Re: (LVRR) Bad News.. LV Station in Buffalo...

["Brian J Carlson" <brian_@_net.bluemoon.net>]

For those interested a picture of this station appears on the bottom of page
55 of Trackside around Buffalo NY.   The picture is dated 1971 and the glass
waiting room is still intact.

Brian J Carlson P.E.
Cheektowaga NY
- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Will Enser" <alcoman_@_net.bluemoon.net>
To: <lehighvalleyrr_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2004 5:34 PM
Subject: (LVRR) Bad News.. LV Station in Buffalo...


>
> Bummer...
>
> http://www.biniasz.com/pages/3/index.htm
>
> In a slow moving city like Buffalo, moments of historical importance often
> happen quickly. So fast the changes to the landscape that they happen
> almost over night. During December 2004, Buffalo lost one of its last
> remaining urban train stations. No fanfare, no public lamenting. In fact,
> most people never knew that the building was once the pride of the Lehigh
> Valley Railroad. A railroad that hoped the facility would put a modern
> face on an aging system.
>
> During the mid-1950s, New York embarked on a massive project to build a
> statewide thruway system. Railroad right-a-ways into and out of Buffalo
> were to become the modern transportations primary urban corridors. With
> declining passenger business and a decaying downtown station, the LVRR
> opted to sell its valuable property and build anew on the citys suburban
> border.
>
> Click on map to see location of Buffalo's second Lehigh Valley Railraod
> Station. 1955-2004.
>
>
> Located at Dingens and South Ogden Streets, the station formally opened
> for service on August 11, 1955. The facility replaced a neo-classical
> structure that fronted Pearl Street. (On the site of the Donavan State
> Office Building). The station was demolished in 1960. Passengers arriving
> at or departing from Buffalo on Lehigh Valley passenger trains over the
> famous Route of the Black Diamond found the new terminal readily
> accessible. It was easily reached from Buffalos residential and suburban
> sections and was only feet away from the new New York State Thruway. The
> citys downtown hotels, business and shopping areas were advertised as
> being only 10 mins away by taxi. Completely modern in every detail, the
> newest Terminal, and the last to be built in Buffalo, combined beauty and
> utility.
>
> The Ogden Street Station was doomed from day one. Almost immediately after
> the service began, the Lehigh Valley looked at discontinuing passenger
> operations. In May 1959 LV discontinued all but two of its main-line
> passenger trains, and those two, the New York-Lehighton John Wilkes and
> the New York-Toronto Maple Leaf. Loss suffered by the railway in 1958 was
> estimated at $3,570,933 and in 1959 $1,583,999. The era of Lehigh Valley
> Railroad passenger service in Buffalo ended on Feb. 3, 1961 when the Maple
> Leaf completed its run to the Queen City. The run marked the end of 115
> years of Lehigh Valley passenger service. J.R. de Capriles, vice president
> and general counsel of the Lehigh Valley, attributed the decrease in the
> Lehigh Valley's passenger traffic to increased motor and air travel - and
> competition from the New York Central and the Erie-Lackawanna Railroads.
> These railroads also connected New York and Buffalo, and their routes were
> shorter, requiring one and a half to two hours less than the Lehigh
> Valley.
>
> During the station's post railroad life, it would house a bank, light
> industrial businesses and offices. The glass passenger waiting room was
> torn down in the mid 1960s.
>
> Sadly, I never took a picture of this forgotten landmark before it
> vanished in 2004. If anyone has pictures to complete this story, please
> e-mail me at Rocketship7_@_aol.com.
>
>
>
> Will Semanchuk-Enser    Blue Moon Internet Corp General Manager
> www.bluemoon.net        Internet Access & Web Hosting
> www.railfan.net         Railfan Network Services
>

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End of (LVRR-digest) V1 #533
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