History

The New York, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad, better known as the Nickel Plate, was built in 1881 along the south shore of Lake Erie from Buffalo to Chicago.  It was built to compete with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, which in the 1880s had a monopoly on freight between Buffalo and Chicago via Cleveland and Detroit.  Its role as a competitor to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern was short lived as it was acquired by the Lake Shore in October 1882, just a few days after the first train ran the length of the line.

In late 1915 the New York Central, which owned both the Nickel Plate and Lake Shore railroad was informed that owning both railroads was in violation of anti-trust laws.  In 1916 the Nickel Plate was sold to the Van Sweringen brothers, successful real estate developers in Cleveland.  The Van Sweringens hired experienced railroaders from the New York Central to actually operate the line.

In 1954 the railroad had a head-on collision between two trains in Dunkirk, NY.

In 1964 the Nickel Plate merged with the Norfolk and Western Railroad.  In 1982 the N&W merged with the Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

For more information, see Corporate History of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.

For a map of the line and information on early officers, see 1882 Official Railway Guide article on the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway

Photographs

Nickel Plate Railroad Passes

Stations

The following list of Nickel Plate stations in New York is from a 1949 timetable.

City Mile
Buffalo 0.0
Buffalo Jct 1.8
Lake View 14.4
Angola 21.6
Irving 27.6
Silver Creek 31.5
Sheridan 35.3
Dunkirk 41.1
Brocton 49.6
Portland 50.7
Westfield 57.6
Ripley 65.6

References