Lewiston, NY

View of the New York Central Railroad station in Lewiston, NY. The tracks in the foreground at the bottom of the stairs are the Great Gorge Route electric railway tracks running down Water Street. Photo posted by the Historical Association of Lewiston and Museum on Facebook.

Lewiston, NY is a village on the Niagara River north of Niagara Falls. It was served by a number of railroads over the years, including the New York Central (NYC) Railroad Niagara Falls Branch, the Rome Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad (later part of the New York Central), Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway, and the Niagara Gorge Railroad.

New York Central Niagara Falls Branch

The Niagara Falls Branch of the New York Central Railroad ran from Buffalo to Lewiston, passing through Tonawanda, Niagara Falls, and Suspension Bridge. It ran along the edge of the Niagara River north from Suspension Bridge and descended to water level when it reached Lewiston. In Lewiston it served multiple industries and customers. It also connected here with the Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway, which ran north of Lewiston to Youngstown, a distance of just over seven miles.

The New York Central had a passenger station in the village of Lewiston on the east side of Water Street just north of Center Street. Today a parking lot for the Lewiston Landing Park stands where the station used to be. The station was just across from the boat landing where passengers could connect to steamships operating across Lake Ontario to Toronto and through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Thousand Islands tourist area.

The branch from Suspension Bridge to Lewiston was abandoned in November of 1950.

The docks of the Niagara Navigation Company, which operated steamships on Lake Ontario, at Lewiston, NY. This dock was directly across Water Street from the New York Central passenger station.eBay.com.

New York Central Hojack Line

The second major steam railroad to service Lewiston was the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg (RW&O) Railroad who had their Lewiston Heights station, south of the village on the side of the Niagara Escarpment. The line between Oswego and Niagara Falls was commonly referred to as the “Hojack line.”

The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad (RW&O) completed construction of the line from Lewiston to Oswego on June 12, 1876. The RW&O operated the line until March 1891 when the company was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. The line was operated by the New York Central (1891 – 1968), the Penn Central Railroad (1968 – 1976) and Conrail. The line was redundant with others operated by Conrail and by the late 1970s the entire line between Oswego and Niagara Falls had been abandoned or, in a few cases, sold to smaller railroads to operate small sections.

When it was built, the RW&O ran from the north into downtown Lewiston where it had a connection with the New York Central Railroad. The predecessor of the RW&O, the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, was organized in 1868 and was planned as part of a larger system connecting Boston with the West. As part of this plan, the railroad envisioned a railroad bridge across the Niagara River connecting Lewiston with Queenston, Ontario. By the late 1870s it was apparent that the railroad bridge would not be built, leaving the RW&O with only a connection to the Lewiston branch of the New York Central Railroad and no connections to other roads extending to the West.

To ensure better connections, in 1880, the RW&O organized and then leased the Niagara Falls Branch Railroad Company. This company built a new railroad, starting from a point four miles north-east of the village at Lewiston Junction, and running to Suspension Bridge, where it connected to different railroads heading west. This new line bypassed the main village of Lewiston, passing nearly three-quarters of a mile from its business center. This new line ran along the face of the Niagara Escarpment, a steep cliff that separated the lower area along Lake Ontario with the higher ground to the south. The track going uphill from Lewiston Junction to Suspension Bridge was much different than the rest of the railroad which was mostly straight and almost entirely flat.

The Hojack line from Suspension Bridge to Lewiston was abandoned in the late 1960s and the track torn up during the construction of the Niagara Power Project.

The top of Old Lewiston Hill with “Hojack” Railroad tracks in the foreground and Lewiston Heights Station to the left. Photo from Niagara History Center Collection found on Facebook.com

The Lewiston Heights Station sat on the cliff just east of Lewiston village. Originally the road going up the escarpment between Lewiston and Lewiston heights crossed the train tracks at grade (as seen in this photo). Later the road passed under the tracks, which were on a short bridge, as shown below.

Postcard showing the “Mountain Road” connecting Lewiston and Lewiston Heights, NY. This road crossed under the tracks of the New York Central’s “Hojack” line. The Lewiston Heights passenger station is visible just behind the second train in the center of the photo. Historical Society of Lewiston and Museum post on Facebook.

Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway

The Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway was a short, 8-mile-long, railroad that ran between the two towns. It ran through the fertile fruit-growing areas of the region and carried apples, peaches, and grapes to Lewiston, where it connected with the New York Central. It also carried passengers and connected with the New York Central at its station in downtown Lewiston.

Niagara Gorge Railroad

Lewiston was the northern terminus of the Niagara Gorge Railroad, part of the Great Gorge Route, an electric interurban railway which ran at the bottom of the Niagara Gorge (at water level) from Niagara Falls to Lewiston.

Clippings

Station Photographs

The top of Old Lewiston Hill with “Hojack” Railroad tracks in the foreground and Lewiston Heights Station to the left. Photo from Niagara History Center Collection found on Facebook.com

A photo showing two trollies in front of the New York Central Railroad passenger station in Lewiston, NY. Posted by Samuel Granieri on the Facebook “Vintage Niagara Falls U.S.A. Photos” group.

Other Photographs

A 1950s aerial photo of the area just south of Lewiston, NY. The railroad tracks running diagonally from the middle of the left side of the photo are the New York Central Railroad “Hojack Line”, formerly the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad running along the Niagara Escarpment. The suspension bridge crossing the Niagara River between Lewiston and Queenstown, Ontario, Canada is in the upper-right part of the photo. Photo posted by the Historical Association of Lewiston and Museum on their Facebook page.

A Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway trolley car coming east up Center Street in Lewiston, NY in 1897. Photo posted by Dick Hambridge on the Vintage Niagara Falls Facebook page and reposted by the Historical Association of Lewiston and Museum on their Facebook page.

An undated photo of a Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway train near the tunnel under Center Street. The railway went out of business in 1950 and I suspect this photo is likely from the 19040s. Photo posted by the Historical Association of Lewiston and Museum on Facebook.

A postcard mailed in 1910 showing a trolley car traveling down Main Street in Lewiston, NY. There was no Main Street in Lewiston at the time and I suspect this was a Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway trolley going downhill west on Center Street. Postcard found on eBay.

A photo postcard of the suspension bridge between Lewiston, NY and Queenstown, Ontario, Canada. Note the trolley car in the bottom left of the photo and the trolley tracks across the bridge. Photo postcard found on eBay.

A trolley in front of the Angler’s Retreat in Lewiston, NY. Found on eBay.com.

A photo postcard showing the tracks of the Great Gorge Route electric railroad passing under the suspension bridge over the Niagara River between Lewiston, NY and Queenstown, Ontario, Canada. Photo from the Niagara Falls Public Library local history collection posted by the Historical Association of Lewiston and Museum on their Facebook page.

Maps

A January 1904 map of the New York Central Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Division. Official Railway Guide, January 1904.

A 1908 map showing the railroads and trolley lines in Lewiston, NY. Century Map Company. 1908. “Niagara County, 1908, Lewiston.” Historic Map Works.

An annotated 1908 map showing the railroads and trolley lines in Lewiston, NY. Author’s illustration based on Century Map Company. 1908. “Niagara County, 1908, Lewiston.” Historic Map Works.

Map showing the railroads operating in Lewiston, NY: the New York Central Niagara Falls Branch (light blue), the “Hojack Line” (blue), the Niagara Gorge Railroad (red), and the Youngstown and Lewiston Frontier Railroad (green). Author’s illustration from a 1933 edition of a 1901 Niagara Falls topographic map.

A map showing the original route (highlighted in blue) of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad into Lewiston, NY and the route taken by the railroad following the completion of the Niagara Falls Branch Railroad (highlighted in green). Author’s illustration based on 1894 and 1900 topographic maps.

Detail of a 1923 map showing the New York Central station in Lewiston, NY. Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

A 1908 map showing the town of Lewiston, NY. The original route of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad is shown as a dotted line going northeast from the northeast corner of the village of Lewiston. The later route, built in 1880, goes from south through Model City and then west along the Niagara Escarpment through the southeast corner of the village before turning south to Suspension Bridge and Niagara Falls. The locations of the River View, Lewiston Heights, and Model City stations are shown on the map. Century Map Company. 1908. “Niagara County, 1908, Lewiston Town.” Historic Map Works collection.

A route of the “Hojack Line” from Oswego to Niagara Falls, NY. Author’s illustration based on a 1929 New York Central map.

Timetables

A June 27, 1881 timetable of trains on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad “Hojack Line” between Oswego and Suspension Bridge, NY. “Travelers’ Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines, July 1881.” Found on Google Books.

A portion of an October 2, 1887 timetable for the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad showing trains on the “Hojack” line between Oswego and Niagara Falls, NY. Source unknown.

A September 20, 1897 timetable of trains on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad “Hojack Line” between Oswego and Suspension Bridge, NY. “Travelers’ Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines, October 1897.” Found on Google Books

A newspaper advertisement listing the times of trains departing from Lewiston and Youngstown, NY on the Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway. The Youngstown [NY] News, 5 August 1898, p. 3, NYS Historic Newspapers.

A February 28, 1902 Newspaper ad showing the departure times of trains from Lewiston and Youngstown on the Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway. The Youngstown [NY] News, 28 February 1902, p. 4, NYS Historic Newspapers.