Arcade and Attica Railroad

The Arcade and Attica Railroad was the latest in a long succession of railroads planned and built through the Tonawanda Valley in Wyoming County.

In 1836, the Attica and Sheldon Railroad was proposed, but no construction ever took place.

In 1852, the Attica and Alleghany Valley Railroad was incorporated to build a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railway from Attica, through Arcade, to the Pennsylvania state line. In 1853, the contract was let for construction and most of the road was graded between Attica and Arcade. Construction was discontinued in 1855, and the property was sold at foreclosure on February 2, 1856.

On February 28 1870, the Attica and Arcade Railroad was organized and began purchasing the right of way with construction of the line scheduled for completion by October 1, 1876. The railroad went bankrupt in 1873, and construction remained uncompleted.

On April 5 1880, the Tonawanda Valley Railroad was incorporated with major financial backing from the Erie Railroad. The company planned to build a 24 mi (39 km), narrow gauge line from Attica, through Curriers Corners, to Sardinia to connect with the Buffalo, New York, and Pennsylvania Railroad. On September 11, 1880, the first train ran on the line from Attica to Curriers Corners. In October 1880, the Tonawanda Valley Extension Railroad was organized to extend the line from Curriers to Sardinia. By that winter the company changed its decision and began building to Arcade, rather than Sardinia. By May 1 1881, the line had reached Arcade. On July 14, 1881, the Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad was formed to extend the line from Arcade to Cuba via Sandusky and Rushford. On August 27 1881, the Tonawanda Valley Railroad, Tonawanda Valley Extension Railroad, and Tonawanda Valley and Cuba were merged into the new Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad. By September 4 1882, the line was complete between Attica and Cuba. The Company built facilities to transfer to the standard-gauge Erie Railroad in Attica and Cuba. In Cuba, the company made a connection with the Bradford, Eldred and Cuba, another narrow-gauge railroad controlled by the Erie.[1]

By September 1884 the company was defaulting on its bonds, and November 29 the company was in receivership. The company's situation declined further when the Bradford, Eldred and Cuba went bankrupt. The company struggled until October 30 1886, when it stopped its service from Cuba to Sandusky. On January 19, 1891, the section from Attica to Freedom was sold to bondholders and in May of that year the Attica and Freedom Railroad was formed. The line went bankrupt and was sold in April 1894.

On October 13, 1894, the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade Railroad was formed to operate the line. The new management switched the line to standard gauge and by January 1895 the Attica to Curriers section was operating again. By December of that year the line was open and running from Attica to Arcade. By December 1897, the company had laid a 2 mi (3.2 km) segment to connect with the Pennsylvania Railroad near Arcade. By January 1902, the company had built a line from Arcade to Sandusky with the ultimate goal of reaching Crystal Lake, Illinois. In August that same year, a flood washed out much of the line between Arcade and Sandusky along with the connection to the Pennsylvania RR.

In 1904, the BA&A was sold to the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad which connected the BA&A in Arcade. The B&S operated the line until 1913 when it was sold to W. L. Kann of Pittsburgh. Under Kann the railroad declined and lost money, until operations were suspended in the winter of 1916/17.

On May 23 1917, the Arcade and Attica (A&A) Railroad was formed by local investors to operate the line. The line had its ups and downs, but survived. It had the enviable distinction of not laying off a single employee during the Great Depression. In 1941, the company purchased a 44-ton diesel from General Electric. The diesel was more dependable and much less expensive to operate than the steam locomotives. Many people credit the diesel for preventing the A&A from going bankrupt in 1941. The Arcade and Attica operated a passenger service until 1951 when the Erie stopped providing a service on the Buffalo-Hornell line, including the connection with the A&A in Attica. In 1957, the line was abandoned between Attica and North Java because of severe washouts in the spring of that year.

During the 1960s, the Arcade & Attica struck its mark when Borden's debuted the non-dairy creamer 'Cremora'. The Arcade facility was the sole Cremora production plant in the United States until its closure in 1970. The Arcade & Attica Railroad brought in the raw supplies and shipped out the finished product across the US, its orange and white boxcars (later painted blue and white) becoming iconic in the process.

On May 27 2017, the railroad held a celebration marking the corporation's centennary. As part of the celebration, steam locomotive No. 18 was turned on the wye to face railroad south for the first time in its history. Until this weekend, it has always faced north. Other events included speeches at the station, employee photographs, a ribbon cutting ceremony, and a cake cutting at the Curriers Depot.

The passenger cars of the Arcade & Attica.

Railroad freight traffic started to decline due to advances made by the automobile and trucking industries following World War II, and the Arcade & Attica was no exception. A solution was to purchase a light steam locomotive and a couple of passenger coaches for a tourist excursion service. After a few years of searching, A&A management purchased #18, a 2-8-0 from the Boyne City Railroad in Michigan and two commuter coaches from the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. For 27 days, the A&A offered passenger excursions in 1962. The following year #14, a 4-6-0 from the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad and more coaches were purchaded. Now the Arcade and Attica runs all six coaches per run with an open air gondola used from United States Air Force.

Arcade & Attica #18.

• Arcade & Attica 14: (4-6-0) - Built in February 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; currently in storage as it requires a very expensive overhaul to comply with federal safety standards
• Arcade & Attica 18: (2-8-0) - Built in 1920 American Locomotive Company at its 'Cooke Works' in Paterson, New Jersey.[2] Currently out of service undergoing a full rebuild in Syracuse, NY, with reassembly scheduled to begin in Spring of 2021.[3]
• Arcade & Attica 110: (GE 44-ton switcher) - Built in 1941 by General Electric at its Erie, Pennsylvania plant, #110 is considered to have 'dieselized' the A&A single-handedly; now on static display in the municipal parking lot across Main Street from the Arcade station. (Out of service)
• Arcade & Attica 111: (GE 44-ton switcher) - Built in 1947 by General Electric at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant, #111 completed the job, and the last A&A steamer was scrapped. (Under Restoration)
• Arcade & Attica 112: (GE 65-ton switcher) - Built in 1945 by General Electric at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant, for the United States Navy. After used in the Navy 112 went out to Colorado for switching work before being acquired by the ARA in 1988.
• Arcade & Attica 113: (GE 50-ton switcher shell with weighted trucks, making 113 an industrial 80 tonner) - Built in 1959 by General Electric at its Erie, Pennsylvania, plant. This locomotive operated at the Consolidated Edison plant on Staten Island before being acquired by the ARA in 2014, relegating aging #111 to backup duties for freight and passenger trains.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arcade and Attica Railroad.

• Arcade & Attica Railroad company website
• History of the Tonawanda Valley and Cuba Railroad between Attica and Cuba, New York, with interactive map.