Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad

The Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad was incorporated on May 3, 1834. The 22-mile (35 km) line between Buffalo, New York, and Niagara Falls, New York, opened for operation on May 1, 1837. Within Buffalo, it ran parallel to the Buffalo and Black Rock Railroad, a horsecar line which followed the Erie Canal to Black Rock. Also serving Niagara Falls was the Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, which began operation in early 1838.

The Buffalo and Lockport Railroad built from Lockport, New York, to Tonawanda, New York, where it met the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad, in 1852. The two railroads agreed to jointly develop a new right-of-way between Tonawanda and Buffalo. The Buffalo and Lockport Railroad was consolidated with nine other railroads to form the first New York Central Railroad on May 1, 1853. The New York Central leased the Buffalo and Niagara Falls on December 22, 1853. The New York Central completed the new route between Tonawanda and Buffalo on December 1, 1854, and subsequently abandoned the original route of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls between those two cities.

The Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad was opened between Canandaigua, New York, and Niagara Falls on July 1, 1853. This was a broad gauge line, associated with the New York and Erie Railroad. The Canandaigua and Niagara Falls line ran parallel to the Buffalo and Niagara Falls between Towananda and Niagara Falls. The New York Central leased the Niagara Bridge and Canandaigua Railroad, successor to the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls, in 1858. Under the New York Central that line was re-gauged to standard gauge and the parallel Buffalo and Niagara Falls abandoned. The company was formally merged on April 23, 1869, shortly before the formation of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.