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WNYRHS HISTORY - BAYVIEW TOWER PART-2

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"COMING BY THE BAY"
1898 - 1995
by: Greg Jandura

Part - II

       In this part, and the concluding part, we will see how the number of trains dramatically increases at key time periods in future decades by using employee timetables.

THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
ERIE DIVISION - ETT 6-A - January 1st, 1918
TIME TRAIN NAME/DESCRIPTION DIRECTION FREQUENCY
12:05AMBF-1    NEW YORK-GARDENVILLE-ST. LOUIS WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
12:15AMNY-4    CHICAGO-GARDENVILLE-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
12:27AM#41    NEW YORK-BOSTON-CHICAGO SPECIAL WESTDAILY
12:40AMBFNY4    INDIANAPOLIS-GARDENVILLE-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
12:40AMKB-2    COLLINGWOOD-WEST SENECA EASTDAILY
1:20AM#11    SOUTHWESTERN LIMITED WESTDAILY
2:52AM#16    NEW YORK-NEW ENGLAND EXPRESS EASTDAILY
3:17AM#19    THE LAKE SHORE LIMITED WESTDAILY
3:47AM#21    CLEVELAND LIMITED WESTDAILY
5:35AM#64    CHICAGO-BUFFALO SPECIAL EASTDAILY
5:43AM#18    KNICKERBOCKER SPECIAL EASTDAILY
5:53AM#22    THE LAKE SHORE LIMITED EASTDAILY
6:15AM#600    EXPRESS EASTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
6:35AMLS-1    NEW YORK-GARDENVILLE-CHICAGO WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
6:48AM#23    WESTERN EXPRESS WESTDAILY
7:05AM#606    ERIE ACCOMMODATION EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
7:32AM#35    SPECIAL MAIL LIMITED WESTDAILY
8:10AM#27    AMERICAN EXPRESS WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
8:25AMLS-3    BOSTON-GARDENVILLE-CHICAGO WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
9:17AM#20    NEW YORK CENTRAL LIMITED EASTDAILY
9:17AM#81    PITTSBURGH-BUFFALO SPECIAL WESTDAILY
9:20AMBS-3    BUFFALO-WEST SENECA-CLEVELAND WESTDAILY
9:45AM#47    EXPRESS WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
10:15AMWS-4    ELKHART-GARDENVILLE EASTDAILY
11:00AMWS-74    BIG FOUR-GARDENVILLE EASTDAILY
11:28AM#60    CLEVELAND-BUFFALO SPECIAL EASTDAILY
12:37AM#X-43    FAST MAIL WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
12:42AM#43    ST. LOUIS-CHICAGO EXPRESS WESTDAILY
1:17PM#37    PACIFIC EXPRESS WESTDAILY
1:20PM    WAY FREIGHT ERIE-WEST SENECA EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
1:40PM#28    NEW YORK EXPRESS EASTDAILY
2:41PM#82    PITTSBURGH AND BUFFALO LIMITED EASTDAILY
3:10PM    THROUGH LOCAL ERIE-WEST SENECA EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
3:13PM#X-28    EXPRESS EASTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
3:40PM#605    ERIE ACCOMMODATION WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
3:53PM#32    FAST MAIL EASTDAILY
4:51PM#83    EMPIRE LIMITED WESTDAILY
6:00PM    WAY FREIGHT BUFFALO-ERIE WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
6:32PM#3    NEW YORK-CHICAGO SPECIAL WESTDAILY
7:02PM#65    EXPRESS WESTDAILY
7:32PM#44    CLEVELAND-NEW YORK SPECIAL EASTDAILY
8:02PM#5    BUFFALO-CHICAGO SPECIAL WESTDAILY
8:05PM#2    FAST MAIL EASTDAILY
8:30PM#4    NUMBER FOUR EASTDAILY
9:08PM#84    EMPIRE LIMITED EASTDAILY
9:20PM    THROUGH LOCAL WEST SENECA-ERIE WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
10:03PM#6    NUMBER SIX EASTDAILY
10:12PM#9    FAST MAIL WESTDAILY
10:15PMNY-6    ST. LOUIS - NEW YORK EASTDAILY
10:40PMSB-4    COLLINGWOOD-WEST SENECA EASTDAILY
11:02PM#26    THE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED EASTDAILY
11:10PM#25    THE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED WESTDAILY
11:16PMBA-4    CHICAGO-GARDENVILLE-BOSTON EASTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
11:17PM#12    NEW YORK AND BOSTON SPECIAL EASTDAILY

       "This signal station with its 1923 cornerstone would become a landmark in the town of Hamburg, New York for railroad men, passengers, steam excursionists, and railfans for 72 years until it was torn down by Conrail in 1995. Its design was typical of the New York Central Railroad, but I don't know who designed the structure, who actually built it, or its exact date of opening. I do know however, that railroad traffic, both freight and passenger was booming during the early 1920's and the railroads were spending huge sums to upgrade and modernize their right-of-way. On September 22,1923, "The public service commission today approved the plans of the New York Central Railroad for the development of the connections between the West Shore tracks and its main line and Gardenville Branch in the town of Cheektowaga and the Village of Depew, Erie county, for the purpose of facilitating movements in the western part of the state."

       An item also appeared in Railway Age magazine, the September 22, 1923 issue which read. "The New York Central has ordered from the General Railway Signal Company an electrical interlocking machine, 41 working levers, for installation at Bay View, N.Y."

       In recent conversations with Mr. Gerald E. Toomey, WNYRHS member, and retired New York Central tower operator at Bay View, New York, 1950-1965, I was able to get an insight as to what was at the tower while it was in use. The first floor contained the signal relay and switching mechanisms for the switch machine located on the second level. Also on the first floor was an oil burning furnace which had replaced the original coal furnace as evident by the coal chute located on the outside wall facing westward. The second floor of bay view tower "BV" was the command center of operations.

Open twenty-four hours a day, there would be one tower operator on duty for each eight hour shift. There would be the familiar tower operator sitting at his desk in the window illuminated by a lamp. At his disposal was the telegraph, teletype, telephone, and speaker box with the dispatcher at Erie, PA., which was the CTC control point for the entire "Erie Division." Mounted on the roof and coming down past the overhang were wires connected to a signal light which displayed yellow for train orders, or displayed blue indicating car pickup or setout at Seneca Yard.

Outside of the tower, was the four track mainline.  Numbered 4,2,1,3, going from east to west, tracks numbered 2 and 1 being the high-speed tracks, and tracks numbered 4 and 3 for slower traffic, as well as the connection to and from the Gardenville Yard. (see track chart insert).

There was also a manually operated switch immediately south of the tower which was used infrequently by both the Nickel Plate and Central as a bypass in the event or a derailment or some other unusual circumstance. In front of the tower were also high-speed crossover switch tracks to speed traffic along without any delays if congestion in and out of  Buffalo or to and from the Gardenville Yard.


       Just northwest of "BV" Tower you can today see two telephone poles side by side with a crossbeam.  It was here where a high-car detector device was placed after an incident in which an extra high vehicle on the top level of an autorack car was riding in the days before they were fully enclosed and it didn't quite make it under the Tifft Street highway overpass.  Oops!

       By 1930, when the Bay View Tower that we remember was seven years old, there were within a twenty-four hour period 83 scheduled trains.  Not counting extra sections of passenger trains, and the adjacent Nickel Plate and Pennsylvania Railroad traffic this meant over 100 trains crossing Bay View Road.  Quite a traffic increase from 54 trains in 1918 and 67 trains in 1924.

THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
ERIE DIVISION - ETT #32 - September 28th, 1930
TIME TRAIN NAME/DESCRIPTION DIRECTION FREQUENCY
12:01AMCB-2    ENGLEWOOD-SENECA-EAST BUFFALO EASTDAILY
12:01AMNY-4    CHICAGO-GARDENVILLE-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
12:03AM#26    THE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED EASTDAILY
12:11AM#25    THE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED WESTDAILY
12:30AMPWB-4    PITTSBURGH-GARDENVILLE EASTDAILY
12:30AMADV-NY6    ST. LOUIS-EAST BUFFALO-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
12:30AM#15    THE OHIO STATE LIMITED WESTDAILY
12:43AM#41    THE CAYUGA WESTDAILY
1:17AM#10    THE EASTERNER EASTDAILY
1:40AM#67    THE COMMODORE VANDERBILT WESTDAILY
2:32AM#68    THE COMMODORE VANDERBILT EASTDAILY
2:52AM#24    THE KNICKERBOCKER EASTDAILY
3:12AM#7    THE WESTERNER WESTDAILY
3:28AM#600    RAILWAY EXPRESS EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
3:34AM#11    THE SOUTHWESTERN LIMITED WESTDAILY
3:42AM#142    THE PRAIRIE STATE EASTDAILY
4:06AM#19    THE LAKE SHORE LIMITED WESTDAILY
4:15AMGP-1    GARDENVILLE-PITTSBURGH WESTDAILY
4:30AMBS-5    GARDENVILLE-COLLINWOOD WESTDAILY
4:30AMNY-6    ST. LOUIS-EAST BUFFALO-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
4:34AMX-19    MAIL WESTDAILY
4:40AM#27    CLEVELAND SPECIAL WESTDAILY
4:45AMSB-4    COLLINWOOD-EAST BUFFALO-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
4:45AMBF-3    NEW YORK-GARDENVILLE-St.LOULS WESTDAILY
5:07AM#21    CLEVELAND LIMITED WESTDAILY
5:10AM#132    MAIL EASTDAILY
5:23AM#22    THE LAKE SHORE LIMITED EASTDAILY
5:42AM#72    PITTSBURGH-BUFFALO EXPRESS EASTDAILY
6:27AM#18    HUDSON RIVER EXPRESS EASTDAILY
6:45AMBT-1    GARDENVILLE-TOLEDO WESTDAILY
7:00AME-12    LOCAL ERIE-EAST BUFFALO EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
7:30AME-1    LOCAL GARDENVILLE-ERIE WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
7:33AM#131    MAIL WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
7:38AM#23    WESTERN EXPRESS WESTDAILY
7:46AM#606    BUFFALO ACCOMMODATION EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
8:36AM#35    MAIL WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
8:55AM#40    NORTH SHORE LIMITED EASTDAILY
9:08AM#151    INTERSTATE EXPRESS WESTDAILY
10:20AM#81    PITTSBURGH-DETROIT SPECIAL WESTDAILY
11:15AMLS-3    BOSTON-GARDENVILLE-CHICAGO WESTDAILY
12:01PMCW-10    COLLINWOOD-GARDENVILLE-SYRACUSE EASTDAILY
12:27PM#60    CLEVELAND BUFFALO SPECIAL EASTDAILY
12:30PMSB-2    COLLINWOOD-SENECA EASTDAILY
1:23PM#43    SOUTH SHORE EXPRESS WESTDAILY
1:57PM#56    THE DEWITT CLINTON EASTDAILY
2:30PME-4    LOCAL ERIE-GARDENVILLE WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
3:18PM#137    RAILWAY EXPRESS WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
3:47PM#82    PITTSBURGH AND BUFFALO LIMITED EASTDAILY
4:10PM#32    MAIL EASTDAILY
4:15PM#128    RAILWAY EXPRESS EASTDAILY
4:30PMNY-8    GIBSON-GARDENVILLE-NEW YORK EASTDAILY
4:38PM#83    EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS WESTDAILY
4:52PM#605    ERIE ACCOMMODATION WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
5:00PMPB-10    YOUNGSTOWN-GARDENVILLE EASTDAILY
5:02PM#52    CHICAGO-BUFFALO EXPRESS EASTDAILY
5:34PM#91    FOREST CITY SPECIAL WESTDAILY
5:48PM#9    MAIL WESTTUESDAY-SUNDAY
6:00PMKB-10    COLLINWOOD-SENECA EASTDAILY
6:07PM#612    LAKESIDE EASTMONDAY-SATURDAY
7:00PMBF-NY4    ST. LOUIS - GARDENVILLE - NEW YORK EASTDAILY
7:00PMGP-3    GARDENVILLE - PITTSBURGH WESTDAILY
7:44PM#3    CLEVELAND EXPRESS WESTDAILY
8:35PMNY-10    CHICAGO - GARDENVILLE EASTDAILY
8:52PM#44    BUFFALONIAN EASTDAILY
9:07PM#150    INTERSTATE  EXPRESS EASTDAILY
9:08PM#607    RAILWAY EXPRESS WESTMONDAY-SATURDAY
9:15PMBS-3    GARDENVILLE - CLEVELAND WESTDAILY
9:18PM#5    THE MOHAWK WESTDAILY
9:23PMX4    FAST MAIL EASTDAILY
9:30PMXB-4    ELKHART - EAST BUFFALO EASTTHURSDAY - SUNDAY
9:44PM#4    NEW YORK LIMITED EASTDAILY
9:45PMBF-1    NEW YORK - GARDENVILLE - ST. LOUIS WESTDAILY
10:08PM#39    NORTH SHORE LIMITED WESTDAILY
10:15PM#84    EMPIRE EXPRESS EASTDAILY
10:20PMXN-2    CHICAGO - EAST BUFFALO - NEW YORK EASTDAILY
10:35PM#6    FIFTH AVENUE SPECIAL EASTDAILY
10:45PMED-10    COLLINWOOD - GARDENVILLE - DEWITT EASTDAILY
11:00PMPS-10    YOUNGSTOWN - SENECA EASTDAILY
11:09PM#38    ADVANCE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED EASTDAILY
11:15PMLS-1    NEW YORK - GARDENVILLE - CHICAGO WESTDAILY
11:27PM#37    ADVANCE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED WESTDAILY
11:38PM#12    THE SOUTHWESTERN LIMITED EASTDAILY

        BAY VIEW "BV" Tower was also synonymous with one of the greatest spectacles in the annals of railroading, as it was here that the "Greatest Train in the World", both Eastbound and Westbound, sections of the  "20TH CENTURY LIMITED" would "PASS IN THE NIGHT" as they sped toward their destinations in New York City or Chicago.

        First inaugurated on June 15, 1902, it had gone through numerous schedule changes until its demise on December 3, 1967.  The era between November 1912 and April  1932, had the Centuries scheduled to pass by the tower at 12:03 am eastbound and 12:11 am westbound with an eight minute interval in between. But, the Centuries often were ran in two and three sections in each direction. Sometimes, four or even five sections were not uncommon.  On January 11, 1926, "The Century operated in seven eastbound sections and Detroiter in four eastbound sections in conjunction with the New York Auto Show."

         The New York Central railroad referred to the 60 minutes prior to departure from Grand Central terminal or LaSalle street station as "The Century Hour" as those paying a $10 surcharge would be arriving at the depot to check-in, and board the train while a flurry of redcap activity and photographers in search of celebrities ensued. This was no ordinary train, but the flagship of "The Great Steel Fleet," and to be a patron of this extra-fare, extra-service train was a status symbol of its day from the ordinary businessman to those making the news headlines.  You had arrived!

         Bay View tower had its own "Century Hour" as nothing else was scheduled between 12:03 and 12:30 a.m. You can almost visualize a hot summer night in 1930 as the air is warm with little breeze coming off the lake as this beacon of civilization near a dimly lit country road waits in anticipation. The switches are aligned, the telegraph is silent.  Outside the only sound is that of a cricket and a bullfrog in the nearby ditch. The bell rings signaling the approach of a train! The adrenaline is flowing! The headlight of the first section pierces the night as the whistle blares for the bay view road crossing. The second and third sections follow about a minute apart each with green flags flying. You get a glimpse of the illuminated open platform observation cars as they pass by with their red marker lamps and lit blue and white tail signs "20th Century Limited." You hear the third eastbound section blow his whistle at Milestrip road crossing around the bend as he salutes the first westbound section which will shortly come into view. Two more will follow behind him. Indeed, this was Bay View.

        In the ensuing years, the century would be streamlined in 1938, and later again in 1948. According to NYC Ett #57 issued 06/27/1943 at the height of World War II eastbound #26 passed Bay View Tower at 1:05 am and #25 westbound passed at 1:30 a.m. NYC Ett #76 issued 09/26/1954 showed the times as #26 eastbound at 1:21 am, and 1:43 am westbound for #25.  By 1964, NYC Ett #16 "Lake Division" formerly "Erie Division" indicated the times past Bay View as #26 eastbound at 1:37 am, and #25 westbound at 1:45 am.

       During the World War II years, Gardenville Yard continued to be of strategic importance in facilitating freight traffic and helping to win the war effort employee timetable #57 "Erie Division," dated June 27, 1943 showed that 11 of 12 westbound (scheduled) freight trains daily came over the Gardenville Branch by way of Bay View.  The 12th westbound freight train being a Tuesday through Sunday run from east Buffalo to Cleveland.  All freight traffic eastbound during this time 12 (scheduled), utilized the east Buffalo railyard. The 13th train was a (scheduled) Erie-Gardenville Tuesday through Sunday operation. In addition, there were 23 westbound and 23 eastbound (scheduled) passenger trains daily passing by Bay View or "BV" tower. This amounted to 71 trains in a twenty-four hour period! Its not known how many troop train or war material trains were operated daily as needed, but they could have easily boosted the total to around 100! By moving westbound freight traffic through Gardenville, and eastbound traffic through East Buffalo, the New York Central kept trains rolling with little chance of a bottleneck.

       In post-war Western New York in the late 1940's, Gardenville continued to be an important yard and bypass route around the city of Buffalo. "climaxing years of exhaustive tests, the New York Central railroad yesterday (march 19, 1947) placed in operation radio equipment permitting two-way communication between engine and train crews and the yardmaster at the Gardenville"hump." It marked the first installation of its kind on the central system and in Buffalo railroad yards. The hump yardmaster can talk directly to the engineer anywhere in the Gardenville yards" The diesel could be as far away as ten miles and still receive orders."

       In a preliminary test at Central Terminal, V.C. Chappell, engineer for the General Railway Signal Co., Rochester, seated in a station-wagon equipped with a portable set, succeeded in contacting the hump. He said "reception was very good." the wagon was parked on Curtiss Street. The test was significant because of the distance between the terminal and Gardenville.

       Quoting I.F. Nash, trainmaster regarding the first ever successful two-way radio communication with engineer Frank Shilling, "the communication system is one of numerous steps in a general modernization program to speed up operations on the railroad. One other diesel engine is nearly fully equipped, and three others are in the process of being equipped." call letters of the new system, licensed to operate on a frequency of 160.41 megacycles, are "WNYH." The equipment installed here by the Rochester firm is the result of tests conducted in the yards at Selkirk. Both Selkirk and the DeWitt yards will shortly have the two-way communication system in effect, we have come a long way in 50 years!

        On March 1, 1952, the New York Central railroad announced a $1,000,000  modernization program for Gardenville yard which would be completed in about one years time, included were a huge turning "Y" for diesel locomotives, a 1,000,000 million gallon fuel storage tank, fuel station, pump house, tracks for diesel storage, refueling, and inspection. Also included, was an inspection building and a 60 room, two-story "YMCA."

        By 1954, changes were taking place all along the New York Central railroad. ETT #76 "Erie Division" dated 09/26/54 listed 22 westbound and 21 eastbound passenger trains daily past Bay View "BV" tower. Thirteen westbound freights were scheduled all by way of Gardenville, and 13 eastbound freights were shown, of which 6 were by way of Gardenville. One of these eastbound symbol freight trains was "ON-2 Pacemaker" going past "BV" tower daily at 3 PM.

        In 1918 the "Erie Division" of the New York Central railroad had 19 interlocking signal stations between Buffalo and Cleveland. Technological advances in signaling and communications enabled the railroad to eliminate 4 of these towers during the 1930's. Gone were Lake View (RD), Silver Creek (MN), Canadaway-Brigham road (CA), North East (N), and Amboy (J). Girard Junction (GJ) remained open into the 1940's. The remaining 14 towers "open day and night" would last into the 1950's. There's an old adage, "nothing endures but change," this is especially true on the railroad. With Alfred E. Perlman elected president in 1954, the winds of change were blowing.

       During his tenure as president of the New York Central Railroad (1954-1968) Alfred Edward Perlman (1902-1983) had the formidable task of turning around a bankrupt, but didn't know it, railroad back into solvency. Alfred Perlman's credo was: "all it takes is common sense and modern equipment."  ref. 1

        He turned around Vanderbilt's paradise lost into a lean, aggressive plant He heretically substituted reverse-signaled CTC double track for Central's cherished four-track mains, introduced 70-mph Flexi-Vans to fight off truckers, sublimated the road's passenger orientation, replaced across-the-board rate hikes with marketing strategy, and defied politics who mistreated the rai1road .  ref. 1

       When Alfred E. Perlman took command of the New York Central presidency in 1954, he began the transformation of the road from a passenger-oriented line built essentially for nineteenth-century purposes into a lean physical plant. One of his first duties was to tour the property. The Central was more passenger orientated than he had realized. There were a dozen passenger stations the size of St. Patricks cathedral and just as costly to heat. The freight tracks on the main line, in poor repair and signaled for thirty miles an hour, were incapable of providing a competitive freight service. West of Buffalo, along the south shore of Lake Erie where the Central and Nickel Plate ran side by side, the Nickel Plate's short, fast freights went darting past the Perlman inspection train on their lean, well-signaled single track line in a dazzling display of technological superiority, an embarassment made even greater because they were pulled by steam locomotives.  ref. 2






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