Eagle Harbor, NY

An undated photograph of the New York Central Railroad station in Eagle Harbor, NY. John Stewart collection on Flickr.

Eagle Harbor, NY is hamlet in the town of Gaines in Orleans County. It was a station on the New York Central Railroad‘s Falls Branch which ran between Rochester and Suspension Bridge (Niagara Falls), NY and a station on the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad electric line.

New York Central Railroad

The New York Central line and station were a little more than a mile south of the village of Eagle Harbor. The station was on the north side of the tracks just to the east of Eagle Harbor Road. I don’t have much information about the station, but did find a few newspaper references:

An April 28, 1898 newspaper tidbit noted that “The Central is to improve its passenger station at Eagle Harbor.”

A newspaper article from October 11, 1905 noted that “The depot at Eagle Harbor was burned to the ground the night before last. The cause of the fire is unknown.” A January 3, 1906 article noted that “The Central is now building a new depot at Eagle Harbor.”

An October 17, 1935 newspaper article said “A New York Central coach was being utilized as a passenger depot at Eagle Harbor in place of the one which was recently burned down. The erection of a new station was reported as being well under way.”

There was a long industrial track that curved south from the tracks starting at the Eagle Harbor station and went to a quary. The right-of-way is clearly visible on the LIDAR image in the map section.

History

The Rochester and Lockport Railroad was chartered on May 15, 1837, but little was done except for some grading and bridge construction. A reorganized company, the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad was granted a state charter in 1850 and the nearly 76 mile long railroad between Niagara Falls and Rochester by way of Lockport was opened to traffic in 1852. The following year the line came under the control of the New York Central Railroad where is was known as the Falls Branch or the Falls Road.

The line was operated by the New York Central (1852 – 1968), the Penn Central Railroad (1968 – 1976), and Conrail (1976 – 1996). On October 15, 1996 the Falls Road Railroad, which is owned by the Genesee Valley Transportation Company, acquired the line from Lockport to Brockport, NY from Conrail.

Timetables

A July 18, 1948 timetable of trains on the New York Central Falls Road branch. New York Central. Form 1001. System Timetable. Table 52. Found on Wikimedia Commons.

Station Photographs

An undated photograph of the New York Central Railroad station in Eagle Harbor, NY. John Stewart collection on Flickr.

Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad

The Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway was an electric interurban railway that opened on November 17, 1908 between Rochester and Lockport, which it connected to the International Railway Company for service into Buffalo. In 1917 the company was reorganized as the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad. The company ran until April 30, 1931 when the company folded and the line was abandoned.

The 1913 map in the map section shows a station to the north of the tracks just to the east of Eagle Harbor Road.

Timetables

Clippings

Maps

A LIDAR image showing the route of an industrial track curving south of of the former New York Central Falls Road Branch at the Eagle Harbor, NY station. Image from the Discover GOS Data NY application.

Detail of a 1913 map showing the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway electric interurban railroad (highlighted in green) and the New York Central Railroad (highlighted in blue) going through the area to the south of the village of Eagle Harbor, NY. The locations of the passenger stations on both lines are indicated with red circles. Century Map Company. 1913. “Orleans County 1913, Gaines, Albion.” Historic Map Works.

Detail of a 1917 New York Central Railroad valuation map showing the area around the Eagle Harbor, NY station. New York Central Railroad valuation map VS-86/33 from the National Archives collection.

The track layout and location of the passenger station at Eagle Harbor, NY on the New York Central Railroad Falls Road Branch. Author’s illustration based on a 1917 New York Central Railroad valuation map.