Falconer is a village east of Jamestown that was serviced by the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad and the Erie Railroad. The two railroads crossed just south of downtown Falconer and the crossing was controlled by DV Tower.
Erie Railroad
The first railroad to enter Falconer was the August 1860 arrival of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad which built its line going west from Salamanca toward Meadville and points west. The Atlantic and Great Western became the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad then the Erie Railroad.
The Erie had two parallel lines that went through Falconer. The main line was south and the Buffalo and Jamestown Railroad line paralleled it just to the north. The Buffalo and Jamestown reached Falconer in the summer of 1875 and was bankrupt by 1877 when it was purchased by the he former Buffalo and Southwestern Railroad. The Buffalo and Southwestern was leased by the Erie in 1890 and merged into the company in 1895.
Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad
The Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad’s north-south line ran through Falconer on its way north to Dunkirk. The line was originally built by the Dunkirk, Warren and Pittsburgh Railroad, which on December 31, 1872 merged with the the Warren and Venango Railroad to form the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad. This company was leased to the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company on January 3, 1873.
The Dunkirk, Warren and Pittsburgh Railroad reached Falconer on June 17, 1871 and the first passenger train over the line ran on June 22, 1871.
Cover: A 1905 topographic map of Falconer, NY showing the route of the Erie Railroad in green and the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh in red. Author’s illustration based on 1905 topographic map.