Arcade, NY

Arcade is a village in the town of Arcade in the southwest corner of Wyoming County, NY. Arcade was served by three railroads. The Buffalo Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad ran to the west of the village and their Arcade station was located about a mile and quarter to the west of the village. Arcade was a station on the short-lived Buffalo extension of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad in the early 20th Century. It is the southern terminus of the Arcade and Attica Railroad, a popular tourist railroad in the area.

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad station in Arcade, NY as seen in a 1912 book. Hodge, D. G. 1912. “Arcade, New York 1912”. Library of Congress collection.

The history of the Pennsylvania Railroad line through Arcade began in 1872 when the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway, formerly the Buffalo and Washington Railway, completed its line through the area. The line was operated by the BNY&P (1872 – 1887), the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (1887 – 1895), the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway (1895 – 1900), the Pennsylvania Railroad (1900 – 1968), the Penn Central Railroad (1968 – 1976), Conrail (1976 – 1999) and the Norfolk Southern Railroad (1999 – 2007). In 2008 Norfolk Southern leased the segment from Buffalo to Machias Junction to the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad.

Arcade and Attica Railroad

The Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad station in Arcade, NY as seen in a 1912 book. Hodge, D. G. 1912. “Arcade, New York 1912”. Library of Congress collection.

The Arcade and Attica is the latest in a long line of railroads planned and built in the Tonawanda Valley. These include the Attica and Sheldon Railroad, the Attica and Alleghany Valley Railroad, the Attica and Arcade Railroad, and the Tonawanda Valley Railroad.

On May 1, 1881, the Tonawanda Valley Extension Railroad, a narrow gauge railroad, reached Arcade from Attica. On August 27, 1881, the Tonawanda Valley Railroad, Tonawanda Valley Extension Railroad, and Tonawanda Valley and Cuba were merged into the new Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad. On October 13, 1894, the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad was formed to operate the line. The new management switched the line to standard gauge and the Attica to Curriers section reopened in January 1895. By December of that year, the line was open from Attica to Arcade and in 1902 the Arcade to Sandusky section was open.

In 1904, the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade was sold to the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad but was operated separately. The Buffalo, Attica and Arcade was abandoned with the rest of the northern section of the Buffalo and Susquehanna in 1916.

On May 23, 1917, the Arcade and Attica Railroad was formed by local investors to operate the line. It operated passenger service until 1951 when the Erie stopped passenger service along the line that included Attica. In 1957, the company abandoned the line between Attica and North Java due to severe washouts of the track during Spring storms.

Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad

The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad station in Arcade, NY. Postcard posted by the Western New York Railway Historical Society on their Facebook page.

The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was built by Frank and Charles Goodyear, successful Buffalo coal and timber dealers, to bring coal and lumber from Pennsylvania to New York. In 1906, they built the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railway (note “Railway” vice “Railroad”), an extension of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad from its northern terminus in Wellsville, NY to Buffalo as a route to bring their coal and timber to a larger market. Unfortunately, the line was not profitable and in 1916 all the rails, bridges and other steel from the Wellsville – Buffalo line were sold to the French government for a substantial sum due to the demand for steel created by WWI.

Clippings

Station Photographs

The Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad station in Arcade, NY as seen in a 1912 book. Hodge, D. G. 1912. “Arcade, New York 1912”. Library of Congress collection.

The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad station in Arcade, NY. Postcard posted by the Western New York Railway Historical Society on their Facebook page.

The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad station in Arcade, NY as seen in a 1912 book. Hodge, D. G. 1912. “Arcade, New York 1912”. Library of Congress collection.

The station agent’s desk in the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad station in Arcade, NY as seen in a 1912 book. Hodge, D. G. 1912. “Arcade, New York 1912”. Library of Congress collection.

The Pennsylvania Railroad station in Arcade, NY as seen in a 1912 book. Hodge, D. G. 1912. “Arcade, New York 1912”. Library of Congress collection.

Other Photographs

Arcade and Attica Railroad locomotive number 18 at the company’s shops in Arcade, NY in August 1964. Emery Gulash photo found on eBay.

Maps

Portion of a 1902 map of Wyoming County, NY showing the route of the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad between the two towns. The Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo line is shown in the bottom-left corner and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway is in the bottom-right corner got through the town of Eagle. The routes of the Erie Railroad to Attica can be seen in the top of the map. Century Map Company. 1902. “Wyoming County 1902, County Map.” Historic Map Works.

A map of the route of the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad in 1902. Author’s illustration based on a 1902 map of Wyoming County.

Timetables

A summer 1873 timetable of trains departing Buffalo, NY on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway. Evening Courier & Republic, Buffalo, NY, 15 August 1873, p. 4, NYS Historic Newspapers.

A July 3, 1881 timetable of trains between Eldred, PA and Buffalo, NY on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway. The Official Railway Guide, January 1882, p. 77. Found on Google Books.

An October 13, 1881 timetable of trains on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad. Olean [NY] Daily Herald, October 13, 1881. NYS Historic Newspapers.

A timetable of trains on the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad in Western New York State effective November 20, 1887. Olean Herald. Olean, NY. December 9, 1887

A May 3, 1891 timetable of trains on the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Division. Traveler’s Official Guide, June 1891. Google Books.