The Arcade and Attica Railroad is a
shortline and
heritage railroad
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
that hauls freight between
Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game
** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware
** Arcad ...
and
North Java, New York. The railroad originally connected Arcade with
Attica
Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...
until the
right of way
A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...
from North Java to Attica was abandoned in 1957 due to flooding on the
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small tributary of the Niagara River in Western New York, United States. After rising in Wyoming County, the stream flows through Genesee County before forming part of the boundary between Erie County and Niagara County ...
.
The ARA's main business is handling agricultural products such as
soybeans
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed.
Soy is a key source of f ...
,
corn
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
,
fertilizer
A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...
,
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
, dairy feed, and other commodities between Arcade and North Java. The ARA also runs passenger
excursion
An excursion is a trip, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes.
Public transportatio ...
trains from May to October on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Passengers can ride the round trip from Arcade to Curriers Station on restored 1920s-era
Boonton
Boonton () is a town in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline o ...
passenger coaches as well as a covered gondola pulled by one of the vintage Centercab Diesels (#113, built in 1959, and #112, built in 1945).
As of 2024, ARA uses its newly acquired 1952 RS3m #114 to handle freight runs from Arcade to the Reisdorf Brothers feed mill in North Java. However, the railroad's
ALCo
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
Arcade & Attica 18 returned from a full rebuild in August 2024, meaning the General Electric centercab locomotives will take a break from frequent service.
History
The Arcade and Attica Railroad was the latest in a long succession of railroads planned and built through the Tonawanda Valley in
Wyoming County.
In 1836, the Attica and Sheldon Railroad was proposed, but no construction ever took place.
In 1852, the Attica and Alleghany Valley Railroad was incorporated to build a
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...
from Attica, through Arcade to the
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
state line. In 1853, construction began and most of the road was graded between Attica and Arcade. Construction was discontinued in 1855, with the property was sold at foreclosure on February 2, 1856.
On February 28, 1870, the Attica and Arcade Railroad was organized and began purchasing the right of way with construction of the line scheduled for completion by October 1, 1876. The railroad went bankrupt in 1873, and construction remained uncompleted.
On April 5, 1880, the Tonawanda Valley Railroad was incorporated with major financial backing from the
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...
. The company planned to build a long narrow gauge line from Attica, through Curriers Corners, to Sardinia to connect with the Buffalo, New York, and Pennsylvania Railroad. On September 11, 1880, the first train ran on the line from Attica to Curriers Corners. In October 1880, the Tonawanda Valley Extension Railroad was organized to extend the line from Curriers to Sardinia. By that winter the company changed its decision and began building to Arcade, rather than Sardinia.
By May 1, 1881, the line had reached Arcade. On July 14, 1881, the Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad was formed to extend the line from Arcade to Cuba via Sandusky and Rushford. On August 27, 1881, the Tonawanda Valley Railroad, Tonawanda Valley Extension Railroad, and Tonawanda Valley and Cuba were merged into the new Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad. By September 4, 1882, the line was complete between Attica and Cuba. The Company built facilities to transfer to the standard-gauge Erie Railroad in Attica and Cuba. In Cuba, the company made a connection with the Bradford, Eldred and Cuba, another narrow-gauge railroad controlled by the Erie.
By September 1884, the company was defaulting on its bonds and on November 29, the company went into receivership. The company's situation declined further when Bradford, Eldred, and Cuba went bankrupt. The company struggled until October 30, 1886, when it stopped its service from Cuba to Sandusky. On January 19, 1891, the section from Attica to Freedom was sold to bondholders and in May of that year, the Attica and Freedom Railroad was formed. The line went bankrupt and was sold in April 1894.
On October 13, 1894, the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad (BA&A) was formed to operate the line. The new management
switched Switched may refer to:
* Switched (band)
Switched (previously depicted as Sw1tched) was an American nu metal band from Cleveland, Ohio.
History
Forming in 1999 as Sw1tch, the band played shows around Ohio and released a demo entitled ''Fu ...
the line to standard gauge. By January 1895, the Attica to Curriers section was operating again.
By December of that year, the line was open and running from Attica to Arcade. By December 1897, the company had laid a segment to connect with the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
near Arcade. By January 1902, the company had built a line from Arcade to Sandusky with the ultimate goal of reaching Crystal Lake. In August of that year, a flood washed out much of the line between Arcade and Sandusky along with the connection to the Pennsylvania Railroad.
In 1904, the BA&A was sold to the
Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad
The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad company that formerly operated in western and north central Pennsylvania and western New York (state), New York. It was created in 1893 by the merger and consolidation of several smaller loggi ...
(B&S) which connected the BA&A in Arcade. The B&S operated the line until 1913 when it changed to being operated under lease from the Goodyear family by W. L. Kann of Pittsburgh. The railroad lost enough money in such a short time that Kann ended the agreement on his end. By 19161917, the foreclosure of the B&S and W&B forced the Buffalo, Attica, and Arcade into abandonment.
On May 23, 1917, the Arcade and Attica Railroad (A&A) was formed by local investors to operate the line. The line had its ups and downs but survived. It had the enviable distinction of not laying off a single employee during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.
In 1941, the company purchased a
44-ton diesel locomotive from
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
.
The diesel locomotive was more dependable and much less expensive to operate than the steam locomotives. Many people credit this locomotive with preventing the A&A from going bankrupt in 1941.
The A&A operated passenger service until 1951 when the Erie stopped providing a service on the Buffalo-Hornell line, including the connection with the A&A in Attica. In 1957, the line was abandoned between Attica and North Java because of severe washouts in the spring of that year.

During the 1960s, the A&A struck its mark when
Borden's debuted the non-dairy creamer Cremora. The Arcade facility was the sole Cremora production plant in the United States until its closure in 1970. The A&A brought in the raw supplies and shipped out the finished product across the U.S., its orange and white boxcars becoming iconic in the process.
On May 27, 2017, the railroad held a celebration marking the corporation's centenary. As part of the celebration, steam locomotive No. 18 was turned on the wye to face the railroad south for the first time in its history. Until that weekend, it had always faced north. Other events included speeches at the station, employee photographs, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a cake-cutting at the Curriers Depot.
Excursion line
Railroad freight traffic started to decline due to advances made by the automobile and trucking industries following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Arcade & Attica (A&A) was no exception. A solution was to purchase a light steam locomotive and a couple of passenger coaches for a tourist excursion service. After a few years of searching, A&A management purchased #18, a
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
from the
Boyne City Railroad in Michigan, and two commuter coaches from the
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad wa ...
. For 27 days, the A&A offered passenger excursions in 1962. The following year, #14, a
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...
from the
Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad
The Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad is a Class III shortline railroad that operates of track in Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Its main line runs from Rockland, Michigan, to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and it also own ...
, and more coaches were purchased. Now, the A&A runs all six coaches per run with an open-air gondola used by the United States Air Force. In addition to regular seasonal excursion services, the A&A also hold various events such as their annual Maple Run which takes riders to the mill at North Java. They also hold Murder Mysteries, Train Robberies and World War 2 weekends, which offer unique and interactive experiences. They also offer alcohol-themed evening runs on certain weekends. There has also been a train for the Winterfest town celebration, a low mileage 2030 minute run with the coaches to the Arcade Junction and back to the Depot. In addition to this, the A&A is usually always able to accommodate special Charter runs, such as the 2023 Centercab Charter which functioned as a send-off to the Centercabs retiring from freight with the arrival of RS3m #406/#114.
Over the years the A&A coaches have sported four distinct schemes. These were the iconic orange they wear today, a bare orange scheme with a red stripe near the roof in the 70's known as "Redline", a return to form in the 80's incorporating the large font with the "Redline" scheme, and an era where the coaches were painted a pseudo Pullman Green, due to A&A's involvement in a movie and public opinion.
In many ways, this can be viewed as either a throwback to Arcade's original two combine coaches: 301 and 302; which were kept green from inception to passenger service abandonment, or their original heritage of being Pullman green on the DL&W.

After the green started to fade from wear and tear, it was decided to go back to the orange that adorned the coaches in the 60's. The font, however, is slightly different today.
The gondola has only had a handful of variations through the years, but it obtained a roof in the mid-2000s to shield folks from rain and soot on the return trip to Arcade. Prior to the so-called "roof era", it appeared with a United States Air Force logo and lettering in its first few years, then a mix of bare wood and black paint. It was orange in the 70's with black metal ends. The railing trim has been both yellow and orange through the years.
Equipment
References
Sources
*
External links
Arcade & Attica Railroad company websiteHistory of the Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad between Attica and Cuba, New York, with interactive map.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcade Attica Railroad
New York (state) railroads
Heritage railroads in New York (state)
Railway companies established in 1917
Transportation in Wyoming County, New York
American companies established in 1917