The Depew, Lancaster and Western Railroad is a

class III railroad Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With a ...

operating in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It is a subsidiary of Genesee Valley Transportation (GVT). The DLWR is composed of two operations, one located between

Depew, New York Depew () is a village (New York), village in Erie County, New York. The population was 15,303 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The village is named for Chauncey Depew, a politician and ...

and

Lancaster, New York Lancaster is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States, centered 14 miles east of downtown Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. Lancaster is an outer ring suburb of ...

and the other in

Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is located near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population, as of the 2020 census, ...

. Like other GVT subsidiaries, the railroad exclusively uses

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

s. The Lancaster division runs from Depew to

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

and maintains trackage rights with the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

to interchange at Bison Yard in

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. The Batavia division runs in Batavia and interchanges with

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

. The DLWR was formed in 1989 to purchase and operate former

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...

and

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad in the Northeastern United States built predominantly to haul anthracite, anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania to major consumer markets in Philadelphia, New York City, and ...

trackage from

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 busine ...

. The DLWR owns two RS-11 locomotives and an RS-18 locomotive. The railroad also uses a GVT

ALCO S-6 The Alco S-6 (specification DL 430) was a diesel–electric switcher locomotive constructed by ALCO of Schenectady, New York; a total of 126 locomotives were built between May 1955 and December 1960. The S-6 was an improved version of the earlier ...

pooled with other GVT railroads. The RS-11s are numbered #1800 and #1804 while the RS-18 is numbered #1801. S6 is numbered 1044. Current work assignments have #1800 placed on the Lancaster division and #1044 placed on the Batavia division as well as the RS18 used as a "backup" engine. #1804 is currently assigned to another GVT subsidiary, the

Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area. DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for of trackage in Lackawanna, Wayne, Northampton, a ...

References

New York (state) railroads Spin-offs of Conrail {{NewYork-transport-stub