Spring Brook is a hamlet in the town of Elma, Erie County, New York and was a station on the Buffalo Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. I have not been able to find any photos of the station or any definitive information as to where it was located. I believe it was at the railroad crossing with Pound Road, about one mile north of the main part of the hamlet.
“The Centuries in Elma” (see Learn More below) notes that in 1868 “A temporary building was put up for the Spring Brook station.” The same document notes that in 1890 “A plank sidewalk was built this summer from the Spring Brook railroad station, south to the north side of the plank road in Spring Brook Village, then along the northeast side of the road to the east line, of the Thayer Place; total distance about one and three-quarter miles.”
In August 1891, Charles W. Harrah of Detroit purchased 80 acres of land near the Spring Brook station and laid out a housing development over over 900 lots. To bring potential buyers out, he arranged for people to ride for free on the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad from Buffalo to Spring Brook on Thursday, September 17th, Saturday, September 19th and Tuesday, September 22nd to see and purchase lots, which were priced between $17 and $35. He ran the free trains again on September 28th and October 1st, 17th and 23rd. By the end of October he had sold 808 of the 923 lots. Despite the many people who purchased the lots, only two families actually moved out to Spring Brook.
History
The Buffalo and Washington Railway reached Spring Brook in 1868. In 1872 the company was renamed as the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway. The line was operated by the Buffalo and Washington (1870 – 1872), the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway (1872 – 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), Conrail (1976 – 1999) and the Norfolk Southern Railroad (1999 – 2007). In 2008 Norfolk Southern leased the segment from Buffalo to Machias Junction to the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad.
In addition to long distance trains from Buffalo south to places like Washington, DC, the Pennsylvania Railroad operated a commuter train service between Buffalo and East Aurora. Passenger service on the line lasted until 1973 when the Penn Central Railroad stopped service on the line.
Clippings
There are no clipping yet. Be patient!
Station Photographs
Other Photographs
Maps
Timetables
Learn More
- Sigman, Fred Irvine, Editor. 1956. “The Centuries in Elma, A Compilation of Historical Accounts by many Authors relative to the History of the Town of Elma, Erie County, New York.” Downloaded from the “Elma NY History” Facebook group.
- Wikipedia. “Elma, New York“