Thanks for the info, Ron. It appears the B&NYC was not necessarily built with the intention of connecting with the Erie as was the A&GW, since it had to be converted to 6' gauge. On the other hand, why else would you build to "Hornellsville"? The other obvious question is since it was apparent almost from the get-go that Buffalo was going to be the major eastern L Erie port, why did the Erie not make that it's western terminus instead of Dunkirk? I can hardly wait for the Omaha story! Paul B The New York & Erie reached Buffalo in 1852 via the the Buffalo & New York City Railroad, which ran from Hornellsville to Attica to Buffalo. The Erie did not corporately own the B&NYC. but the relationship was so close that most people looked upon it as an extension of the Erie. In R&LHS' "Railway History No. 131", on page 7, which is a chronological history of the Erie, it reads: "1852 Buffalo Branch completed. Soon overshadows old Dunkirk line in importance." The attached newspaper article from September 15, 1852 states that Buffalo "...is the lake termination of the New York & Erie as time will show." The Erie began building a passenger depot, lake warehouses, freighthouses and shops in Buffalo in 1852. They sold tickets from their depot (shared with the B&NYC) and the B&NYC also sold tickets over the Erie (See attached). The B&NYC became the Buffalo, New York & Erie in October, 1857 and eventually was leased to the Erie in May, 1863. And how far west did the DL&W reach? Buffalo you say. I say Omaha, Nebraska, but that's for another article. Ronald R. Dukarm ELHS #532 ELHTS #66 rdukarm_@_adelphia.net The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
This HTML page is © 2000-2008 Blue Moon Online System and The Railfan Network
This page and the data contained therein may not be reproduced
for any form of commercial use without the explicit permission
of J. Henry Priebe Jr. or his duly authorized agent.