Salamanca is located on the banks of the Allegheny River and was served by the Erie Railroad (in red above), the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway (in blue) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (in green).
History
Salamanca is located within the land of the Seneca Indian Reservation and until the early 1860s its only inhabitants were Native Americans. When the Erie built its line though here, there was but a single water tank representing “civilization.” Salamanca was originally named “Bucktooth”, after the crooked teeth of an old man who provided fish to the early settlers. The names was changed to Salamanca in honor of the Sig. Don Jose de Salamanca, the Marquis of Salamanca Spain and an early investor in the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, whose eastern terminus was in Salamanca.
Today
From a railroad perspective, Salamanca is a shadow of its former self. The Erie passenger station, coaling tower and some miscellaneous buildings survive today. All are unused and in decaying shape. The BR&P (later B&O) station is restored and operated as the Salamanca Rail Museum. The BR&P East Salamanca station is used as a yard office by the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, but the huge yard, roundhouse and locomotive repair shops are all gone.
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway
The bulk of the BR&P’s facilities were in East Salamanca, but they did have a passenger station on Main Street just north of the Erie Railroad tracks. This station still exists and is operated as the Salamanca Rail Museum.
Click here for more information and photos about the BR&P Passenger Station in Salamanca.
Erie Railroad
Salamanca grew in large part due to the influence of the Erie Railroad. Salamanca was on the main line of the Erie Railroad and the first non-Indian buildings in the city were related to the operation of the railroad. According to an 1866 book entitled “Over the Atlantic and Great Western Railway”, Salamanca began to grow rapidly in 1863 when the Atlantic and Great Western Railway joined the Erie at Salamanca. When the connection was initially made, three small wooden buildings were built at the junction; an Erie freight house and a depot and freight house for the A&GW. By 1866, the Erie had built brick shops, sheds and other buildings about a mile to the east of the junction. The A&GW had begun construction on an 11-stall roundhouse, a 250’x100′ car shop, a blacksmith’s shop, a fitting shop, a through freight house, a local freight house, and an enclosed water tank. As the years progressed, Salamanca emerged as a major city on the Erie Railroad. It boasted two roundhouses and a large yard.
Click here for more information about the Erie Railroad and its predecessors in Salamanca.
Pennsylvania Railroad
Click here to learn more about the Pennsylvania Railroad in Salamanca.