PRR Buffalo Line

The route of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Buffalo Line between Buffalo and Emporium, PA via Olean, NY. Author’s illustration.

The Pennsylvania Railroad line between Buffalo, NY and Emporium, PA was one of the routes built to bring coal, iron, oil, wood and other products from Pennsylvania to Buffalo, where it was used or shipped to other locations using railroads or ships on the Great Lakes. It was completed in 1872 and is still in use today.

The line began in 1868 when the Buffalo and Washington Railway completed the 14.40 mile portion of the line between Buffalo and East Aurora and 2.32 miles of tracks within the city limits of Buffalo. In 1870 the railroad extended its line almost five miles further south to South Wales. In 1871 the railroad changed its name to the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway and in 1872 it completed construction of the line from Buffalo through Olean to the Pennsylvania state line.

Following the completion of the line in 1872, it was owned and operated by a succession of different railroads, including the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway (1872 – 1883), the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad (1883 – 1887), the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (1887 – 1895), the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway (1895 – 1900), the Pennsylvania Railroad (1900 – 1968), the Penn Central Railroad (1968 – 1976), The Consolidated Rail Corporation, better known as Conrail, (1976 – 1999) and the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

The Norfolk Southern Railroad gained the Buffalo Line when Conrail was dismantled in 1999 and owned it until 2007, when the Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority (STERA) purchased the line from Machias, NY to Driftwood, PA. STERA then leased the line back to Norfolk Southern, who subleased it to the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (a regional short-line completely different from the 1887-1890 railroad) who currently operates that section. In 2008, Norfolk Southern leased the segment from Buffalo to Machias to the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, whose main line from Rochester passes through Machias.

Timeline History of the Line

1868: The Buffalo and Washington Railway completed the 14.40 mile portion of the line between Buffalo and East Aurora. The company also built 2.32 miles of tracks in Buffalo.

1870: The Buffalo and Washington extended the line 4.8 miles to South Wales, NY.

1872: The Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia (BNY&P) Railway extended the line through Olean to the Pennsylvania state line.

1887: The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad / Railway began operating the line.

1900: The Pennsylvania Railroad began operating the line.

1968: The Penn Central Railroad began operating the line.

1976: Conrail began operating the line.

1999: Norfolk Southern began operating the line.

2007: The Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority (STERA) purchased the line from Machias, NY to Driftwood, PA. STERA leased it to Norfolk Southern, who subleased it to the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (a regional short-line completely different from the 1887-1890 railroad) who operates that section.

2008: Norfolk Southern leased the line from Buffalo to Machias to the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, who use it to connect to their main line in Machias.

Operations

The last passenger train on this route was run by the Penn Central in 1971.

The last southbound Penn Central passenger train stops in Olean in 1971. Photo taken by Tom Busack, from the collection of the Salamanca Rail Museum via the “OLEAN…MEMORIES BACK IN TIME” group on Facebook.

Stations

Below is a list of stations on the line that I have compiled from different sources. Over the lifetime of this line different companies opened, closed, and renamed stations in response to the needs of the time. Not all of these stations were in operation at the same time, but they all appeared on different timetables for passenger trains running on the line.

Buffalo * Winchester * Ebenezer * Spring Brook * Elma * Jamison Road * East Aurora * Blakeley * South Wales * Holland * Protection * Chaffee * Arcade * Delevan * Lime Lake * Machias Junction * Franklinville * Cadiz * Ischua * Hinsdale * Olean * Westons Mills * Portville

Clippings

Photographs

Maps

Detail of an 1865 map of the Buffalo and Washington Railway in Western New York. Penn State Library System.

The route of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Buffalo Line between Buffalo and Emporium, PA via Olean, NY. Author’s illustration.

Detail of a 1952 Pennsylvania Railroad Central Region map showing the lines in Western New York. Pennsylvania Railroad. 1952. Found on Multimodalways.com.

Timetables

A summer 1873 timetable of trains departing Buffalo, NY on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway. Evening Courier & Republic, Buffalo, NY, 15 August 1873, p. 4, NYS Historic Newspapers.

A February 4, 1878 timetable of trains departing Buffalo for Emporium, PA via Olean. Buffalo (NY) Morning Express. February 4, 1878.

An October 13, 1881 timetable of trains on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad. Olean [NY] Daily Herald, October 13, 1881. NYS Historic Newspapers.

A June 8, 1884 timetable of trains leaving Buffalo, NY on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad. The Evening Republic. Buffalo, NY. June 20, 1884.

A May 3, 1891 timetable of trains on the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Division. Traveler’s Official Guide, June 1891. Google Books.

A June 1897 timetable of trains on the Buffalo Division of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad. Travelers Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines, October 1897. Found on Google Books.

A timetable of trains on the Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Line effective November 29, 1903. Travelers Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines, February 1904. Found on Google Books.