Silver Creek, NY

A circa 1910 postcard showing the Main Street bridge and adjacent trolley bridge in Silver Creek, NY. eBay.

Silver Creek, NY is a town on the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (New York Central) and Nickel Plate Railroad mainlines and the Chautauqua Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad ran through the town.

Clippings

1886 Inspection Report on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad

October 26, 1886

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern

A 1950 photograph of the New York Central Railroad station in Silver Creek, NY. eBay.

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

Detail of a June 1917 New York Central Railroad valuation map of Silver Creek, NY. “Valuation map – Owner NYC, Section V201, Sheet 13ST,” New York Central System Historical Society, accessed October 19, 2026, https://nycshs.omeka.net/items/show/201389.

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad station was just south of the intersection of Madison Avenue and West Dunkirk Streets in Silver Creek.

Station Photographs

A 1950 photograph of the New York Central Railroad station in Silver Creek, NY. eBay.

An undated photograph, likely from the 1950s or 1960s, of the New York Central Railroad station in Silver Creek, NY. Nickel Plate Historical and Technical Society Archive.

A 1971 photograph of the New York Central Railroad station in Silver Creek, NY.Source unknown.

Other Photographs

A postcard mailed on July 8, 1908 showing the double arch bridge of the Lake Show and Michigan Southern (New York Central) Railroad in Silver Creek, NY. eBay.

A postcard mailed on July 3, 1917 showing the double arch bridge on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (New York Central) Railroad in Silver Creek, NY. eBay.

Maps

Detail of a 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map showing the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad station in Silver Creek, NY. Library of Congress collection.

Timetables

An 1852 timetable for the Buffalo and State Line Rail Road, one of the predecessors of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, which itself became part of the New York Central Railroad. From the collection of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

An April 11, 1853 timetable of trains on the Buffalo and State Line Railroad. Jamestown [NY] Journal, 29 April 1853, p. 3, NYS Historic Newspapers.

A timetable effective November 18, 1894 showing trains departing from Silver Creek, NY on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. NYS Historic Newspapers.

Nickel Plate Road

An undated photograph of the Nickel Plate Road station in Silver Creek, NY. Source unknown.

The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, better known as the Nickel Plate Road, 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 route from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo had been originally surveyed in early 1881 by the Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago Railway Company of New York. This company was merged into the Nickel Plate in April 1881 and it was the Nickel Plate that actually built the line.

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.

The Nickel Plate had a station in Silver Creek. From the photos, it appears to be very near the Lake Shore and Michigan Central (New York Central) Railroad station. See the section on the Pennsylvania Railroad for some caveats about the Nickel Plate and Pennsylvania Railroads in Silver Creek.

Station Photographs

An undated photograph of the Nickel Plate Road station in Silver Creek, NY. Source unknown.

Maps

Detail of a map from a public timetable effective April 27, 1947 showing the Nickel Plate Road stations in Western New York. wx4.org.

Timetables

A timetable effective June 2, 1889 of trains running in Western New York on the New York, Saint Louis and Chicago Railroad, commonly referred to as the “Nickel Plate Railroad.” The Chautauqua News, Sherman, NY, 6 August 1890, p. 5, NYS Historic Newspapers.

A 1913-1914 Nickel Plate Road shippers’ guide listed the following customers in Silver Creek:

Blanding, W. E., coal and ice. (See note 2)
Brand, George P., & Sons, hardware, tile.
Chautauqua and Erie Grape Co. (P. O. Westfield), grapes.
Columbia Postal Supply Co., manufacturers postal cancelling machines.
Cook Bros., flour and feed mill, lime and builders’ supplies.
Howes, S., Co., The, manufacturers grain cleaning and separating machinery.
Huntley Manufacturing Co., manufacturer grain cleaning and separating machinery.
Invincible Grain Cleaning Co., The, manufacturers grain cleaning and separating machinery.
Kofoed, Peter, manufacturer, parlor furniture frames.
Madigan & Co., lumber and builders supplies.
Moss, E. S. (P. O. Brocton), grapes.
People’s Electric Light and Power Co.
Shelly, F. M. ( P. O. Sheridan), grapes.
Shofner. George H., hardware.
Silver Creek Preserving Co., The, canned goods.
Silver Creek Upholstering Co., The, manufacturers parlor furniture
South Shore Growers mid Shippers Association, grapes.
Stewart Underwear Co., ladies’ underwear
Welch Grape Juice Co. (Westfield. N. Y ), grapes.

Pennsylvania Railroad

The low sun glinting off the Nickel Plate rails underscores a trio of Pennsylvania Alco RS-3’s at Silver Creek, NY. in September of 1967. The operator has come out of his shack to inspect the train. David Burroughs/railpictures.net.

I don’t know if the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) had a separate passenger and freight station in Silver Creek, or used those of the Nickel Plate Road (NKP). The 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the station and freight house next to the tracks marked Pennsylvania Railroad, but the PRR and NKP shared track and station along the line between Brocton and Buffalo. If anyone knows any more about the PRR in Silver Creek, please contact me.

Maps

Detail of a 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map showing the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad station in Silver Creek, NY. Library of Congress collection.

Detail of a 1952 Pennsylvania Railroad Central Region map showing the lines in Western New York. Pennsylvania Railroad. 1952. Found on Multimodalways.com.

Timetables

A timetable on the Pittsburgh Division of the Buffalo, New York and Pittsburgh Railroad effective November 23, 1884. Silver Creek (NY) Local. February 6, 1885.

Timetable of trains departing Sherman, NY on the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad effective November 10, 1889. The Chautauqua News. Sherman, NY. June 11, 1890.

A June 14, 1891 timetable of trains on the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad Pittsburg Division. Traveler’s Official Guide, June 1891. Google Books.

A timetable of trains on the Pennsylvania Railroad Chautauqua Branch effective November 29, 1903. Travelers Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines, February 1904. Found on Google Books.

Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company

A postcard mailed in 1910 showing a trolley on Main Street in Silver Creek, NY. eBay.

The Buffalo and Lake Erie Traction Company operated a fleet of electric interurban cars along the southern shore of Lake Erie between Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA, as well as operating street cars in Erie and Dunkirk, Fredonia, and Hamburg, NY. It was formed in 1906 and went bankrupt in 1925, The Buffalo and Erie Railway operated the former B&LE route between Buffalo and Erie, but only lasted until 1933.