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The Buffalo Line is a
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
line owned by the
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s of New York and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The line runs from
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
southeast to
Rockville, Pennsylvania Rockville is an unincorporated community in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is home to the Rockville Bridge. Rockville is part of the Harrisburg– Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area In th ...
near
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
along a former
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
line. Its north end is at Seneca Yard in Buffalo, with no direct access to the
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
district, and its south end is at the
Pittsburgh 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 combin ...
at Rockville. The line is operated by the
Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad The Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad is a Class II railroad operating in New York and Pennsylvania. The BPRR is owned by Genesee & Wyoming. Its main line runs between Buffalo, New York and Eidenau, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. Here, conne ...
between Buffalo and Machias, New York, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad between Machias and
Driftwood, Pennsylvania Driftwood is a borough in Cameron County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 36 at the 2020 census. History The community takes its name from Driftwood Branch Sinnemahoning Creek (in older sources called "Driftwood Creek"). Geograph ...
, and the Norfolk Southern Railway between Driftwood and Rockville.


History

The Sunbury and Erie Railroad opened from
Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...
south to Milton in 1854,
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
in 1855, and Sunbury in 1856. , March 2005 Edition Extensions west from Williamsport opened to Whetham in 1859, Keating (as the
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad 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). History The Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company (also known a ...
) in 1862, reorganize in 1895 to Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway, and finally reaching Emporium (also as the P&E) in 1863. A cutoff bypassing downtown Williamsport to the south, from
Allen's Allen's, earlier A. W. Allen Limited, is an Australian brand of confectionery products produced by Nestlé. Allen's is the top brand of sugar confectionery in Australia. It is best known for Minties, a soft chewable mint-flavored confectionery, ...
west to Nisbet, opened in the early 1870s,PRR Corporate History, Development of Fixed Physical Property
and is now part of the Buffalo Line. The
Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad 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, wh ...
opened a line from
Dauphin, Pennsylvania Dauphin is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 796 at the 2020 census. Dauphin's ZIP code is 17018. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Dauphin is located ...
north to Millersburg in 1856, , March 2005 Edition extending it north to
Herndon Herndon may refer to: People * Herndon (surname), an American surname * Herndon Davis (1901–1962), American artist, journalist, illustrator, and painter Places in the United States Communities * Herndon, California, an unincorporated commun ...
in 1857 and Sunbury in 1858. In 1882, the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
opened their Rockville Branch from Rockville (on their
main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
) north to Dauphin on the Northern Central.PRR Corporate History, Development of Fixed Physical Property
From the Buffalo end, the Buffalo and Washington Railway opened its line to
East Aurora, New York East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metr ...
in 1868 and
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
in 1870. In 1871 its name was changed to the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway, and it was extended to
Emporium, Pennsylvania Emporium is a borough and the county seat of Cameron County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west-northwest of Williamsport. Early in the twentieth century, there were large power plants and manufacturers of radio tubes and in ...
in 1872, completing the line between Buffalo and Harrisburg. 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. The line became part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
and
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
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 Driftwood is a borough in Cameron County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 36 at the 2020 census. History The community takes its name from Driftwood Branch Sinnemahoning Creek (in older sources called "Driftwood Creek"). Geograph ...
since 2007. By 2008, Norfolk Southern no longer used the line into Buffalo and leased it to the Buffalo & Pittsburgh, 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. In 2009, the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad portion of the Buffalo Line was used to film scenes in the film ''
Unstoppable Unstoppable may refer to: Film and television * Unstoppable (2004 film), ''Unstoppable'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David Carson * ''Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', a 2005 America ...
''. Filming took place over three months during the daylight hours while the railroad ran its regular services at night.


Named passenger trains

When passenger trains ran on the line
Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
(west of Williamsport) was a transfer point for trains to
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
: 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 York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. The last passenger train on the line was the
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
's unnamed Buffalo-Harrisburg successor to the ''Buffalo Day Express.'' Service ended on April 30, 1971 when Amtrak declined to pick up the route.Trains magazine, 'Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak' https://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf *''
Buffalo Day Express 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, Ne ...
'' (Washington and Philadelphia -- Buffalo train) / ''Baltimore Day Express'' (southbound train) *''Dominion Express'' (overnight train of the above route)


References

{{Susquehanna Valley Railroads Norfolk Southern Railway lines Pennsylvania Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in New York (state) Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Railway lines opened in 1854