History

This line ran along the east side of Chautauqua Lake from Jamestown to Westfield, NY and serviced the famous Chautauqua Institution. In its 70 year life it changed its name numerous times utilizing almost every possible permutation of “Jamestown”, “Chautauqua”, and “Lake Erie.” From 1881 to 1913 the line was a steam line, at which point it was electrified.

The Steam Years

The Mayville Extension Railroad ran from Mayville to the Chautauqua Assembly Grounds, a distance of about three miles. It was chartered on June 4, 1881 and began operation on July 20 of the same year. This was a “paper railroad” that was built by the Buffalo, Pittsburg and Western Railroad who immediately leased and operated it for an annual rental of 35 percent of the gross receipts of the company. The Mayville Extension used the rental fee it received from the BP&W to pay the BP&W back for the cost of constructing the line. The line was not very profitable and was in direct competition with the steam boats the BP&W ran on on Chautauqua Lake between Mayville and the Chautauqua Assembly Grounds. On October 13, 1887 it was sold to the Chautauqua Lake Railway.

The Chautauqua Lake Railway opened from Jamestown to Mayville Jct. on July 25, 1887 with trackage rights over 1.2 miles of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad into Mayville. At Mayville, it connected with the former Mayville Extension Railroad. This allowed the Chautauqua Lake Railway to take travelers from Jamestown to the Chautauqua Assembly Grounds.

On October 17, 1894 the company was reorganized into the Jamestown and Lake Erie Railway. A branch of the line was opened from Clifton to Falconer on February 15, 1897.

The company reorganized again on January 1, 1899 and emerged as the Jamestown and Chautauqua Railway.

The Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway was chartered on September 25, 1900 for the purpose of constructing an 11.25 mile line from the northern terminus of the Jamestown and Chautauqua Railway in Mayville to Westfield. The company controlled the Jamestown and Chautauqua Railroad through ownership of its stock. The company also operated a fleet of steamboats on Chautauqua Lake.

The Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company, an interurban line, bought up all the stock on 1907 but the JC&LE continued to operate independently.

During this time, the two branch lines of the road were disposed of. The Falconer branch was leased for a time to the Erie Railroad and was abandoned and torn up in 1908. The Chautauqua branch was leased and later sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad which operated it as a freight-only line until abandonment in 1926.

Electrification

The Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie was unprofitable, went into receivership, and was purchased in December 1913 by the Broadhead interests, owners of the Jamestown Street Railway and the Chautauqua Traction Company. On December 8, 1913 the Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad took over the line and began electrifying the main line from Westfield to Jamestown. During the electrification project the company built a new station about mile east of Mayville and abandoned their 1.2 miles of trackage rights over the Pennsylvania Railroad into the village. On August 20, 1914 the handsome interurban cars lettered with the slogan “America’s Scenic Route” began operating. Power for the line was purchased from the municipal power plant in Jamestown and the company had a permanent substation in Westfield and portable substations in Greenhurst, Bemus Point and Mayville which converted the 11,500 volts AC to 650 volts DC.

When the line was first electrified, the investment in conversion equipment was reduced by utilizing the facilities of the Chautauqua Traction Company, the interurban which ran along the west side of the lake and was also owned by the Broadhead family. Taking advantage of a Chautauqua Traction substation in Stow, the JW&NW ran two lead-covered cables on the lake bottom from Stow to its tracks in Bemus on the opposite side of the lake. The system employed a double throw switch so that if a cable became grounded the current could be reversed so it became the negative feeder and the line could continue to operate.

Dieselization

Passenger operations ended November 30, 1947 when the line was de-electrified. The company then began diesel powered freight service using two 7-ton GE locomotives which operated until January 21, 1950 (sometimes listed as January 20th) when the company ceased operations.

End of the Line

The railroad was abandoned in stages beginning in 1938 and ending in 1950. The following list shows when each segment was abandoned. A special thanks goes to Richard Palmer who provided this information.

Jamestown Street Railway discontinued Jan. 16, 1938
Jamestown Street Railway (Falconer to Lakewood) discontinued Jan. 29, 1938 (18.29 miles)
Jamestown – Boat Landing March 31, 1940
Jamestown – Westfield (electric pass. service), Nov. 30, 1947
Jamestown – Westfield (diesel freight service) Jan. 21, 1950

Stations

Jamestown * Clifton * Cold Spring * Bonita * Elmhurst * Sunny Side * Greenhurst * Sheldon Hill * Driftwood * Belleview * Colburns * Phillips Mills * Shore Acres * Bemus Point * Bay View * Warners * Maple Springs * Midway Park * Chedwel * Dewittville * Point Chautauqua * Wooglin * Hartfield * P.R.R. Junction * Mayville (Chautauqua Street) * Parkers * Glenewen * Fitch * Nixon * Westfield (Main Street) * Westfield (N. Y. C. station).

More details

Distance from Jamestown	Station	Distance from Westfield
0 2.1 2.5 3.1 3.9 4.5 5.0 5.4 6.0 6.8 8.0 9.0 9.5 10.5 11.6 13.5 14.4 15.0 15.4 17.4 18.4 19.6 20.5 21.7 22.2 24.2 26.5 27.0 28.5 30.6 32.2	Jamestown Clifton Cold Spring Bonita Elmhurst Sunny Side Greenhurst Sheldon Hill Driftwood Belleview Colburns Phillips Mills Shore Acres Bemus Point Bay View Warners Maple Springs Midway Park Chedwel Dewittville Point Chautauqua Wooglin Hartfield P.R.R. Junction Mayville, Chaut. St. Parkers Glenewen Fitch Nixon Westfield, Main St. N. Y. C. STATION	32.2 30.1 29.7 29.1 28.3 27.7 27.2 26.8 26.2 25.4 24.2 23.2 22.7 21.7 20.6 18.7 17.8 17.2 16.8 14.8 13.8 12.6 11.7 10.5 10.0 8.0 5.7 5.2 3.7 1.6 .0

Clippings

Locomotive and Rolling Stock Photographs

Maps

Timetables

Learn More

• Ahlstrom, Harold. 1942. “Jamestown Westfield & Northwestern”, Central Electric Railfans’ Association (CERA) Bulletin 40.
• Coniff, William. Date Unknown. “Chautauqua Lake Route”, “Electric Lines” section of Railroad Magazine.
• Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad, September 28, 1941 timetable.
• McKeen Motor Car Company Historical Society. “Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway”
• National Railway Historical Society. “Sell 42 NRHS Buffalo Convention” Youtube video that includes the JW&NW.
• New York State Department of Transportation. Abandonment lists
• New York State Public Service Commission. Annual reports
• Reifschneider, Felix E. 1949. Interurbans of the Empire State.
• Wigren, Glen. “Glen Wigren Movies of Jamestown N.Y. Trolleys” A nine-minute video of electric railroads around Jamestown, NY, including the JW&NW.
• Woodbury, John. 1958. Unpublished notes.