Falconer is a village east of Jamestown that was serviced by the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad and the Erie Railroad. It was sometimes referred to as “Dexterville.”

There were a number of railroad buildings in Falconer on both the Erie and DAV&P. The Erie Railroad and its predecessors had a passenger station, freight house, and an interlocking tower at the crossing with the DAV&P while the DAV&P had their passenger station a little bit north of the crossing, as seen on the photo at the top of the page.

Erie Railroad

History

The first railroad to enter Falconer was the Atlantic and Great Western (A&GW) Railroad which arrived in August 1860. It was succeeded by the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad (1880 – 1883), New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad (1883 – 1895), the Erie Railroad (1895 – 1960), the Erie Lackawanna Railroad (1960 – 1976) and Conrail (1976 – ).

The Buffalo and Jamestown Railroad reached Falconer in the summer of 1875 and their track through Falconer paralleled the A&GW just to the north. The Buffalo and Jamestown was bankrupt by 1877 when it was succeeded by the Buffalo and Southwestern Railroad, which itself was leased by the New York, Lake Erie and Western in 1890.

Erie Station

The Erie Railroad station was on the northwest corner of the junction between the Erie and DAV&P and was a stop on both railroads. On the Erie it was called “Falconer” or “DAV&P Crossing.” The DAV&P stopped at the Erie station and referred to it as “A&GW Crossing.”

Other Erie Railroad Photos

Erie Railroad Falconer Timetables

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.

DAV&P Falconer Station

The DAV&P Falconer passenger station was located about a quarter-mile north of the junction. It was in service from 1871 until the end of passenger service on the line in 1937.

DAV&P Falconer Timetables 

DV Junction and DV Tower

DV Junction was the name of the junction between the Erie Railroad and Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad in Falconer. DV tower was an Erie Railroad tower that controlled traffic over the diamonds where the DAV&P track crossed the Erie.

Clippings

Timetables

Learn More

• Gustafson, Randall. “Railroading 101 at DV Tower“, Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum.