After the wonderful trip on the Arcade and Attica Railroad, we headed west on New York 39 and stopped in Springville.
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Springville station built in 1911. The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway was primarily a coal-hauling railroad which ran from the coal fields of central Pennsylvania to the ports of Rochester & Buffalo. In Western New York, the lines formed a "Y" shape connecting Buffalo, Rochester and Salamanca. The line ran north from Salamanca to Ashford Junction where it split and continued to Rochester and Buffalo.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad operated both daytime and nighttime trains through the station on the BR&P route between Lackawanna Terminal in Buffalo and Baltimore and Ohio Station in Pittsburgh. Additionally, the company operated a local Buffalo-to-DuBois, Pennsylvania train through the station. The B&O last had passenger trains using the station in 1955 in daytime runs between Pittsburgh and Buffalo. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad Station.
The Springville Surprise was former Toronto Transit Commission PCC 4434, built by St. Louis Car Company in 1949 on display. It was part of "A Streetcar Named Dessert" restaurant. We continued west to our next stop in Gowanda and asked a very friendly policeman who gave us excellent directions.
Erie Railroad Gowanda station built in 1912 and in use by the New York and Lake Erie Railroad.
There we found the train of the New York & Lake Erie Railroad which suffered a washout in 2009 and was still not operating.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad FPA4 6764, ex. Northwest Pennsylvania Railroad Authority, exx. New York and Lake Erie 6764 1998, exxx. private owner 6764 1996, exxx. VIA 6764 1990, nee Canadian National 6764 built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1958.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad FPA-2 6758, ex. Northwest Pennsylvania Railroad Authority 2001, exx. New York and Lake Erie 6758 1998, exxx. private owner 6758 1996, exxxx. Smith Falls Railway Museum 6758, exxxxx. VIA 6758, exxxxxx. Canadian National 6755 1958, nee Canadian National 6711:1 built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1955.
New York and Lake Erie Railroad coach 5, nee Delaware, Lackawanna and Western multiple unit 2xxx built by Pullman and General Electric in 1930.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad coach 9, ex. Baltimore and Ohio 3579 1955, nee Baltimore and Ohio 5472 built by Pullman in 1930.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad coach 7, nee Delaware, Lackawanna and Western multiple unit 2xxx built by Pullman and General Electric in 1930.
Conrail caboose 880, builder and year unknown.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad scene.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad FPA-4 6764.
New York & Lake Erie Railroad C425 1013, nee Norfolk and Western 1013 built by American Locomotive Company in 1965. From here we drove into Dunkirk for an appointment with Frank to see the Alco-Brooks display at the Fairgrounds.
Alco-Brooks Display Dunkirk, New Yorkhe locomotive committee of the Historical Society of Dunkirk searched for a locomotive made in Dunkirk for 14 years, an effort that included the committee's locating and researching 43 known ALCO/Brooks steam locomotives in North America until one was found near Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston & Maine locomotive was built by the ALCO-Brooks Locomotive Works as ALCO order No. B-1423, in 1916, purchased by and used by the Boston and Maine railroad branch lines and yard service; it received an overhaul in the Billerica Shop in 1947 and was then sold to the Fletcher Granite company in 1952 for use in its granite quarry. Its use there was short-lived, only ten months, and it was abandoned on a side spur for some 30 years after being replaced by a diesel switcher at the quarry in the late 1950's. Paul A. Keany of the Fletcher Company donated the old 444 to the Historical Society of Dunkirk in July 1986.
The Society worked to raise $20,000 for the cost of bringing the locomotive home. In November 1986, the 70 ton engine was pulled from the brambles that surrounded it by a diesel locomotive and then to the loading yard. There it was picked up by a 150 ton crane and loaded into a low-boy trailer so that it could be transported two miles to West Chelmsford, Massachusetts, where the same 150 ton crane transferred the locomotive and tender onto two railroad flat cars. The Boston and Maine Railroad pulled the cars to Rotterdam Junction, New York, where they were transferred to the Conrail railroad and brought to Dunkirk.
The locomotive and tender reached Dunkirk on February 20, 1987 after a 600 mile trip and both were taken to the Niagara Mohawk Steam Station for unloading by the plant's 150 ton crane for preliminary work. In April 1987, the locomotive was loaded onto a 48 wheel truck trailer from the Higgins Company of Buffalo, while the locomotive's tender, the box car, and caboose were moved by Anson Trucking Company to the fair grounds. The four pieces of the display were set on an already prepared 165 feet of track donated by Conrail. The box car was donated by Al Tech Specialty Steel and the caboose was purchased by Historical Society members.
The engine and tender needed a great deal of work to bring it into shape. This work included cleaning, brushing, grinding, priming and painting. Some parts needed to be replaced as they were thoroughly rusted away. In addition, the nameplate, bell, headlight and gauges were missing–all taken probably by collectors who raided the locomotive over the years. All of these items were eventually replaced. Funding for the display included a "Buy a Railroad Tie" fundraiser, with those donating $100 or more having the donor’s name fixed to a railroad tie. The Society also issued a commemorative railroad stock certificate to donors giving $25-99.
Boston and Maine 0-6-0 444 built by American Locomotive Company in 1916. Although built in the city, it apparently never worked there. In 1952, it was sold to H. E. Fletcher Company in Westford, Massachusetts, who donated it to the Historical Society of Dunkirk, New York, in 1986. It is on display in the Chautauqua Fairgrounds just off Central Avenue.
Delaware & Hudson wood-sided box car 22020 built in 1907.
New York Central caboose 19224 built by the railroad in 1905.
A signal.
Track equipment.
Cab of the steam engine.
The tender.
A land line marker for the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad. This line ran between Dunkirk, New York and Titusville, Pennsylvania. It extended 90 miles from the New York Central mainline at Dunkirk, south-southwest to Titusville and served small farm towns in upstate New York then reached into the oil field region of northwestern Pennsylvania.
The displays inside the Delaware & Hudson box car.
Interior of the caboose. Frank, who was 80 years old, had worked for the New York Central, Penn Central and Conrail, and gave an excellent tour. We then proceeded west on New York 20 to our next stop in Westfield.
New York Central Westfield station built in 1904 for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, which was absorbed by the New York Central Railroad in 1914. It is a one-and-a-half storey brick, terra cotta and sandstone structure in the Romanesque style which served as the main transfer point for rail passengers destined for the Chautauqua Institution. The Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad interurban, serving the eastern part of Chautauqua used the station. The Chautauqua Traction Company, serving the Chautauqua hamlet, used the Nickel Plate Railroad's station in Westfield. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Station.
The two of us then drove to North East, Pennsylvania, for a visit to the Lake Shore Railway Museum.
Lake Shore Railway Museum InformationFounded in 1956, the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society, Incorporated is a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer educational organization operating a railroad museum on the grounds of the former New York Central Railroad passenger depot in the borough of North East in Erie County. LSRHS is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors that meets monthly to conduct LSRHS business.
Our mission is to preserve, enjoy and share the memory, history and experience of railroading, particularly that of northwestern Pennsylvania, western New York and northeastern Ohio, as it has been and as it is now. LSRHS maintains a special collection with emphasis on General Electric rail transportation products, Heisler Locomotive Works products, Pullman Standard Car Company products and all local railroad companies (past and present) due to the economic, social and historic impact they have had on the local area. LSRHS strives to accomplish its mission by preserving railroad and transportation artifacts of local, regional and/or industrial significance on its 2.5 acres of property adjacent to the CSX Railroad mainline in North East, Pennsylvania.
The LSRHS Museum complex is a neighborhood revitalization anchor for its section of North East Borough and provides a safe and open area for viewing railroad operations (as citied in nationally distributed Trains Magazine). In addition to the historic locomotives and rolling stock we have many other artifacts and much equipment pertinent to America’s and the region's railroad heritage, all maintained by LSRHS at the museum. The LSRHS museum is open to the public on a regular basis on weekends until the end of October. The LSRHS Museum grounds are open to the public year-round, weather permitting.
Great Northern dining car 1251 "Lake Wenatchee", ex. Amtrak 8088, exx. Burlington Northern 1251, nee Great Northern 1251, built by American Car and Foundry in 1951.
Great Northern 8 duplex roomette-3-double bedroom-1 compartment-4 open section sleeping car 1273 "Pend O'Reille River" built by Pullman in 1950. It is the only lightweight sleeper of this unusual configuration in the museum's collection. The exterior was re-painted in 2013 and remains in its as-built condition; it was never was part of Amtrak.
Pennsylvania Railroad 14 single bedroom sleeping car "Nightstar" built by Pullman in 1927 and remains in its original configuration although the seats and beds were updated.
Pullman 3 compartment-2 drawing room-lounge-observation "Central Park" built by the company in 1925. It is the last known Pullman-New York Central car of its configuration to exist. The observation lounge was partially restored in 2006 and opened for public viewing and education on car restoration.
National Forge 15-ton cabless locomotive 392 built by Plymouth Locomotive Works in 1959. It was was used in the construction of Kinzua Dam in Warren, Pennsylvania and was bought by National Forge of Irvine, Pennsylvania after completion of the dam. It became property of Ellwood National Forge/Ellwood National Crankshaft and was donated to LSRHS by Ellwood in 2004.
Erie City Iron Works 30 ton switcher 25 built by Whitcomb Locomotive Works in 1941. It was made operational by LSRHS in summer 2009 and had its exterior re-painted in 2013.
New York Central milepost marker.
Lake Shore Railroad Northeast station built in 1889.
Signal display.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy baggage car 1530 built by the railroad in 1918 and is the only baggage car in the museum's collection. Its development as a museum exhibit/display car is underway.
Hygrade Fine Products mechanical refrigeration car 163 built by General American Tank Car in 1961.
Union Tank Car 8,000 gallon tank car 74152 built by the company in 1922. It was formerly leased to East Erie Commerical Railroad and used for fuel oil storage.
Erie Dock Company electric locomotive 7 built by Atlas Car Company of Cleveland in 1910. It received power from an electric third rail and was specifically designed for use as an ore/coal car shunt tending the Hulett ship unloaders that used to be commonly seen on the docks of the Great Lakes. These locomotives ran on a separate set of tracks located between the main tracks for the ore and coal cars being loaded. With their arms extended out on both sides, these locomotives pushed the empty rail cars into position for loading and then moved loaded cars away. Number 7 operated on the Erie docks until the mid-1950's, then at Whiskey Island in Cleveland until 1992. Erie Dock Company was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Wellsville, Addison and Galeton 132 ton centre-cab switcher 1700, nee Ford 1006, built by Erie General Electric in 1940. It was designed to resemble a 1937 Ford automobile. Only eight of this design were built and this is the only one remaining.
New York Central wooden caboose 20054 built by the railroad in 1915. It is erroneously lettered for burned New York Central caboose 19950.
Fruit Growers Express wooden ice-refrigerator car 55119 built by the company in 1925. This is the first in a sequence of three refrigerator cars in our collection which demonstrate the\ evolution of the refrigerator cars that served the fruit/vegetable industry of the region.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway 36 foot wooden box car 23107 built in 1907. It was most recently used by the East Erie Commercial Railroad as a maintenance car and moved to LSRHS Museum in May 2007.
Union Refrigerator Transit refrigerator car 37178, leased to the Milwaukee Road, built by General American in 1938.
Hygrade Fine Products mechanical refrigeration car 162 built by General American Tank Car in 1961.
Chicago, South Shore and South Bend "Little Joe" 802 built by General Electric in 1948. It is one of only three known to exist from the original twenty built and, with 803, was the last electric freight locomotives to operate in North America. This engine was retired in 1983 and was at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore since it was decommissioned. CSX, which had acquired the B&O line, agreed to give Little Joe to the Pennsylvania museum and hauled the locomotive to the point where its rails came closest to the museum, which was Cleveland.
Pittsburg & Shawmut wooden caboose 164 built by the Russell Snowplow Company in 1916.
Pennsylvania Railroad flat car built as class F36 by the railroad in 1941 and was later upgraded to F36a. It is the only example of this class of flatcar to advance to Conrail ownership.
Ellwood National Forge 188, nee Pennsylvania Power Company 1950 built by General Electric in 1950. It was donated to LSRHS by Ellwood Company in December 2008 and made operational by LSRHS in summer 2009, being painted to Ellwood National Forge colour scheme at the same time.
Norfolk Southern 9332 East passed by on former Nickel Plate Road tracks across from the CSX mainline that the Lake Shore Limited used when I rode by last Friday.
Museum view.
New York Central U25B 2500, ex. Conrail 2500, exx. Penn Central 2500, built by General Electric in 1964.
Darby Wood Products 10 open section-1 drawing room-2 compartment sleeping car "Lake Terrell" built by the Pullman in 1924. It ran locally on the New York Central and was last used by Pullman in 1967, also having the distinction of being the last car owned and operated by the Pullman Company.
New York Central twelve double-bedroom sleeping car 10507 "Port of Windsor" built by Pullman-Standard in 1949. It was in use until 1967 and is the only such sleeper in the museum's collection, as well as the first passenger car owned by LSRHS.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern freight station built in 1869. This was the second LS&MS passenger/freight station in North East, replacing the first one that was built in 1852. It was moved west about 400 feet when the LS&MS built the "new" passenger station in 1899. After it was moved it served as a freight station. The brick passenger station was last used by New York Central in 1960 and the wooden combination station was last used in 1957.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern business car 20 built by Barney and Smith in 1896 and converted from parlour-observation.
Another view of South Shore 802.
CSX 5409 West passed through North East then Randy and I departed, driving Interstate 90 to our next stop in Conneaut, Ohio.
