South Wales, NY

South Wales, NY, is a hamlet in the town of Wales, Erie County, NY. It was a stop on the Buffalo Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroad station was on the west side of the tracks just to the north of the Warner Hill Road crossing. I haven’t been able to find any photos of the station.

An 1883 inspection report of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad by the New York State Railroad Commissioners noted that:

The station buildings at Ebenezer. Elma, South Wales and Holland are nothing more than small shanties, inconvenient, scantily furnished, with hard benches nailed to the side of the single waiting rooms, dirty, dingy and unwholesome; entirely unfit for the use of the public.

Repairing of replacing the station was apparently not a priority for the railroad as a 1900 inspection report noted that

The station building at New South Wales is also in very poor condition, and should be replaced by a new one.

History

The Buffalo and Washington Railway reached South Wales in late 1870. 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.

Clippings

Station Photographs

Maps

Detail of a 1909 map showing the Pennsylvania Railroad station in South Wales, NY. Century Map Company. 1909. “Erie County 1909, Derby, South Wales.” Historic Map Works.

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 July 3, 1881 timetable of trains between Eldred, PA and Buffalo, NY on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway. The Official Railway Guide, January 1882, p. 77. Found on Google Books.

A May 3, 1891 timetable of trains on the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Division. Traveler’s Official Guide, June 1891. Google Books.

A June 1897 timetable of trains on the Buffalo Division of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad. Travelers Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines, October 1897. Found on Google Books.

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