Former Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad Station, Orchard Park 2006
Former Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad Station, Orchard Park 2006
The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad laid track through the village of Orchard Park in 1883. A small station was built
just south of West Quaker Street near today's viaduct. But the son of B R & P president, Arthur Yates, was to change that
and Orchard Park in the process.
Station viewed from tracks, 2006
Harry Yates came to Buffalo in 1892 as president of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company. He later
became involved with steel making and was owner of the Lafayette Hotel. When he looked around rural western New York
for a location to let his coalwagon horses recover from their wear and tear on Buffalo's cobblestone streets, he discovered
Orchard Park. Eventually, he came to own 3,599 acres in the town, and was its largest taxpayer. He built a home on one
of his farms that eventually became his primary residence and adopted Orchard Park for his philanthropy. One of his earliest
gifts was to persuade his father to build a new and grand railroad station in Orchard Park. He even requested that the
design be copied from the Boston & Albany station in Auburndale, Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts station was designed by H.H. Richardson.
Orchard Park Station rendition of the H.H. Richardson design, 2006.
The Orchard Park station featured tapestry brick instead of the stone used for the Auburndale station.
Passenger train service was discontinued in the mid 1950's; freight service ended in 1979.
Developer Edmund Burke
purchased the station and freight house in 1971 intending to convert the passenger station
into a restaurant.
The village
refused permission and the Burke family donated the property to the Western New York
Railway Historical Society in 1983.
The Society maintains the station and works to restore it to its 1912 appearance.