Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railway

Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railway Soundex Code B140

Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railway Railroad

The early 1830s was a time of expansion and prosperity. And by 1884, Buffalo, New York had become one of the most important railroad centers in the world and one of the Pennsylvania Railroad's biggest hubs. At a time when transportation was not as easy and/or convenient as it is today, Buffalo and the many smaller towns served by the railroad prospered.

Much of the growth in these years had been fueled by the widespread construction of new railroads and canals. Millions of acres of public lands were sold by the government, mostly to speculators. Their hope was to purchase well-located parcels that would increase in value as the railroads and canals brought settlers and traffic into their areas.

For one of the few times in American history, the Treasury rapidly began to accumulate a surplus. Members of Congress responded to pressures from home and passed a measure distributing the surplus to the states. The windfall was quickly invested in further internal improvement projects-more railroads and canals.

Most state governments, as well as many individuals, preferred to hoard specie (gold and silver) and to discharge debts with paper bank notes. President Jackson became alarmed by the growing influx of state bank notes being used to pay for public land purchases and, in 1836 shortly before leaving office, issued the Specie Circular. This order commanded the Treasury to no longer accept paper notes as payment for such sales. From this, a major bank crisis dubbed the “Panic of 1837” was born. Banks began restricting credit and called in loans.

Construction companies were unable to meet their obligations, sparking the failure of railroad and canal projects, and the ruin of thousands of land speculators. One of the many railroad companies affected by this was the Buffalo and aurora Railroad Company, which subsequently collapsed due to economic crisis.

Finally, 30 years later the dream of passenger trains and a flourishing commuter line into the East Aurora was realized. December 23, 1867 the first passenger train rolled into East Aurora under the direction of the “Buffalo & Washington Railroad Company”. This company was later changed to the “Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railway Company” and then finally in 1887 became known as the “Pennsylvania Railroad.”

Employees

Clerk

Fred Edmund Signer, to June 1887;