New York Railroad Archive

Dunkirk, NY

Map showing the routes of the Erie Railroad (purple), Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (green), Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad (yellow) and Nickel Plate Road / Pennsylvania Railroad (red) in Dunkirk, NY. The stars show the locations of the indicated passenger stations. Author’s illustration from a 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

Dunkirk was an important port on Lake Erie and one of the early commercial centers of Western New York. It was served by a variety of railroads, as shown in the map above. The New York and Erie Railroad (later the Erie Railroad) was the first to reach Dunkirk on May 15, 1851. The Buffalo and State Line Railroad (later the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern) arrived soon after, in February 1852.

The Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad began laying track south from Dunkirk in 1870 and the first passenger train ran over the line on June 22, 1871. The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (commonly known as the Nickel Plate Road) was built through Dunkirk in 1882. The same time the Nickel Plate built their line in Western New York, they built a second line from Brocton to Buffalo in conjunction with the Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Western Railroad Company.

Erie Railroad

An 1888 map showing the arrangement of the tracks of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (green), Erie Railroad (purple) and Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad (yellow) in Dunkirk, NY. Author’s illustration based on an 1888 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

The Erie Railroad was the first to arrive in Dunkirk and had a large hotel and station and tracks to the docks on Dunkirk Harbor. Originally, the there was a large train shed that covered all the tracks, as seen in the map above and photo below. This was destroyed in a fire and when rebuilt, the tracks were uncovered (second photo below).

The original Erie Railroad station in Dunkirk, NY. Found on rootsweb.com.
A photo, believed to be from the 1890s, showing the Erie Railroad passenger station, and adjacent Erie Hotel, in Dunkirk, NY. Photo from Library of Congress collection.

The Erie Railroad station was on the ground floor and the Erie Hotel had its rooms on the upper floors of the building.

Erie Station Photographs

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway

The Buffalo and State Line Railroad completed its line through Dunkirk in February 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).

The Lake Shore used the Erie Railroad station at the Erie Hotel as its station in Dunkirk.

Nickel Plate Road

A view of the joint Pennsylvania Railroad / New York, Chicago and St. Louis (Nickel Plate) Railroad station in Dunkirk, NY. John Stewart collection, Flickr.com.
Map showing the location of the joint Nickel Plate Road / Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Station in Dunkirk, NY. Author’s illustration from a 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

The Nickel Plate Road skirted to the south and east of Dunkirk in parallel with the Pennsylvania Railroad. The two railroads shared a passenger station as shown in the map above.

Despite, or maybe because, the Nickel Plate not running through downtown it had a large shipping base in the city. A 1913-1914 Nickel Plate Road shippers’ guide listed the company’s customers in Dunkirk.

PRR/Nickel Plate Station Photographs

Pennsylvania Railroad

Dunkirk was a station on the Chautauqua Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad as it ran north to Buffalo. The line skirted to the south and east of Dunkirk in parallel with the Nickel Plate Road. The two railroads shared a passenger station as shown in the map above.

PRR/Nickel Plate Station Photographs

Clippings

Other Photographs

Maps

Timetables