Dunkirk, New York

Dunkirk was an important port on Lake Erie and one of the early commercial centers of Western New York.  It was served by a variety of railroads. The 1919 map below shows the routes of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (New York Central) in blue, the Nickel Plate Railroad in aqua, the Pennsylvania Railroad in red, the Dunkirk Allegany Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad in purple, and the Erie Railroad in green.

Erie Railroad

The Erie railroad was the first to reach Dunkirk and had a large hotel and station and tracks to the slips on Dunkirk Harbor. After the railroad reached Buffalo the importance of Dunkirk decreased as Buffalo proved to be a more attractive place to transfer cargo to Great Lakes ships.

The Erie Hotel in Dunkirk served as the station for the Erie Railroad, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, and the Dunkirk, Allegany Valley, and Pittsburgh.  It was located on Third Street at the foot of Beaver Street, as shown in this 1888 map.

A postcard view of the Erie Hotel which was located on Third Street.
A 1912 postcard of the Erie station in Dunkirk
A 1915 postcard of Third Street in Dunkirk

The Erie had a series of docks on Lake Erie and a freight house on Front Street, as shown in this 1888 map.

Dunkirk, Allegany Valley and Pittsburgh

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern used the Erie Railroad station on Third Street.

DAV&P locomotive # 2195 at Dunkirk Depot (Erie Hotel). date 1919.
Personnel:  Charles Schulenberg, fireman; Charles Peter Kepple, engineer; Charles David Kepple (age 3).
From archives of Historical Society of Dunkirk, New York. Photo courtesy of Charles D. Kepple.

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern used the Erie Railroad station on Third Street.

Nickel Plate Road

The Nickel Plate skirted the city on its way to Buffalo.  It had a passenger station south of downtown where its tracks crossed Central Avenue.

The photo above shows AK Tower which controlled the intersection of the DAV&P, Nickel Plate, and Pennsylvania Railroads.

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsy skirted the city on its way to Buffalo.  It had a passenger station south of downtown where its tracks crossed Central Avenue.

Locomotive Builders

Miscellaneous Item

References