Gasport, NY

A postcard photo of the New York Central Railroad station in Gasport, NY. Posted by Cape Cod And Islands Railroads And Trains History on the Facebook “New York Central Railroad Fangroup”.

Gasport was a station on the Falls Road Branch of the New York Central Railroad in the town of Lockport, NY. It was also a station on the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad electric line.

The Niagara History Center had a humorous anecdote about the NYC station in Gasport:

There a humorous story connected to the Gasport Depot. When the Niagara Falls branch of the New York Central Railroad was built in 1852 paralleling the canal, Orangeport was a designated stop, complete with its own depot. Mabee, on the other side of Gasport, also had a station but the train went right by Gasport. This did not set well with some of the folks in Gasport and they took matters into their own hands. The 1902 Souvenir History of Niagara County offered a description of what happened next. With the sanction of the NYC railroad, the Gasport “bandits” attempted to carry the Orangeport depot off but were met by “the wrathful feminine residents of that place, who sent a volley of decayed products of the hen where they would do most good.” Undaunted, the “the hydra-headed monopolists” of Gasport returned, this time with a flatbed car supplied by the railroad and appropriated the depot for use in that village. Soon after, Mabee was also eliminated as a stop on the railroad, thus making Gasport the only stop between Middleport and Lockport.

New York Central Railroad

A 1908 map of Gasport, NY showing the location of the New York Central station in town. Century Map Company. 1908. “Niagara County 1908, Gasport.” Found on Historic Map Works.

The New York Central Railroad station was on the south side of the tracks just east of what was formerly called Depot Street and which is today called Central Avenue.

History

In 1851, the Rochester, Lockport & Niagara Falls Railroad acquired the Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, which operated 23 miles of track between Lockport and Niagara Falls, NY. In 1853 the company constructed a line from Rochester and Lockport and was leased by the New York Central Railroad, where it was known as the Falls Branch or the Falls Road. The line was operated by the New York Central (1853 – 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.

Station Photos

A postcard photo of the New York Central Railroad station in Gasport, NY. Posted by Cape Cod And Islands Railroads And Trains History on the Facebook “New York Central Railroad Fangroup”.

The New York Central Railroad station in Gasport, NY. Found on eBay.

A photo of the New York Central Railroad station in Gasport, NY. The station was built in 1912 and was demolished in 1964. Posted by Bill Blake on the Facebook “New York Central Railroad Fangroup”.

Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad

The Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad Station in Gasport, NY. Found on eBay.

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.

Clippings

Wreck Near Gasport

January 9, 1878

Maps

A 1908 map of Gasport, NY showing the location of the New York Central station in town. Century Map Company. 1908. “Niagara County 1908, Gasport.” Found on Historic Map Works.

The arrangement of the New York Central tracks and station in Gasport, NY. Author’s illustration based on a New York Central valuation map.

Portion of a June 1917 New York Central Railroad valuation map of the area around the station in Gasport, NY. New York Central Railroad Valuation Maps from the collection of the National Archives.

Photographs

Falls Road Railroad’s Polar Express Ltd. arriving at Gasport, NY, on the former NYC Falls Road to pick up Santa for his return to Medina, NY, and its railroad museum. Photo by Albert McFadyen who posted it in the Facebook “New York Central Railroad Fangroup” group.

A Falls Road Railroad Alco unit starts a past Polar Special in Gasport, NY, on the former NYC Falls Road Branch. Photo by Albert McFadyen who posted it in the Facebook “New York Central Railroad Fangroup” group.

The Medina Railroad Museum’s Polar Express with Falls Road Railroad Alcos and NYC passenger cars on the former NYC Falls Road Branch at Gasport, NY in 2023. Photo posted by Albert McFadyen on the Facebook “New York Central Railroad Fangroup” page.

This photograph was labeled “Gasport Depot” but it is not clear if that is accurate. The layout of the station, with tracks curving away on both side of the station, does not match the layout of either the New York Central or Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad in Gasport. Niagara History Center posting on Facebook.

Timetables

A 1909 timetable of the Buffalo, Rochester and Lockport Railway. Found on eBay.

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.

Learn More

Wikipedia. “Gasport, New York“