroad Extension
A Titusville telegram under date of the 5th inst. says :Mr. J. W. Jones, President of. the Pittsburgh, Titusville and Buffalo Railroad Company, has been here the week past in consultation with Superintendent Wilson of that road, relative to several important movements, extending the importance of the whole ‘line, which when consummated, will be of…
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Narrow Escape from a Terrible Death
NARROW ESCAPE FROM A TERRIBLE DEATH. A Car Jumps Off a Thirty Foot Embankment.[Special to the Telegram,] Olean, Aug. 14.- A terrible accident occurred yesterday at Four Mile Station, on the Olean, Bradford & Warren railroad. While Conductor Murphy, William Crane and George Cook, were attempting to run an empty car by gravity on the…
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The Erie Narrowed
Standard Gauge – A Day Without A Railroad Train – Waiting Passengers – Quick Work – An Ovation – Again On Time Never was the enterprise and push characteristic of our age more fully exemplified than in narrowing the gauge of the Erie last Tuesday. For the last few weeks extra gangs of men had…
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Permission to Build Lockport and Buffalo Railroad Station in Lockport
Source: Lockport Daily Journal, 15 July 1879.
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Excursion on the Lockport and Buffalo Railroad
Source: Lockport [NY] Daily Journal, 2 June 1879.
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Progress on the Lockport and Buffalo Railroad
-Work upon the Lockport & Budalo Railroad is progressing rapidly. About fifteen men are engaged in laying the track across the CARPENTER land this side of Prospect street. Source: Lockport [NY] Daily Journal, 30 April 1879.
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A Dangerous Explosion on a R. R. Car
On Thursday night last, just after train 12 (which passed Randolph 4 hours late) reached Salamanca, the steam heater in a parlor car exploded with a terrific report. Every light of glass on the car was broken, a large hole blown through the roof, and the car otherwise shattered. At the time the car was…