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The excitement was mounting as the many passengers — young and old and in between — climbed the steps into the 100-year-old passenger cars of the Arcade and Attica Railroad on a recent Saturday.
“Aaall Aboooooard!” called out Dean Steffenhagen, a 20-year veteran railroad conductor.
Next came the steam, black smoke, the whistle, and the very loud horn — quite deafening up close. Our route took us through the middle of the quaint village of Arcade and across Main Street and other roads where the sound effects were most important to warn drivers of our impending arrival. Local residents waved to us as we chugged along.
The train cars and seats were both numbered making finding our seats very easy. “You are welcome to get up and walk around and visit the open air car in the back,” explained Steffenhagen. “On a fine day like this many consider the open air car the best seat on the train.”
Everything about the trip is easy. Uniformed staff members wait outside the bright orange depot ready to stop the traffic and escort passengers across the street from the parking area.
Be sure to check out the depot with its historic displays, the gift shop, and the snack bar, although snacks and drinks are also available on board. A stop at the rest room is another must since there are no facilities on board. Restrooms are available in Curriers, our destination.
This is the perfect time to take an excursion ride on the Arcade and Attica Railroad, declared a National Historic Site in 1981. It is marking its 100th anniversary this year and is proud of its place in railroad history. It is the oldest continuously operating railroad under the same corporate identity in the state. It is also the only railroad in New York offering steam locomotive passenger excursions.
The railroad has its origins in the Buffalo, Attica & Arcade Railroad, which officially opened in 1880. The rails we were riding on were first spiked down in 1881 and standardized in 1895 to connect with the Pennsylvania Railroad.
By 1917 the railroad company was thinking of closing the section of the railroad between Arcade and Attica. Business leaders along the line were very concerned. The line was vital to their businesses. Interested parties began to raise money to purchase the line. Stock was sold to farmers, merchants, and anyone else who was interested.
There were 365 people who raised $79,000 and formed the Arcade and Attica Railroad Corp. The small corporation still owns the railroad today. The railroad has an active freight service that has transported milk, cheese, grain, cattle, gasoline, coal, and mail.
The railroad is one of the last private common carrier railroads operating both freight and passenger service.
“Although I am also involved in the freight end of our business, the passenger trips are absolutely the most fun part of my job,” Steffenhagen said. “The kids, especially, are so excited about riding the train — usually for the first time.”
He told us about the steam engine and the coal. For our 14 mile round trip, the engine uses one ton of coal while a diesel engine would only need 15 gallons of diesel fuel.
The 1930s were boom years for the railroad, so when the depression hit the company was able to stay afloat without having to lay off a single employee.
For a number of years the railroad brought coal to the Attica Prison. The Erie Railroad serviced the area but their engines were too big to get inside of the prison. No “extra” passengers ever took the train out of the prison due to the watchful eye of the inspectors.
“But in January of 1957 disaster hit our little railroad when Tonawanda Creek flooded its banks taking several hundred feet of track with it,” our conductor Steffenhagen told the passengers as we rode through the countryside. “It would have cost $72,000 to repair the damage. It was more money than the railroad had, so the route from North Java to Attica was abandoned. We did keep the name of Arcade & Attica Railroad.”
By the late 1950s freight business had declined and something was needed to keep the railroad operating. Thus began steam-powered passenger excursions. The #18, a 1920 2-8-0 American locomotive was purchased in 1962 and the inaugural run was on July 27, 1962 and since then more than 1.5 million passengers have experienced a ride back in history.
The rides became accessible to everyone after Jon Thomas Robertson of Cuba convinced Extreme Makeover-Home Edition to help make the train rides available to people using wheelchairs. With $10,000 donated by Sears, work was done to both the station and the cars in 2008. There is now space for up to six wheelchairs.
Riding the railroad crosses all generations.
“More than half the passengers say, ‘I rode this as a kid and I had to bring my kids or my grandkids,’” said Amber Williams, railroad office manager. “It’s very cool that it’s a generational thing.”
Gavin, age 4, from Lancaster brought his parents and a small toy train along on his ride. “He loves trains and this is his second train ride,” his mother explained. “We took him on the Medina train and when we drove through Arcade a few weeks ago he saw the train station and train, and has been very eager to come back and ride the rails.”
Brian Pacos, a seasonal conductor and student at the University of Buffalo School of Architecture, has been coming to the train since he was a small boy. “I just kept on coming back over the years and a couple years ago I was offered this job and I was just thrilled,” he said.
Much of the countryside and farmlands that the train travels through have remained largely unchanged since the line was originally laid in the 19th century. John Quinn (a.k.a., Squeezebox Johnny) and his partner entertained passengers with old-time songs and music.
At the Curriers Depot everyone is invited to leave the train. There is a building where snacks are available, as well as shopping for local honey (Honey Works Apiary) with free samples, and local jams and jellies (Seeds from the Earth) with more free samples, a small museum, and a wooden train for children to climb aboard.
The best part is when the locomotive uncouples from the train, moves onto a siding and stops. Passengers are invited to take a closer look at the engine, take pictures and talk with the crew as they prepare for the return trip. We were invited inside to meet Engineer Dennis Horner, watch the flames in the furnace where the coal was burning, and see the pile of coal ready for the trip home. We learned about the fireman whose job it was to shovel the coal. Then it was back on board.
I joined many other passengers who were riding in the open car that was now in the front. We watched as the train climbed the hill coming out of Curriers and listened to the rhythmic chugs of the engine, the whistle, and the very loud horn. I thought immediately of the classic book The Little Engine that Could.
Of course, there was no problem as our 1920 steam locomotive pulled us along at the speed of about 10 mph that was once considered quite fast. This is certainly an engine that could. I thought of the early years of the railroads when a train like ours was the very latest in technology. Now we were riding the train as travelers might have done 100 years ago.
Travel Tip of the Month: For more information visit www.aarailroad.com or call 585-492-3100. Regular steam engine trips are about two hours and 30 minutes, including the half-hour stopover in Curriers.
During September, October, November and December there are regular steam engine rides as well as special programs including Murder Mystery, the Great Train Robbery, Fall Foliage, Wine Tasting, Halloween, as well as North Pole Express train rides.
Deborah Williams is a veteran travel writer from Holland, NY, whose work has appeared in national and international publications. She is the winner of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award and the author of “The Erie Canal: Exploring New York’s Great Canals.” Learn more at www.deborahwilliams.com.