THE TRAINS WE RODE:
BUFFALO TO NEW YORK CITY ON
SCENIC RAILROADS
by
DONALD L. PEVSNER
Buffalo, NY has always been a major railroad city. Before the New York State Thruway
and the jet airplane took the business away, the most important passenger rail market in
New York State was the Buffalo-New York City market. During the past 150-odd years,
eight different routes developed to serve this crucial market: all of them scenic. Let's pay
a visit to bygone days, and see how you could get there in style:
*NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD: Largest of them all, passenger traffic began
with completion of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, which connected
New York City to Rensselaer (and west via ferry to Albany), on October 3, 1851.
Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt's colossus developed into a four-track main line most
of the way between New York City and Cleveland, OH, and fielded such famous trains as
the “TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED” (which, alas, stopped in Buffalo only to
change crews en route to Chicago in its later years) and the daylight “EMPIRE STATE
EXPRESS”. The New York State Thruway, opened on December 15, 1955, paralleled the
New York Central mainline, and was heavily-subsidized with tax dollars. Against the
private passenger car on a 436-mile route, rail service stood little chance of
profitability. On May 1, 1971, most of the nation's rail passenger service was taken-over
by AMTRAK, whose "Empire Service" continues today with the only passenger
trains between Buffalo and New York City, over tracks now owned by CSX and MetroNorth. Scenic highlights include the Mohawk and Hudson River Valleys, all the way
from Utica to New York City.
*DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD: Built beginning in 1851
to haul anthracite coal from the mountains near Scranton, PA to both Buffalo and New
York City, the Lackawanna fielded the "LACKAWANNA LIMITED" as its premier
train. On November 15, 1949, its heavyweight, steam-powered consist was replaced by a
diesel-powered, streamlined train named the "PHOEBE SNOW". The route to Hoboken,
NJ was a scenic feast: east to Mount Morris, NY; south over famed Dansville Hill to
Bath; east to Corning, Elmira and Binghamton; south to Scranton, PA; then southeast and
east again through the Pocono Mountains and rural western New Jersey to Hoboken. Four
enormous concrete bridges were built in Pennsylvania and New Jersey between 19111915 that have been engineering "wonders of the world" from that time until today. The
Erie-Lackawanna merger of 1960 resulted in the abandonment of the Lackawanna main
line west of Binghamton, excepting segments between Buffalo and Lancaster; Greigsville
and Groveland; and Wayland and Painted Post, now operated by small short-line
railroads. If you drive NY Route 17 east of Elmira, you will be traveling over long
stretches of the former Lackawanna right-of-way that were acquired by NYSDOT after
the line’s abandonment. The "PHOEBE SNOW" to Buffalo was eliminated in 1963 and
rerouted to Chicago, on which route it finally died on November 27, 1966. Connecting
service from Buffalo to Hornell lasted until May 23, 1969. On January 6, 1970, the last
surviving Chicago-Hoboken "LAKE CITIES" died as well. East of Binghamton, the
Canadian Pacific Railway now owns the line to Scranton, PA; two Pennsylvania counties
own the line from there to the Delaware Water Gap at Slateford Junction; and New Jersey
Transit owns the rest of the line to Hoboken, NJ (with 28.45 miles of track missing in
western New Jersey that needs to be relaid to re-establish a through line).
*ERIE RAILROAD: Operated through Jersey City-Buffalo service, with a later
connection at Hornell, from 1852-1951. Its route through New York State included
splendid scenery along the Upper Delaware River between Port Jervis and Binghamton,
after which it roughly paralleled its Lackawanna rival west to Buffalo. After the ErieLackawanna merger, its Buffalo route used a combination of the Lackawanna from
Hoboken to Corning and the Erie from there to Buffalo, crossing the spectacular Portage
Viaduct at the southern edge of Letchworth State Park. It all ended on May 23, 1969.
Norfolk Southern now owns the trackage from Buffalo to Binghamton, and leases it to a
short-line railroad from there to Port Jervis, after which Metro-North owns the rails
onward to Hoboken, NJ.
*LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD: Home of the famed "BLACK DIAMOND" daylight
train and "MAPLE LEAF" overnight train, the Lehigh Valley had a markedly different
route. It ran east from Buffalo to Manchester and Geneva, NY; then turned south via
Ithaca to Sayre, PA, and southeast from there to the Wilkes-Barre, PA area along the
beautiful Susquehanna River. Last, the Lehigh River Gorge and Lehigh Valley were
traversed to Easton, PA, with New York's Pennsylvania Station reached after a crossing
of rural New Jersey. The LV was another former anthracite coal road, whose through
passenger service lasted from May, 1876 until February 4, 1961 (the "MAPLE
LEAF"). Its daylight "BLACK DIAMOND" died on May 11, 1959, ending the last
chance of daylight vistas along the route. A short-line railroad now owns the line from
Victor to East Shortsville, and Norfolk Southern owns the rails from Ithaca to Sayre, PA,
after which two short-line railroads own or lease them as far as Wilkes-Barre. From
there, NS owns the line the rest of the way to suburban New Jersey.
*PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD: The PRR provided the most circuitous routing of the
eight, running south to Olean, NY; then south and southeastward via Emporium and
Williamsport to Harrisburg, PA, through hundreds of miles of remote Pennsylvania
mountain and valley scenery. A swift connection was made at Harrisburg for New York
City passengers, while the Buffalo train continued south to York and Baltimore, MD.
This “BUFFALO DAY EXPRESS" made its last run on April 30, 1971: one day before
AMTRAK assumed operation of nearly all of the U.S. passenger trains that it wanted.
Norfolk Southern now owns the entire line, but leases the section from Machias Junction,
NY to Driftwood, PA to a short-line railroad.
*NEW YORK, WEST SHORE & BUFFALO RAILROAD: An 1883 relic of ruthless
railroad competition between the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads, this line
paralleled the New York Central all the way from Weehawken, NJ to Buffalo, running on
the opposite side of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. The NYC absorbed it about 1885.
Through passenger service from Buffalo over the "West Shore" began on January 1,
1884, and lasted until about 1918, though isolated passenger service west of Albany
lasted until 1934. However, you could ride the line between Albany and Weehawken, NJ
until October, 1958, receiving a different perspective of the Hudson River. (The
remaining West Shore commuter service between West Haverstraw and Weehawken was
discontinued in December, 1959.) The line is entirely gone between Buffalo and
Rotterdam Junction, NY (a few miles west of Schenectady), except for a freight bypass of
Rochester, but remains the most important CSX freight line into its sprawling New Jersey
yards.
*NEW YORK CENTRAL "AUBURN ROAD": A scenic branch line between Rochester
and Syracuse offered a slower option, via Canandaigua, Geneva and Auburn, NY. Faster,
through trains provided travel at both ends of the branch line. Passenger service ended on
May 19, 1958. A short-line railroad now owns the line from Canandaigua to Syracuse,
but the tracks are gone between Rochester and Canandaigua.
*A “TIME WARP”: NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD and NEW YORK,
ONTARIO & WESTERN RAILWAY (connecting at Oneida, NY): Only intrepid
railroad enthusiasts and rural scenery-lovers would use this route, but the results were
well worth it. They took the modern New York Central for a fast ride to Oneida, NY;
then connected with the meandering O&W train, originating in Oswego, from there to
Weehawken, NJ, via Norwich, Sidney, Walton, the Sullivan County Catskills,
Middletown, Cornwall, and finally Weehawken (the NYO&W had trackage rights south
of Cornwall over the New York Central’s “West Shore” line.) NYO&W passenger
service north of Walton did not survive World War II, though it operated south from
Walton until 1948; then from Roscoe until all passenger service ended on September 10,
1953. Everything on the line was right out of the 1890’s, with the little passenger stations
still lit by oil lamps until the 1950’s and the tiny hamlets which it served looking just like
Norman Rockwell paintings. The entire NYO&W was abandoned on March 29, 1957,
and torn-up shortly thereafter. While it lasted, though, it was a totally-unique railroad
experience. Today, tens of thousands of railroad enthusiasts who were not even born
when the NYO&W turned its last wheel have made it into a genuine “cult” railroad, with
regular bus tours of its former scenic highlights and numerous books on its many historic
treasures. As with the Lackawanna route farther west, NYSDOT purchased long stretches
of the NYO&W right-of-way after abandonment, between Cadosia and Fallsburg, and
built the NY Route 17 “Quickway” over it. You can visit a small NYO&W Museum in
downtown Roscoe, where Route 17 has completely eliminated the old station area and
tracks.
*There were several other potential routes, though multiple train-changes made these
suitable for railfans-only, for the most part:
(1)New York Central east from Buffalo to either Syracuse or Utica; then the
Lackawanna from either city to Binghamton, with a further change to the Lackawanna or
Erie to Hoboken. DL&W passenger service from Utica to Binghamton lasted until April
29, 1950, while its service from Syracuse (with a change of stations there) lasted until
September 14, 1958.
(2)New York Central east from Buffalo to Rome or Utica; then NYO&W Rome or
Utica Branches to its mainline, and a connection on to Weehawken, NJ. These O&W
services did not survive World War II.
(3)Lackawanna or Erie east from Buffalo to Binghamton, changing there to the
Delaware & Hudson to Oneonta, where a further connection was made to the matchless
Catskill Mountain Branch (former Ulster & Delaware) of the New York Central on to
Kingston. Finally, a connection was made at Kingston to the River Division (West
Shore) of the New York Central, to Weehawken, NJ. The Oneonta-Kingston line was
one of the most scenic in the nation, and its passenger service lasted until March 31,
1954. A dedicated group of volunteers is currently attempting to revive passenger service
on the line between Kingston and Roxbury. The segment from Roxbury to Bloomville
has been preserved as a rail trail, while the Bloomville-Oneonta segment was abandoned
in 1965 and torn-up by 1966. D&H passenger service between Binghamton and Albany
lasted until January 24, 1963.
(3)Other possible north-south routes included the Pennsylvania’s Elmira Branch from
Newark, NY to Elmira, connecting to the Lackawanna or Erie on to Hoboken, NJ (the
last PRR passenger train from Sodus Point south, via Newark, NY, operated on July 20,
1931); the New York Central from Lyons to Corning (the last NYC passenger train was
listed in the timetable dated September 17, 1935, and was gone by 1936), with similar
connections; plus the Pennsylvania from Canandaigua to Elmira (joining PRR’s Elmira
Branch from Sodus Point off its Canandaigua spur), with similar connections, or all the
way to New York City via a Harrisburg, PA connection. The last PRR CanandaiguaHarrisburg run (and last Elmira Branch passenger train in New York State) operated on
January 2, 1956. These would have all been reached via the New York Central mainline
from Buffalo.
*A NOTE ON BUFFALO PASSENGER STATIONS: Buffalo and history have not
treated its "temples of transportation" kindly:
*The magnificent Art Deco Central Terminal, opened on June 22, 1929, was
abandoned by AMTRAK on October 28, 1979. It was then allowed to be vandalized and
stripped of all valuable assets by a series of irresponsible owners, prior to current Central
Terminal Restoration Corporation ownership. Let us hope that an appropriate adaptive
re-use of this landmark building lies in the offing, to glorify Buffalo's past and future.
*The marble-clad 1917 Lackawanna Terminal downtown station was abandoned by
the Erie-Lackawanna (and tenant Nickel Plate Railroad) on November 28, 1962. It
swiftly became a decaying ruin. The terminal headhouse was finally demolished in 1979,
and the elevated trackage area and lower space became the home of the NFTA carbarn
and offices. If you open a door on the top floor, the empty concrete troughs which once
held the Terminal's station tracks are still there.
*The elegant 1916 Lehigh Valley downtown station was sold to the New York State
Thruway Authority, together with 4 1/4 miles of right-of-way, in October, 1954. It was
demolished beginning on August 3, 1960. The LV proceeded to build a small $1.45
million combination passenger and office building at Dingens and South Ogden Streets,
at its yards on the eastern outskirts of Buffalo. The replacement passenger station would
perform its function for only five years, until February 4, 1961, when the last “MAPLE
LEAF” ran. Some of the land where its old, far-grander station stood was sold to the
BUFFALO NEWS, for its main office and plant. The rest became the site of a state
office building, and right-of-way for the same Thruway that proceeded to devastate all of
the rail passenger business between Buffalo and New York City.
*The Erie’s 1875 Exchange Street downtown station was abandoned on August 4,
1935, and torn down in 1936, at which point the Erie became a tenant of the Lehigh
Valley. While not a showpiece, as were the three stations above, it is one more lost piece
of Buffalo railroad history.
JetBlue and the New York State Thruway just cannot measure-up to the wonderful
experience of a long, relaxing, scenery-filled day of rail travel between Buffalo and New
York City. This writer was lucky enough to ride the New York Central, Lackawanna and
Erie routes in the early 1960’s, and deeply regrets that he missed the Lehigh Valley and
Pennsylvania routes while they were still operating.
[Thanks to Rev. Edward T. Dunn, S.J., for his epic book, "A HISTORY OF
RAILROADS IN WESTERN NEW YORK" (The Heritage Press, Western New York
Heritage Institute, 1996).
*This article is current as of May 5, 2009.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 by:
Donald L. Pevsner
Attorney-at-Law
2010 Valle Cay Drive
Vilas, North Carolina 28692
EMAIL: DonPevsner@aol.com