History
The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was a regional railroad straddling the New York – Pennsylvania border. It was formed in 1885 when Buffalo lumber and fuel dealer Frank Goodyear bought an 80,00 acre tract of land in northern-central Pennsylvania. Frank Goodyear had retired in his 40’s and purchased the land when he became bored with retirement. To extract the lumber from his new investment, he organized the Sinnemahoning Valley Railroad to run from Keating Summit on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad (later part of the Pennsylvania Railroad) to his sawmill in Austin, PA. As the lumber and tanning business expanded, Frank Goodyear was joined by his brother Charles and more lines of various names were added to the east. In 1893 the lines reached Galeton and Ansonia PA and the lines were consolidated into the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad Company.
By New Years Day of 1896 the B&S ran trains the 37-miles from Galeton to Wellsville, NY. In 1898 the brothers purchased the Addison and Pennsylvania Railroad running from Galeton, PA to Addison, NY. The company began expanding the opposite direction and by 1900 was operating into Sinnemahoning, PA where it connected to the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad (later part of the Pennsylvania system). South of Galeton the line ran through a series of switchbacks to climb the mountains. These switchbacks, later abandoned, limited the trains to 15 cars.
The Goodyear lumber and coal empire flourished and the railroad ran spurs and branch lines up almost every creek and valley in the area. Numerous related companies were formed, including the Goodyear Lumber Company and Lackawanna Lumber Company which by 1902 reported more than 140 miles of spurs. As coal and lumber supplies were exhausted in one area the track was pulled up and laid in another.
Buffalo Extension
To get their coal and lumber to market, the Goodyears built the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railway north from Wellsville to Buffalo. This line was completed in 1906 and linked the coal and timber lands to the ships of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Steamship Company in Buffalo. At its height, the railroad ran 250 miles from Buffalo to Sagamore, PA and had more than 400 miles of track. Logging railroads using geared locomotives hauled lumber to the Goodyear mills which cut it and shipped it out over the B&S. Coal and coke from the south end of the system generated considerable revenue, as did the operation of numerous tanneries along the line, including the one at Costello, PA which was reported at the time to be the largest in the world.
Unfortunately, the boom turned quickly to a bust and the Goodyear family and the B&S had a sudden reversal of fortune. Frank Goodyear died in 1907 precipitating a crisis. Shortly after the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railway (Buffalo to Wellsville) leased the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad (the rest of the system) and operated the whole as the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railway. The company was financially troubled and in 1910 H. I. Miller, who had been president of another Goodyear family railroad, the New Orleans Great Northern, was appointed receiver for both the railway and railroad. In 1913 the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad Corporation was formed. Only eight years after being built, New York Supreme Court Justice (and former law partner of Charles Goodyear) H. P. Bissel ruled that the Buffalo to Wellsville line should be torn up for lack of traffic. All the rail, bridges and other steel were sold to the French in 1916 for a substantial sum due to the demand for steel created by WWI.
The Beginning of the End
H. I. Miller continued to operate the rest of the line as chairman of the board until 1932 when it was purchased by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In July 1942 a flood washed out the track south of Galeton leaving the rest of the former B&S separated from the B&O. In 1954 the B&O merged the B&S with two smaller railroads it had leased since the turn of the century. In 1956 the Wellsville – Addison – Galeton section was sold to Murray Salzberg who operated it as the Wellsville, Addison and Galeton Railroad until the WAG’s demise in 1979.
New York State Stations
Buffalo * Blasdell * Hamburg * North Boston * Patchin * Boston * East Concord * Springville * Sardinia * Yorkshire * Arcade * Sandusky * Crystal Lake * Pixley Summit * Centerville * Hume * Wesley * Rushford * Canadea * Crawford * Belfast * Transit Bridge * Belvedere * Belmont * Scio * Wellsville * Stanards * Mapes * Shongo
Details
| Station | Distance from Buffalo |
|---|---|
| Buffalo Blasdell Hamburg North Boston Patchin Boston East Concord Springville Sardinia Yorkshire Arcade Sandusky Crystal Lake Pixley Summit Centerville Hume Wesley Rushford Canadea Crawford Belfast Transit Bridge Belvedere Belmont Scio Wellsville Stanards Mapes Shongo (NY – PA State Line) Genesee Hickox W. Bingham Pusher Siding Newfield Newfield Jct Brookland Walton Telescope Kilbourne Galeton | 0.0 6.38 11.78 15.38 18.46 20.16 25.85 30.37 36.72 38.70 41.24 44.38 47.87 51.23 54.55 57.67 60.80 63.73 65.80 67.58 70.33 74.62 77.83 80.42 85.07 89.77 93.00 95.17 97.99 100.13 101.67 104.57 107.68 109.23 110.73 115.90 119.25 120.55 122.03 125.79 |
From a 1906 or 1907 list of stations published by the railroad.
Digital Artifacts
Click on the links below to see various digital artifacts related to the railroad, including photos, maps, timetables, advertisements, and equipment rosters.
News stories and articles
Locomotive Photos
Freight and Passenger Car Photos
Maps
Timetables
Passes and Stock Certificates
Other Interesting Things
Railroad Station Photos
Learn More
Listed below are some other good sources of information about the railroad.
- Paul Pietrak. 1966. The History of the Buffalo and Susquehanna.
- George Drury. 1985. Historical Guide to North American Railroads. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company.
- H. D. Runey. 1947. “Sunset of an Empire”, Trains magazine, Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company.
- Author Unknown. “The Buffalo and Susquehanna and Its Subsidiaries” Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin Number 49.
- Wikipedia. “Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad“