Buffalo Central Terminal - The Big Discussion

I'm not usually impressed with railfan photos, but man, those are super! Thanks for sharing. Very interesting. The only problem is that after looking at them I feel ashamed for how badly we treated our railroad land marks in this town.

PS: I loved the shots with the saltwater vessel being towed up the river past the DL&W Terminal, nice! I try to shoot from that same location whenever I see a boat headed by there. Awesome.

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthumbs ... s_1078.htm

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthumbs ... ini-BW.jpg

Thanks for sharing. While it's sad to consider what happened after these slides were taken (and before in the case of the DL&W station-- tough to look at), I also am appreciative of what the CRTC has done thus far to bring back the glory days of the Central Terminal.

Great photos--thanks for sharing. I don't recall seeing shots of the interior of the DLW station previsously. In hindsight, its a little eerie how the ruination of the DLW station prefigures what happened to BCT, though the latter thankfully still stands.

Interesting observation. I have noticed that same pattern on lots of different buildings. Once it falls out of use, the security gets lax, and the theives move in for the soft kill by breaking in and grabbing anything easy to steal like copper, brass, and whatnot. Sometimes this may even be done under the watchfull eye of the owners themselves, or their hired security as the vandals may have them on the payroll.Then as the structure moves toward full abandonment it becomes a wide open free for all as they become emboldened to steal everything, including the kitchen sink, that they can rip apart including heavy marble banister railings, wainscoting, and anything else you might immagine. It's sickening just to think about how much history was either stolen or destroyed around this town over the years...

Those are great. Easy to see why the Central Terminal was such a financial drain however. There are hardly any passengers in the photos.
I have questions regarding some of the photos. Namely, can someone identify the locations in Slide numbers 31, 32, 33 and 34. Also, does anyone have any information regarding the LVRR building shown in Slide 49? Lastly, is the EL shot in slide 58 their Babcock St. Station in Buffalo?

The photographer took snaps from an eastbound train -

31 Appears to be Rochester - Eastman Kodak building in background - apparently PC is in process of lifting Rochester station tracks

Pictures skip Syracuse -

32 is definitely Utica - Union Station looks better today - looking carefullyone can see the tower at the west end of the old station throat. Original platform canopies are still in place 0- which is nice. Photo is prior to replacement of Genesee St overpass .

Poignant images of a system and state in decline.

Would like to see more pictures of Utica environs in this time frame - anyone?

Photo 30 - I was floored to see my childhood home's railroad crossing posted in the foreground of this slide! Location is 2 miles west of Corfu, NY - George dairy farm. Most of our farm was on the south side of the tracks with the house and barn on the north side. Red barn and silo is neighbor's farm along Rte 33. NYC & PC had a 2 mile long (Corfu NY to just past County Line Road westbound) passing siding. Got to see the inside of a covered wagon diesel freight loco for the first time on a NYC freight stopped at this location in the mid- to late-60s.

westshore94706 wrote:
Poignant images of a system and state in decline.

That's the perfect way to put it. The sunset of an empire.

Great slides thanks for sharing. It is sad to see how the area used to be and what it is now after years of decline. Thanks again for sharing

It's photo collections like these that help with restoration of the Central Terminal. It shows the colors and shapes of certain items. Gives us architectural details not previously known about. And paints a much better picture on how the building changed over the years and shows the transition of the station. If anyone out there has any (and I'm sure there is) photos of the building they would like to share please feel free to post them here.

And please lets not turn this topic into a debate over the location of the building or the ongoing restoration of the building and grounds.

Mr. Fanatic, I wish you and all trying to preserve or restore BCT all the best. Two summers ago, I was able to spend about half an hour inside the building. Even in its current state, the magnificence and grandeur can still be sensed.

Great slides. Especially liked the catch of one of the D&H PAs at Albany.

terminalfanatic wrote:Robert Long from Maryland has donated some slides to the Central Terminal Restoration Corp. from the 60s and 70s of train trips he took to and from Buffalo and the area. The photos include some beautiful shots of the building along with a bunch from the DL&W terminal. The photos are part of the CTRC's growing collection of historical archives.

Enjoy!

https://picasaweb.google.com/1080877889 ... ngSlides02

Everyone: There are 68 neat pictures from Upstate NY here from the 60s and 70s...

I would number them across from left to right with the top row being numbers 1 to 8...

I will mention the top group first...numbers 1 to 29 look to be Buffalo Central Terminal pictures...#30-where?; 31-Rochester; 32-Utica; 33-where? 34-Colonie/Schenectady? 35-at Schenectady; 36 to 38 at Albany/Rensselaer; 39-from back of train-where?; 40-at BCT...

Thanks for the memories...MACTRAXX