Buffalo And Black Rock Railroad
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The Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad was a part of the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
system, connecting
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
to
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
. It is still used by
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...
for freight and
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
for passenger service.


History

The Buffalo and Black Rock Railroad was chartered in 1833 and opened in 1834, operating a horse-powered line from downtown Buffalo north to Black Rock, now the east end of the International Bridge. The line was mostly built on state land next to the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
. The Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad was incorporated in 1834 to take over the Buffalo and Black Rock and extend it north and northwest to
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
. Construction began in August 1836, and included a replacement of the low-quality rails of the horse-drawn line. By 1837 the extension to Tonawanda was completed,Edson, 199, p. 20. and around 1840 the rest of the way to Niagara Falls opened. In or soon after 1852, the new
Erie Street Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
terminal was built in downtown Buffalo, along with a relocation of the tracks near downtown to the west side of the Erie Canal. In December 1853 the newly formed
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
leased the Buffalo and Niagara Falls, which at the time did not connect to any other NYC lines. It was merged into the NYC in 1855. Tonawanda also served as a junction with several other lines. The
Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad The Elmira and Lake Ontario Railroad was a subsidiary of the Northern Central Railway and later the Pennsylvania Railroad, formed to give the Northern Central an outlet for coal traffic on Lake Ontario. Predecessors Horseheads–Canandaigua The ...
opened to Tonawanda in 1853, and in 1854 built a connection from the Niagara Falls end of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls to the
Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge stood from 1855 to 1897 across the Niagara River and was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned and stood downstream of Niagara Falls, where it connected Niagara Falls, Ontario to ...
into
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The New York Central bought the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls in 1858. The Buffalo and Lockport Railroad opened in 1854, connecting the Buffalo and Niagara Falls at Tonawanda to the NYC's
Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midwe ...
at Lockport. The Junction Railroad opened in 1871, finally connecting the Buffalo and Niagara Falls at Black Rock to the
New York Central and Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
main line via a bypass of downtown Buffalo. In 1873 a connection was built downtown (partly using a short piece of the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833, and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinoi ...
), forming a complete loop, known as the Buffalo Belt Line. The old Erie Street station was sold to the
Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...
, and NYC trains now used the Exchange Street station, which had been used since 1842 by the NYC's main line. The International Bridge opened in 1874, connecting the Buffalo and Niagara Falls at Black Rock to
Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. Between 1900 and 1943, a realignment was made in southern Tonawanda, eliminating a bridge over the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
(
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 new longer alignment turned east south of downtown, and then north parallel to the Erie Railroad's Suspension Bridge and Erie Junction Railroad, merging with the old
Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad The Elmira and Lake Ontario Railroad was a subsidiary of the Northern Central Railway and later the Pennsylvania Railroad, formed to give the Northern Central an outlet for coal traffic on Lake Ontario. Predecessors Horseheads–Canandaigua The ...
south of its bridge over the canal. Between 1948 and 1962, a bypass of
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
was built. This left the old alignment about halfway from Tonawanda and headed north to the NYC's old
Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
, where trains turned west to Niagara Falls. The old alignment was abandoned, and part of it was used in 1970 for the
LaSalle Expressway The LaSalle Expressway (also known as the LaSalle Arterial) is a controlled-access highway, freeway in Niagara County, New York, in the United States. It begins near the North Grand Island Bridge at an interchange with Interstate 190 (New York), I ...
. The line passed into the hands of
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
in 1968 and
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
in 1976, by then known as the Niagara Branch. The 1998 Conrail breakup assigned the Buffalo-Niagara Falls line to
New York Central Lines New York Central Lines LLC was a limited liability company that owned railroad lines in the United States that are owned and operated by CSX Transportation. The company was formed in 1998 to own Conrail lines assigned to CSX in the split of Conrai ...
LLC A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
, a subsidiary of
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...
. CSX operates it, along with the old connection to the New York Central main line, and the connection to the
Whirlpool Rapids Bridge The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly known as the Whirlpool Bridge or the Lower Steel Arch Bridge (before 1937), is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge that crosses the Canada–United States border, connecting the commercial dow ...
and
Michigan Central Railway Bridge The Michigan Central Railway Bridge is an out-of-service steel Arch bridge#Deck arch bridge, Deck arch bridge spanning the Niagara Falls, Niagara Gorge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The bridge is owned by Canadian P ...
(via the old
Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
), as their
Niagara Subdivision The Niagara Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The line runs from Buffalo, NY, Buffalo north and west to Niagara Falls, NY, Niagara Falls along former New York ...
.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''
Empire Service The ''Empire Service'' is an inter-city rail service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. The brand name originated with the New York Central Railroad in 1967. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service ...
'' and ''
Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbols of Canada, national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by ...
'' carry passengers along the full line, the latter continuing to
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada.


See also

* New York Central Niagara River Railroad, a short branch north of Black Rock


Citations


References

* Edson, William D. ''Railroad Names: A Directory of Common Carrier Railroads Operating in the United States 1826-1997.'' 4th edition. Potomac, MD: William D. Edson, 1999. .


External links

*
Past Tracks: A Queen City Built by Rail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo Niagara Falls Railroad Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Defunct New York (state) railroads Transportation in Buffalo, New York Railway companies established in 1834 Railway companies disestablished in 1869 American companies established in 1834 American companies disestablished in 1869