125th Anniversary of the Arrival of the First Train

 on the New York and Erie Railroad

May 15, 1976
Dunkirk, New York

The New York and Erie Railroad

       William C. Redfield, the father of the Erie Railroad, had long dreamed of a railroad stretching from the lower Hudson River to the Great Lakes. As a result of his vigorous efforts, the New York Legislature, on April 23, 1832, issued a charter to the New York and Erie Railroad. The seventy-five charter incorporators represented an initial capital investment of $10,000,000.

    Benjamin Wright was selected as engineer-in-charge and directed to build the railroad. He completed his survey of the 483-mile line from Piermont on the Hudson to Dunkirk on Lake Erie and on November 7, 1835, Governor William L. Marcy turned the first shovel of earth at Deposit, N.Y. to signal the start of construction.

    Elazor Lord served as the first president of the NY&E. Benjamin Loder was elected to that office in August of 1845 and for many years one of the most prominent hotels between Chicago and New York City, The Loder House in Dunkirk, bore his name. During Mr. Loder's administration, the trackage was completed and the final spike was driven in the track at a point just east of Cuba Summit in Allegany County. After almost twenty years of struggle, anxiety, bankruptcy and desperation, the longest trunk line in the world was ready to operate.

    The first train to travel the route left Piermont on May 14, 1851. The list of dignitaries on this maiden trip was most impressive. It included such notables as U.S. President Millard Fillmore, Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Attorney General John J. Crittenden, Secretary of the Navy William C. Graham and Post-master General William K.Hall; also Stephen Douglas, Commander Matthew Perry, Governor Marcy, former governors Hamilton Fish and William Seward, William C. Redfield, Anson Phelps, and William E. Dodge, along with a host of national, state, local and railroad officials.

    After a gigantic reception in New York, the Presidential party departed on two trains from Piermont. There were many stops along the way with the usual speeches and wild receptions. The entourage spent the night at Elmira where a major celebration took place. The party departed at six-thirty the next morning and by four in the afternoon was bringing its cars within sight of the village of Dunkirk.

    The reception at Dunkirk was outstanding. The town was gaily decorated and a giant arch was erected over the tracks with the word "Welcome." The USS Michigan lay offshore and the 65th Regiment was on hand to render the proper Presidential salutes. The harbor was filled with vessels and over 15,000 people were on hand for the celebration. The coming of the train was heralded by the whistle on the escort locomotive, Dunkirk No. 90, with Horatio G. Brooks at the throttle. The church bells in the town were rung to signal its approach.

    The Dodsworth Band, which accompanied the group from New York, led a parade through the village. A sumptuous banquet was held at the Loder House and many of the dignitaries took the opportunity to speak. A huge feast was served for the villagers in a large pavilion that ran from Deer Street to Lion Street along what was then Railroad Avenue.

    The next morning most of the party embarked on the USS Michigan for Buffalo.

    Thus marked a great epoch in the nation's railroad history; the completion of the first railroad link between the Atlantic Seaboard and the Great Lakes.

Historical Society of Dunkirk, New York, Bicentennial Banquet

04/27/2004