Portland, New York is a town on the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (New York Central) and Nickel Plate Railroad mainlines ran through the town. The Chautauqua Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad ran through Portland as well.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Buffalo and State Line Railroad completed its line through Portland in January 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).
Nickel Plate Road
A 1913-1914 Nickel Plate Road Shippers’ Guide listed the following customers in Portland:
- Bennett, O. W., ice dealer.
- Brainard, C. L., Co. (P. O. Brocton), grapes.
- Chautauqua and Erie Grape Co. (P. O. Westfield, N. Y.), grapes.
- Chautauqua Grape Co, (P. O. Brocton, N. Y.), grapes.
- Connor, G. D., grain, feed mill, manufacturer basket material.
- Crandall Grape -Shipping Co. (P. O. Brocton, N. Y.), grapes.
- Crutchfield & Woolfolk (P. O. Pittsburgh, Pa.), grape shippers.
- Dean, Clyde Co., grapes, vineyard supplies
- Dean, L. R,, grapes,
- Dudley, W. E., manufacturer grape baskets.
- Faso Brothers, producers and shippers of wine.
- House Bros., grapes.
- Mead, W. B., shipper grapes.
- Morse, E. D., & Son, grapes, coal and general supplies.
- Moss, E. S., Co. (P. O. Brocton, N. Y.), grapes.
- Phillips, B. H. (Buffalo, N. Y), grapes.
- Portland Concrete Co., manufacturers cement blocks, roofing, etc.
- Rossino, Ferdinando, manufacturer and shipper of wine,
- Seibert, John (Fredonia, N. Y.), sand.
- Skinner, D. E., grapes.
- Skinner & Titus, grapes.
- Skinner, Will E., shipper grapes.
- South Shore Growers and Shippers Association (P. O. Silver Creek), fruits of all kinds.
- Taylor & Holcomb, grapes.
- Taylor, M. L., & Son, producers and shippers of wine.
- Taylor & Schroeder, grapes.
- Welch Grape Juice Co. (Westfield, N. Y.), shipper of grapes.
Clippings
Timetables
A timetable effective June 2, 1889 of trains running in Western New York on the New York, Saint Louis and Chicago Railroad, commonly referred to as the “Nickel Plate Railroad.” The Chautauqua News, Sherman, NY, 6 August 1890, p. 5, NYS Historic Newspapers.