Westfield, NY is a village in Chautauqua County near the shores of Lake Erie. The main lines of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad and New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (commonly known as the Nickel Plate) ran east-west through the village, as did the Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company, an electric railroad. The Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad and the Chautauqua Traction Company came from the south and connected to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and Nickel Plate railroad, respectively.

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad (LS&MS) ran westward from Buffalo to Chicago. It operated as a separate company for only eight years, 1869-1877, and then was controlled by, and later merged into, the New York Central Railroad. The line is still used and is part of the CSX railroad system.

The first predecessor of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern in Westfield was the Buffalo and State Line Railroad which completed its line through Westfield in January 1852. The line was later operated by the Buffalo and Erie Railroad (1857 – 1869), Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (1869 – 1877), New York Central and Hudson River Railroad (1877 – 1914), and New York Central Railroad (1914 – 1968).

Passenger Station and Freight House

The LS&MS had multiple passenger stations and freight houses in Westfield over the years. It appears that until 1904 the passenger station and freight house were on the north side of the tracks and yard. In 1904 the railroad built a new stone passenger station between English Street and the tracks just east of the point where North Portage Street crossed the tracks on a bridge. The station was also the northern terminus of the Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad which exchanged freight and passengers with the LS&MS here. The passenger station was added to the  National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and the station is still standing and as of 2025 was in use as an art gallery and jewelry store.

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern had a separate freight house located just east of the intersection of English Street and East Pearl Street. The building still stands and was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

The Chautauqua Traction Company did not connect with the LS&MS, but their track ran down English Street in front of the passenger station, making it easy for passengers to connect between the two railroads.

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Nickel Plate Road

The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, better known as the Nickel Plate, built a line along the south shore of Lake Erie from Buffalo to Chicago in 1881. It was built to compete with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, which at the time had a monopoly on freight between Buffalo and Chicago via Cleveland and Detroit. The Nickel Plate Road’s role as a competitor to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern was short lived as it was acquired by the Lake Shore in October 1882, just a few days after the first train ran the length of the line. Though controlled by the LS&MS, it continued to operate as an independent company.

In late 1915 the New York Central, which owned both the Nickel Plate and Lake Shore Railroad, was informed that owning both railroads was in violation of anti-trust laws. On July 5, 1916 the Nickel Plate was sold to the Van Sweringen brothers, successful real estate developers in Cleveland. The Nickel Plate was primarily a freight railroad and was known for the quality of its locomotives, rolling stock, and track work.  In 1964 the Nickel Plate merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). In 1982 the N&W merged with the Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railroad, which still operates the route through Westfield.

Passenger Station and Freight House

The Nickel Plate passenger station was located between East Pearl and West Pearl Streets and the freight house was just to the east of East Pearl Street.

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Chautauqua Traction Company

In 1906 the Chautauqua Traction (CT) Company originally ran from Jamestown to Mayville. It later built an extension along Portage Road between Mayville and Westfield and the first CT trolley arrived in Westfield on September 24, 1906. In 1909 the Chautauqua Traction Company extended its line to the village of Barcelona on the shores of Lake Erie, a section known as the “Hop Toad.” This segment was not successful and was abandoned in 1920.

The Chautauqua Traction ran on a private right-of-way between Mayville and Westfield. It connected with Portage Street at the intersection with Campbell Street and followed Portage Street north through the village. It also had a small spur that ran down English Street and connected to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and Nickel Plate passenger stations to provide connecting passenger service.

The CT had a station in Westfield, but it is unclear where. The Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad built a three-story station north of Main Street and west of Portage street after the Main Street viaduct was constructed in 1909. The bottom floor was at the level of the JW&NW track which ran through the ravine and it appears that the Chautauqua Traction Company used the top floor for its station. I don’t know what station they used prior to 1909.

The Chautauqua Traction Company abandoned service between Westfield and Ashville in 1926.

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Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway and

Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad

The Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway was a steam-powered railroad that 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. In 1907, the Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company, an interurban line, purchased the JC&LE the two companies cooperated but continued to operate independently.

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.

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.

Approaching Westfield from the south, the JC&LE/JW&NW ran north along the Chautauqua Creek gorge, to the west of Portage Street. It passed under the Nickel Plate Railroad and then turned east, crossed under Portage Street and connected with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad at the Lake Shore station.

Passenger Station

In addition to exchanging passengers and freight with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad at the LS&MS station, the JC&LE/JW&NW had its own station in Westfield on the north side of Main Street between Portage Street and Water Street.

The original station was built sometime after 1902 by the Jamestown, Chautauqua and Lake Erie Railway. The station was built in the Chautauqua Gorge and was below the level of the streets in the main part of the village. At the time, Main Street ran down the hill into the gorge and crossed Chautauqua Creek on an iron bridge just to the west of the station. The two-story station was level with Main Street.

Around 1909 a long viaduct was built carrying Main Street over the gorge, almost directly on top of the JC&LE station. This viaduct also carried the tracks of the Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company across the gorge, enabling the company to provide continuous service from Buffalo to Erie, PA.

Sometime after the viaduct was completed, the railroad added a third story to the station so that the top floor was even with and connected to the Main Street viaduct. Passengers had to walk (or later ride an elevator) three flights of stairs to get between the JW&NW tracks to Main Street. The JW&NW exchanged freight with the Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company at this station and goods had to be transported up or down the three flights.

In its later years, the top two floors of the station were removed and it was reduced to a small, one-story building.

In November 1914 the JW&NW proposed to build a line along Portage Street from Martin Wright Road to Factory Street, but it doesn’t seem like the line was actually constructed. When the Chautauqua Traction Company was abandoned in 1926, the JW&NW built a connection south of Main Street from its line to the former Chautauqua Traction line that ran up Portage street to the passenger and freight stations on Union Street just south of Main Street. This allowed the JW&NE to directly transfer freight to the Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company.

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Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company

The Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company passed through Westfield on its line between Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania. This electric railroad followed Main Street on its way through town.

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Clippings

Learn More

• 1939 Westfield, NY on the New York Central Railroad. Note that the video says it was filmed in Ripley, NY, but in reality it was done in Westfield.