Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad
| Reporting mark | RLB |
|---|---|
| Locale | Western New York |
| Dates of operation | 1919–1931 |
| Predecessor | Buffalo, Lockport & Rochester Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Electrification | 600v DC |
| Length | 54 miles |
| Headquarters |
Syracuse, New York Rochester, New York |
The Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad was an electric interurban railway that was constructed between Rochester, New York and Lockport, New York, connecting to the International Railway Co. at Lockport for service into Buffalo. Opened in 1909 as the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway, the route followed the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad's Falls Road branch for most of its length. For a brief period of time, the railway was part of the Beebe Syndicate of affiliated interurban railways stretching from Syracuse to Buffalo. Entering receivership in 1917, tt was reorganized as the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad in 1919. After years of struggling with declining revenue during the Depression years, the railway's last day of service was April 30, 1931.
There were several early attempts to build an electric interurban railway connecting Rochester and Buffalo, starting in 1902 with the Buffalo, Niagara Falls & Rochester. None of these attempts resulted in any significant construction, except for the Albion Electric Railway which constructed 1.7 miles of track through the village of Albion.
On June 23, 1905, the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway was chartered as a result of the combination of the Albion and Lockport Railway, the Albion and Rochester Railway, and the Albion Electric Railway. The new owners of the company were predominantly Canadian, and it was rumored that a connection to Toronto would soon be considered. The BL&R ran for 54 miles from a connection with the International Railway Co. in Lockport to a connection with the Rochester Railways at Lyell Avenue. The route closely followed the Erie Canal and New York Central's Falls Road for most of its length.
The first section of the BL&R opened on September 3, 1908, from Rochester to a point just west of Albion, and by November 17 had reached Lockport. The new railway could not reach downtown Rochester because it was unable to secure permission to install a diamond to cross the New York Central Railroad's Charlotte Branch at Lyell Avenue. The New York State Public Service Commission intervened and permission was granted to construct the crossing in May 1910. The BL&R served the Interurban Terminal at the corner of Court and Exchange streets until 1914 when the terminal was moved to the nearby Erie Railroad station. A connection could be made to the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern interurban line. Thousands of passengers were attracted to the BL&R's swift local service and cheaper fares that competed directly with the nearby "steam roads" serving the same areas.
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