Erie RR from Dayton Jct. to Dunkirk

I've been traveling Rt. 39 and I've been crossing the former grade in Perrysburg.

When was the last train on the line?

When was it torn up?

Thanks!

Actually track ended in Dunkirk, not Fredonia.

Sometime in 1975 I believe, but I do not have an exact date.

If you are travelling down the NYS Thruway east of the Dunkirk - Fredonia exit - about MP 463 area, you can see the remains of the embankment where the railroad bridge went over the Thruway - EL MP 455.64 AAR/DOT Crossing # 265 683B. Not sure when the overhead bridge came out.

^Thanks.

There is a "Dunkirk Branch" track chart, but I cannot open it:

https://www.railsandtrails.com/TC/EL/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a djvu file? Huh?? lol

Found this:

http://www.jon-n-bevliles.net/RAILROAD/ ... ett20.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

22.0
DAYTON

19.0
PERRYSBURG D

16.0
WEST PERRYSBURG

12.0
SMITH’S MILLS

8.2
FORRESTVILLE D

4.4
SHERIDAN
N.Y.C.&St.L. 4.4 N.Y.C

0.0
P.R.R.
DUNKIRK N

Just look for a djvu plugin for your browser. That's the easiest. You can get a freeware standalone piece of software too.

thebigham wrote:^Thanks.

There is a "Dunkirk Branch" track chart, but I cannot open it:

https://www.railsandtrails.com/TC/EL/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a djvu file? Huh?? lol

I recall reading that EL removed the line from Dunkirk to Dayton Jct in March of 1976. In the pre-Staggers era, the ICC normally required a line to have no traffic for a year before it could abandoned or sold. However, this rule was apparently bent on occasion during the transition to Conrail. The guess of 1975 for the last train is a good one, regardless of whether the full year rule was observed or not.

So who picked up the remaining Erie track in Dunkirk prior to Conrail?

There's a little still there now. It seems to be tied into a segment of former PRR as well.

E-L abandoned the Dunkirk Branch Dunkirk-Dayton, 21.9 miles, on 16 May 1975.

Going the other way, from Dayton to Cattaraugus, how long has it been since anything ran? For a while there was a wood products company I think (?) in Cattaraugus occasionally using rail, but I seem to recall hearing they went away, or at least stopped using rail.
Also, was the connector in Dayton always there, or is that a "modern" (Conrail or later) development?

Dayton-Cattaraugus, 9.3 miles, abandoned on 27 October 1970 account washouts.

TB Diamond wrote:Dayton-Cattaraugus, 9.3 miles, abandoned on 27 October 1970 account washouts.

so the connector is from the EL era? Maybe I am dreaming about service to Cattaraugus in recent memory? Perhaps it was later reactivated?

IIRC NYLE ran excursions for a short period to Salamanca from Gowanda, but I’d have to dig through some slides to try to find the date. Will follow up as soon as I can

Found it. See the NY&LE thread, on April 8 2012. viewtopic.php?f=128&t=60980&start=45#p1034968" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The customer was Setterstix in Cattaraugus, who makes paper sticks for popsicles, Q-tips etc. The thread isn't 100% clear, but the line might have been out of service since a washout in 2009. Looking at Google streetview, the 2 boxcars mentioned in the 2012 post are still there in the 2013 Streetview image.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3196513 ... 312!8i6656" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks pumpers.

Tying in to another thread here - try finding that info on Facebook. Searching is worthless there.

pumpers wrote:Found it. See the NY&LE thread, on April 8 2012. viewtopic.php?f=128&t=60980&start=45#p1034968" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The customer was Setterstix in Cattaraugus, who makes paper sticks for popsicles, Q-tips etc. The thread isn't 100% clear, but the line might have been out of service since a washout in 2009. Looking at Google streetview, the 2 boxcars mentioned in the 2012 post are still there in the 2013 Streetview image.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3196513 ... 312!8i6656" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MP366 is correct on the NYLE excursions. I rode a couple of them out of Salamanca. One of these, was to the County Fairgrounds in Little Valley, in either 1981 or 1982. I believe there were several excursions that were run in conjunction with the Salamanca RR Museum.


My notes show Salamanca to Cattaraugus abandoned in 1990.