The 1883/1884 report of the New York State Railroad Commissioners included the following report of the inspection of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA RAILROAD.
The Buffalo division is a single track line, extending from the city of Buffalo to Olean , and south to the Pennsylvania State line , a distance of about seventy- eight and three-quarter miles. The station at Buffalo is an old wooden structure, insufficient and inconvenient for the business of the line. It is intended to use the station now being erected by the New York, West Shore and Buffalo railway, which promises to be equal in every respect with any in the State. The shops for repair of engines and cars are located at East Buffalo.
An inspection of them found the buildings generally old ; some of them temporary structures erected in place of those recently burned . They, as well as the grounds surrounding them, were in as neat and orderly condition as the circumstances would admit. The machinery and working outfit is very good. At East Buffalo the road crosses the tracks of several other lines at grade. All trains come to a full stop before attempting any of these crossings, and then only upon signal .
The general line of this road is good- curves not excessive except for about one- third the distance, where the broken country or hillsides and winding valleys compelled their use. The grades are not excessive, and generally well sustained-very few short sags noticed. The width of roadway is about the usual six rods, and it is fairly cleared of brush and debris-the weeds, however, in many places have been neglected.
For a distance of fourteen miles out of Buffalo, and at other points the fencing has run entirely down, and that through farming districts. This has been done partly at the instance of adjoining land owners, who desire to cultivate the ground as closely to the line of rails as possible. This certainly is a mistake ; at least against safety. All the line should be securely inclosed.
The road bed in the main is of ample width, but on the grade and side hill south of Holland, there is a very narrow bank and on the outside of a curve, the slope commencing directly from the ends of ties. There were other points noticed as being too narrow ; such should be widened. Portable snow fencing was piled up along the line, where most trouble from drifting is experienced. The side ditching of road bed is very good . The masonry is good substantial work on portions of the line. At other points timber bents and piling are used for substructure.
The superstructure of bridges is variable in condition ; somewhat in proportion to the age. None were found seriously defective that were not secured with proper support underneath ; among these was the bridge near Ishua, one hundred and thirty feet span combination Whipple Truss, that rested entirely upon bents, twelve in number. This was unsafe, especially during freshets or the running of ice. Immediately after inspection a preliminary report upon the bridges was furnished the Commission. There are a number of trestles in the road, mostly in good condition and lately rebuilt. No provision of moment, however, has been made at any of the cattle guards , waterways, cattle passes, trestle or truss bridges for safety in case of derailment, except the ties are placed nearer together than on solid road bed. A small ribbon piece, six inches square, bolted at long intervals , to the end of ties, and simply of use to keep them in place under ordinary circumstances, was all the protection found. On the Genesee Valley Canal and the Allegheny River Divisions, the floorings were provided with outside guard timbers, large in size , securely bolted. On curves additional protection is afforded by an inside rail of iron.
The super-structure is in good order, and very well ballasted with gravel and some cinders. Ties, mostly hemlock, distributed at the rate of twenty-eight hundred per mile. They have been suffered to depreciate a littletoo low, an increased number in next year’s renewals is advised .
The road is laid with steel, 60 lbs. per yard, secured with angle plates, or fish bars, the joints broken, the whole in first – class condition. Stub and Lorenze switches, mostly the former, are used .
The station buildings at Ebenezer, Elma, South Wales and Holland are nothing more than small shanties, inconvenient, scantily furnished, with hard benches nailed to the side of the single waiting rooms, dirty, dingy and unwholesome ; entirely unfit for the use of the public. They at least should be thoroughly renovated. The other station buildings, many of which are new, were found to be of modern construction , ample in size, convenient and comfortable, but lacking in cleanliness , yet a few were exceptionally neat.
There are no low overhead bridges on this and the River Division, and only two or three on the Genesee Valley Canal Division ; all of which have subsequently been provided with warnings. The highway crossing signs were found in place with few omissions, and these also have been supplied .
The Genesee Valley Canal Division, extending from Rochester to Hinsdale, a distance of ninety miles, follows generally the winding of the towing-path bank of old canal, and for the purposes of a railroad looks in its location very odd and unsatisfactory. It is almost entirely a curved line, many of which are quite sharp , and most of them would be called unnecessary, if located independent of the canal. The bridging, superstructure, fencing, and generally the station buildings, are nearly without fault, the superstructure, especially noticeable as being quite perfect in surface and line. The rail is steel, 56 lbs. per yard, laid with broken joint, and fastened with angle plates . On all sharp curves iron braces are used on the outside of both rails, and upon every third or fourth tie.
The River Division from Olean to Salamanca and to Pennsylvania State line, a distance of twenty- seven and one-half miles, is also in first-class order, and of excellent construction – very similar to the Canal Division. It was noticed that along the Allegheny River the track is close to, and about twenty feet above it, forming a side-hill cutting, the upper slope of which is very steep, and covered, more or less, with large stones or boulders, and overhanging stumps, liable to be a source of accident. Your inspector would advise that these upper slopes be cleared of everything at all likely to become of themselves an obstruction on the track. A watchman is provided for this portion of the River Division ; the clearing off of the slopes, however, appears to be the safer course to pursue. On the River Division, passing through the Indian Reservation, the Company has seen fit not to erect crossing signs at highways ; at all other points they are in place.
The Bradford Branch of the New York, Lake Erie & Western, and the Rochester & Pittsburgh railroads, two parallel single-track lines, are crossed at grade between Olean and Salamanca ; a tower and watchman furnished, and all trains come to a full stop before crossing.
The Buffalo, Pittsburgh & Western division is a single-track road, commencing at the same station as the main line in the city of Buffalo, and parallels the New York, Chicago & St. Louis road to Brocton ; from thence the road, formerly known as the Buffalo, Corry & Pittsburgh, is utilized to the Pennsylvania State line near Clymer, making a total length of road in this State of about eighty-eight miles.
A branch line, called the Mayville extension, to Chautauqua, three and one-half miles, is also operated.
Between Buffalo and Brocton the road was built in connection with the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, forming substantially a double-track road, but owned and operated as single-track, independent lines. This part of the road is quite new. Laid with sixty pounds steel , oak, chestnut and hemlock ties. All large bridges of best iron construction. There are a number of trestles, but they and all other bridges have standard floorings, and are in every way in excellent condition. The side drainage is good, embankments quite narrow, thinly ballasted with sand or fine gravel, which holds water tenaciously. The whole, being new, it is not sufficiently compact to sustain superstructure in good surface and line without a large outlay of labor.
Between Buffalo and Brocton the road is well fenced with barbed wire, but on the old line, between Brocton and the State line, the fence at many points is entirely gone, which omission the company has commenced to supply. There is almost entirely an absence of cattle guards of any kind at highway crossings . Between Buffalo and Brocton warning signs at highways are in place. Between Brocton and State line, however, many of them are down. The roadway is generally clear of debris . Between Buffalo and Brocton the grades and curves are nominal. From Brocton south the maximum grade is eighty- five feet and of curvature eight degrees. The grades follow the general undulations of surface, and deep sags are frequent . The bridging south of Brocton is mostly trestlework rebuilt within four years. A careful inspection was made of all these in detail ; a few decayed timbers were found. One trestle was considerably dilapidated ; preparation was being made to rebuild it . On all bridges south of Brocton no proper flooring is provided . Ties used of four by ten-inch oak plank insufficient to support derailed wheels. The superstructure on the old part of this line is in good order. Oak ties well kept up ; good and sufficient ballast ; rail mostly steel, angle plate fastenings, and the iron rail in good working order. Two hundred and fifty tons of steel this year, and thirty- five hundred oak ties, in the last two years, have been put on this part of the line .
At Brocton, the track of the Dunkirk and Allegheny Valley road is crossed at grade ; a watchman is stationed at the crossing, and all trains but those of Allegheny Valley road stop before crossing. The station buildings are all in fair condition ; on the new line they are very modern in style of architecture, roomy, comfortably furnished and convenient.
The old portion of the road has also good station facilities, particularly at Mayville, where a large hotel in connection with the station is provided for Chautauqua lake travel. The yard and dock at this station are well platformed, and this may be said of all the stations. They are all sufficiently long to provide a convenient landing for passengers for a train of more than ordinary length, and the planking was found good and sufficient at every station .
All of the passenger equipment is bright, clean, modern and provided with automatic brakes, Miller Couplers and safety chains. The motive power is for the greater part in good repair, much of it being new.
The Olean, Bradford & Warren railroad, a three-feet gauge line between Olean and Pennsylvania State line, a distance in this State of twelve and one- half miles, is also operated by the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Company. Only a short distance of this road was examined, and particularly as to the condition of the bridge over the Allegheny river, which was found to be somewhat insecurely resting upon pile and timber substructure. In general the roads operated by this company are in good reasonable working condition.
Prompt instructions were given by the General Manager to have the defects pointed out thoroughly remedied