Tonawanda Railroad

The Tonawanda Railroad was a railroad company established in Rochester, New York in 1832. It was eventually absorbed by the New York Central.

Like other growing towns and cities, Batavia needed access to affordable and reliable commercial transportation resources. The Erie Canal had appeared to be the solution but it did not reach Batavia. Instead, canal designers selected Eighteen Mile Creek as the area to scale the formidable Niagara Escarpment. The Tonawanda's two wood-burning locomotives were delivered to the area by canal boat five years after the company was chartered.

The Tonawanda Railroad was chartered on 24 April 1832 for the purpose of building a rail line from Rochester to Attica and eventually Buffalo. Initially, the route was to have included Scottsville, Mumford, Caledonia, and Le Roy. A more direct route to Batavia was adopted which left out these towns. They were later served by construction of the Scottsville & LeRoy Railroad.

This was the second railroad to be built in New York State, following the Mohawk and Hudson, the Albany-to-Schenectady road, which began 17 April 1827. This railroad was named after Tonawanda Creek, which flows through Batavia. Historian Edward Dunn questions the derivation of the naming, as the eleven miles of line constructed up the valley of the Tonawanda Creek to Attica was an afterthought. This part was constructed in 1841, well after the company was founded and named.

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