Lockport, NY

Map showing the routes of the New York Central (NYC) Falls Road line (blue), the NYC Lockport Branch (light blue), and Erie Railroad (green) in the Lockport, NY area. Author’s illustration based on topographic maps.

Lockport is a city and the county seat of Niagara County, NY. It was named because of the many locks on the Erie Canal located in the city.

The New York Central was the main railroad in Lockport. One of its predecessors, the Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, arrived in Lockport from Niagara Falls in 1838. This line has remained in operation since that point and Lockport is currently served by CSX, which arrives from Niagara Falls and the Falls Road Railroad, which operates from Lockport east to Brockport, NY.

The Erie Railroad‘s Lockport Branch ran from Tonawanda to Lockport. The line was constructed in 1878 by the Lockport and Buffalo Railroad. In 1898 it was leased by the Buffalo and Lockport Railway, an electric railroad. The line was later operated by the Buffalo, Lockport and Olcott Beach Railway, the Buffalo & Niagara Electric Street Railway, and the International Railway Company. In 1951 the Erie Railroad began operating the line again and the line was operated by the Erie Lackawanna Railroad (1960 – 1976) before being abandoned in the mid-1970s with the creation of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).

New York Central Railroad

This 1913 postcard shows the New York Central Railroad passenger station in Lockport, NY. eBay.com.

The New York Central Falls Road branch entered the city from the east and passed through the city. Just west of downtown the line split at Lockport Junction. The main Falls Road line continued west to Suspension Bridge while the Lockport Branch tracks split and headed southwest to North Tonawanda.

Map showing the routes of the Erie Railroad (green) and New York Central Railroad (blue) and the locations of their respective passenger stations in downtown Lockport, NY. Author’s illustration from a 1896 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

History

The Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad was completed in 1838 between the two towns. It was sometimes called the “Strap Railroad” because it consisted of straps of iron on wooden rails. For the first year the line was operated by horse power which was quickly replaced by steam engines.

In 1851, the Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad was sold to the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, which came under the control of the New York Central Railroad in 1853 where is was known as the Falls Branch or the Falls Road. The line was operated by the New York Central (1853 – 1968), the Penn Central Railroad (1968 – 1976), and Conrail (1976 – 1999). During the 1999 breakup of Conrail the line was assigned to CSX who operates the segment between Niagara Falls and Lockport.

According to a document from the New York Central Historical Society, the NYC had a two-stall engine house, yard, and passenger depot in Lockport. The engine house and yard were located west of the city at Lockport Junction and the passenger station was located downtown.

The New York Central’s passenger station was a large building in downtown Lockport that was often referred to as the Lockport Union Station, even though it only served the New York Central. This is due to its location on Union Street, just east of Spring Street. The station has been very badly damaged over the years and is now an empty shell of walls with no roof. A group is trying to restore the station and make it a hub for other railroad-related activities in the area. You can learn more at https://www.facebook.com/LockportNYCentralTrainStation and https://www.newyorkcentraltrainstation.org

Station Photographs

This 1913 postcard shows the New York Central Railroad passenger station in Lockport, NY. eBay.com.

New York Central station in Lockport, NY in the late 1800s. Photo posted by Lockport New York Central Train Station on Union Street on Facebook.

The New York Central station in Lockport, NY. Posted by Lockport New York Central Train Station on Union Street on Facebook.

The New York Central Railroad station in Lockport, NY. Historic American Engineering Record collection at the Library of Congress.

A photo of the New York Central Railroad station in Lockport, NY. Source unknown.

A postcard dated 1911 showing the New York Central station in Lockport, NY. Postcard found on eBay.com.

Maps

Detail of an 1989 Sanborn fire insurance map showing the New York Central Railroad freight house and passenger station in Lockport, NY. Author’s illustration from an 1989 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

Timetables

A May 7, 1855 timetable of trains from Rochester, NY on the New York Central Railroad. Rochester [NY] Daily American, 8 June 1855, p. 1, NYS Historic Newspapers.

A July 18, 1948 timetable of trains on the New York Central Falls Road branch. New York Central. Form 1001. System Timetable. Table 52. Found on Wikimedia Commons.

Erie Railroad

The International Railway Company (IRC) station in Lockport, NY. This was formerly the Erie Railroad station prior to 1898 when the Erie leased its line from Tonawanda to Lockport to the Buffalo and Lockport Railway, a predecessor of the IRC. Postcard found on eBay.

The Erie had a fleeting presence in Lockport. The Lockport and Buffalo Railroad connected Lockport to Tonawanda in 1878. The New York, Lake Erie and Western (Erie) Railroad leased the Lockport and Buffalo in July 1880 and merged them into the Erie in 1895. By 1898 the Erie had leased the 14 mile line between North Tonawanda and Lockport to the Buffalo and Lockport Railway, an electric-powered railroad.

The Erie began operating the line again in 1951 and continued until it merged into the Erie Lackawanna Railroad in 1960.

1898 map showing the location of the New York, Lake Erie and Western (Erie) Railroad station in Lockport, NY. From an 1898 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

The Erie’s passenger station and freight house were located just north of the Erie Canal, west of Transit Street, and south of West Main Street/West Avenue.

Station Photographs

Maps

1898 map showing the location of the New York, Lake Erie and Western (Erie) Railroad station in Lockport, NY. From an 1898 Sanborn fire insurance map from the Library of Congress collection.

Timetables

Timetable of trains on the Erie Railway main line between Buffalo and Hornell effective June 1, 1881. The Nunda [NY] News, 3 June 1882.

A timetable effective June 4, 1893 of trains on the Erie Railroad Niagara Falls Branch and Lockport Branch. From an Erie Railroad System Timetable for August 1893 found on jon-n-bevliles.net.

Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad

History

The Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway was an electric interurban railway that opened on November 17, 1908 between Rochester and Lockport, where it connected to the International Railway Company for service into Buffalo. In 1917 the company was reorganized as the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad. The company ran until April 30, 1931 when the company folded and the line was abandoned.

Timetables

A timetable for the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway effective November 4, 1909. eBay.com, edited by the author.

A 1909 timetable of the Buffalo, Rochester and Lockport Railway. Found on eBay.

Station Photographs

Clippings

Photographs

Trolley tracks on Main Street in Lockport, NY circa 1910. Postcard found on eBay.

A trolley on Main Street in Lockport, NY. Postcard found on eBay.

The view down Main Street in Lockport, NY in 1908. Postcard found on eBay.

A CSX train going over the 1902-built “upside down” bridge over the Erie Canal in Lockport, NY. Photo by Jackson Alexander who posted it to the Facebook “Railroad Photos and Memories , Western NY and PA” group.

The former New York Central (NYC) Railroad yard in Lockport, NY on February 4, 2021. The yard is now owned and operated by the Falls Road Railroad, part of the Genesee Valley Transportation company, which operates 42 miles of former NYC trackage in Niagara, Orleans, and Monroe counties. Photo by Jackson Alexander who posted it to the Facebook “Railroad Photos and Memories , Western NY and PA” group.