Buffalo Line

Last updated
Buffalo Line
NS Buffalo-Line-Signal-304-3042-APPROACH.jpg
The Buffalo Line north of Rockville, Pennsylvania, with an old Pennsylvania Railroad signal bridge that has since been removed
Overview
StatusOperational
Owner Norfolk Southern Railway
Locale New York and Pennsylvania
Termini
Service
Type Freight rail
System Norfolk Southern Railway
Operator(s) Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad (Buffalo-Machias, New York)
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (Machias-Driftwood, Pennsylvania)
Norfolk Southern Railway (Driftwood-Rockville)
History
Opened1854
Technical
Number of tracks1-2
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Buffalo Line is a railroad line owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Buffalo, New York southeast to Rockville, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania along a former Pennsylvania Railroad line. Its north end is at Seneca Yard in Buffalo, with no direct access to the Lake Erie district, and its south end is at the Pittsburgh Line at Rockville. The line is operated by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad between Buffalo and Machias, New York, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad between Machias and Driftwood, Pennsylvania, and the Norfolk Southern Railway between Driftwood and Rockville.

Contents

History

The Buffalo Line in Montgomery, Pennsylvania Montgomery RR Tracks.JPG
The Buffalo Line in Montgomery, Pennsylvania

The Sunbury and Erie Railroad opened from Williamsport, Pennsylvania south to Milton in 1854, [1] Northumberland in 1855, [2] and Sunbury in 1856. [3] Extensions west from Williamsport opened to Whetham in 1859, [4] Keating (as the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad) in 1862, reorganize in 1895 to Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway, [5] and finally reaching Emporium (also as the P&E) in 1863. [6] A cutoff bypassing downtown Williamsport to the south, from Allen's west to Nisbet, opened in the early 1870s, [7] and is now part of the Buffalo Line.

The Northern Central Railway opened a line from Dauphin, Pennsylvania north to Millersburg in 1856, [3] extending it north to Herndon in 1857 [8] and Sunbury in 1858. [9] In 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad opened their Rockville Branch from Rockville (on their main line) north to Dauphin on the Northern Central. [7]

From the Buffalo end, the Buffalo and Washington Railway opened its line to East Aurora, New York in 1868 [10] and South Wales in 1870. [11] In 1871 its name was changed to the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway, [12] and it was extended to Emporium, Pennsylvania in 1872, completing the line between Buffalo and Harrisburg. [13] The newest piece of the Buffalo Line, opened in 1909, is at Buffalo, running from the old main line at Gardenville southwest to Seneca Yard. [14]

The line became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad and Conrail through leases, mergers, and takeovers. In the 1999 breakup of Conrail it was assigned to Norfolk Southern. The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad has leased and been operating the part of the line between Machias, New York and Driftwood, Pennsylvania since 2007. By 2008, Norfolk Southern no longer used the line into Buffalo and leased it to the Buffalo & Pittsburgh, [15] which now uses it to reach its Main Line in Machias, NY; this allowed the B&P to abandon and remove its old Third Subdivision (ex B&O) line between Orchard Park, NY and Ashford Jct. By 2009, NS had taken the portion from Gardenville Junction to Seneca Yard out of service; this left its Ebenezer Running Track from CSX's Buffalo Terminal Subdivision to Gardenville as the only connection between Buffalo and the line. [16]

In 2009, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad portion of the Buffalo Line was used to film scenes in the film Unstoppable . Filming took place over three months during the daylight hours while the railroad ran its regular services at night. [17]

Named passenger trains

The Buffalo Day Express stands ready to depart Williamsport, PA on July 20, 1969. Passenger service along the line would end soon after. PRR 4274 with the Buffalo Day Express at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, July 1969.jpg
The Buffalo Day Express stands ready to depart Williamsport, PA on July 20, 1969. Passenger service along the line would end soon after.

When passenger trains ran on the line Lock Haven (west of Williamsport) was a transfer point for trains to Pennsylvania State University: 38 miles to the southwest of Lock Haven. The Pennsylvania Railroad ran several trains on this run between Buffalo and Washington, with major intermediate stops being Emporium, Williamsport, Harrisburg, York and Baltimore. The last passenger train on the line was the Penn Central's unnamed Buffalo-Harrisburg successor to the Buffalo Day Express. Service ended on April 30, 1971 when Amtrak declined to pick up the route. [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockville Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania

The Rockville Bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built, at 3,820 feet (1,160 m). It has 48 70-foot spans.

The Terminal Railway of Buffalo was a part of the New York Central Railroad system southeast of Buffalo, New York. It built the Gardenville Branch or Gardenville Cutoff, allowing through trains to bypass Buffalo. The cutoff has since been abandoned in favor of other parallel lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Central Railway</span> Railway connecting Baltimore MD and Sunbury PA, US

The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad in the United States connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrisburg Transportation Center</span> Intermodal station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The Harrisburg Transportation Center is a railway station and transportation hub in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern edge of Downtown Harrisburg between the intersections of Aberdeen and Market Streets and 4th and Chestnut Streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad</span> Class II railroad operating in New York and Pennsylvania

The Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad is a Class II railroad operating in New York and Pennsylvania.

The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania between 1861 and 1907. It was subsequently merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrisburg Subdivision</span> Rail line in Pennsylvania, US

The Harrisburg Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Pennsylvania. The line is located in Philadelphia, and connects Greenwich Yard and the Philadelphia Subdivision with the Trenton Subdivision along a former Pennsylvania Railroad line. Much of the Harrisburg Subdivision is the High Line' or West Philadelphia Elevated along 31st Street over the 30th Street Station area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trenton Subdivision (CSX Transportation)</span>

The Trenton Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The line runs from CP NICE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, northeast to Port Reading Junction in Manville, New Jersey, along a former Reading Company line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrisburg Line</span> Rail line in Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Harrisburg Line is a rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Philadelphia west to Harrisburg.

The Southern Tier Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. A mostly former Erie Railroad line, it is suggested that the line runs from Suffern, New York northwest to Buffalo, New York as it shares trackage with Metro-North Railroad’s Port Jervis Line from Suffern to Port Jervis; NS owns the Suffern to Port Jervis trackage and leases it to Metro-North so it can maintain it for its Port Jervis Line passenger operation. From its east end, NS has trackage rights south on the New Jersey Transit Main and Bergen County Lines to Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lurgan Branch</span>

The Lurgan Branch is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The line is part of the NS Harrisburg Division and runs from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania southwest to Hagerstown, Maryland along former Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad lines. Its northeast end is at a junction with the Harrisburg Line, Pittsburgh Line, Royalton Branch, and Amtrak's Keystone Corridor ; its southwest end is at the beginning of the Hagerstown District. At Lemoyne it intersects the Enola Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enola Branch</span>

The Enola Branch is a rail line segment of the Port Road Branch and was a rail line. The Enola Branch rail line segment and the rest of the Port Road Branch is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The rail line segment runs from Washington Boro northwest to Marysville and it is a former Pennsylvania Railroad rail line. Its south end is at a former junction with the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch, where the main segment of the Port Road Branch continues southeast. Its north end is at the Pittsburgh Line. Along the way, it meets the York Secondary at Wago Junction and goes under the Lurgan Branch at Lemoyne. Norfolk Southern labels the Enola Branch as part of the Port Road Branch, officially ending the Enola Branch's existence as a rail line, the main segment of the Port Road Branch runs from Marysville south to Perryville, Maryland. The line goes through the Enola Yard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayton District</span> Railroad line in Ohio, US

The Dayton District is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from Columbus southwest to Cincinnati along former Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad lines. Its east end is at or near the Columbus District, Sandusky District, and West Virginia Secondary; its south end is in Ivorydale, where it meets the Indiana and Ohio Railway's Midland Subdivision, and just past that in Winton Place, where it meets CSX Transportation's Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision. Along the way, it junctions the New Castle District at Evendale.

The Lincoln Secondary is a railroad line owned and operated by Conrail in the U.S. state of Michigan as part of its Conrail Shared Assets Operations.

The Sunbury Line, formerly known as Sunbury Subdivision, is a rail line owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway which in turn is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The line travels from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Binghamton, New York, connecting with Norfolk Southern's Southern Tier Line at Binghamton and Norfolk Southern's Buffalo Line at Sunbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)</span> Former railroad line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a rail line in Pennsylvania connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg. The rail line was split into two rail lines, and now all of its right-of-way is a cross-state corridor, composed of Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (2001)</span>

The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates freight trains in Western New York and Northwest Pennsylvania, United States. The company is controlled by the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad, with which it does not connect. It started operations in 2001 on the Southern Tier Extension, a former Erie Railroad line between Hornell, NY and Corry, PA, owned by the public Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority (STERA). Through acquisitions and leases, the line was extended from Corry to Meadville, PA in 2002 and to Oil City, PA in 2006. In 2007, the WNY&P leased and sub-leased portions of the north–south Buffalo Line, a former Pennsylvania Railroad line mostly built by a predecessor of the defunct Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway. The two lines cross at Olean, NY.

HOOK Tower is a closed interlocking tower on the Pennsylvania Railroad in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh Line</span> Norfolk Southern rail line

The Pittsburgh Line is the Norfolk Southern Railway's primary east–west artery in its Pittsburgh Division and Harrisburg Division across the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is part of the Keystone Corridor, Amtrak-Norfolk Southern's combined rail corridor.

The Buffalo Day Express was a long-distance north–south Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train from Washington, D.C., to Buffalo, New York. It had a second branch that originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and at times, from New York, New York. In the southbound direction, the train ran by the name, Washington Express. It was the longest running of trains on the Washington-Buffalo route, north through central Pennsylvania on the Buffalo Line, operating from 1900 to the latter years of the 1960s, with a shortened segment until 1971.

References

  1. "PRR Chronology, 1854" (PDF). (79.1  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  2. "PRR Chronology, 1855" (PDF). (47.0  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  3. 1 2 "PRR Chronology, 1856" (PDF). (52.4  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  4. "PRR Chronology, 1859" (PDF). (60.9  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  5. "PRR Chronology, 1862" (PDF)., March 2005 Edition
  6. "PRR Chronology, 1863" (PDF)., March 2005 Edition
  7. 1 2 PRR Corporate History, Development of Fixed Physical Property Archived 2007-12-29 at archive.today
  8. "PRR Chronology, 1857" (PDF). (54.1  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  9. "PRR Chronology, 1858" (PDF). (56.8  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  10. "PRR Chronology, 1868" (PDF). (93.8  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  11. "PRR Chronology, 1870" (PDF). (57.0  KiB), January 2005 Edition
  12. "PRR Chronology, 1871" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2006-11-27. (72.9  KiB), January 2005 Edition
  13. "PRR Chronology, 1872" (PDF). (86.1  KiB), February 2005 Edition
  14. "PRR Chronology, 1909" (PDF). (56.8  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  15. Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Region Timetable 1, August 4, 2008
  16. Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Region Track Charts, 2009
  17. Zimmermann, Karl (2012). "Where Alcos Tough It Out". Trains . Kalmbach Publishing. 72 (6): 44.
  18. Edmonson, Harold A. (1972). Journey to Amtrak. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 102–104. ISBN   978-0890240236.
  19. "Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak" (PDF). Trains . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-24.